Tevun-Krus #24 - MythPunk

Author Spotlight: @Holly_Gonzalez

That's right, the Tevun-Krus interviews are back. For the first such thing of 2016, AngusEcrivain had a wee sit down with Holly_Gonzalez, creator of such works as Beauty in the Bones & Perfect World Somewhere, so let's see what she had to say, shall we?

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what words wouldn't you use?

Conformist, materialistic, erratic, or gregarious.

What was your nickname at school?

I didn't really have one until I got older, and then it was "Bookworm". I spent lunch in the library reading, drawing, or writing. I was a huge geek, and only a few people understood why I preferred the company of Herbert, McCaffrey, and Asimov to chattering gossip about who was dating who.

When you were a young padowan, what did you want to be when you grew up?

By age eight, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Before that, it was all about horses. I fancied being a mounted policewoman or a jockey, just so I could ride horses and get paid for it.

What is your favourite quote?

There's a lot, but here's one I really like:

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones." It's attributed to Marcus Aurelius. Whether he actually said it or not, it's still a nice philosophy.

Other than writing, what hobbies do you have?

I'm a highly creative person, and work in multiple art forms. Drawing in pencil, ink, pastels, and charcoal, painting I prefer watercolors and acrylics. I sing, play violin and hand percussion, and have been in a few bands over the years. Reading is an obvious favorite. Other than that, I like walks at night, horseback riding, drinking beer at the pub with my husband (who is also my best friend and musical partner in crime), baking bread from scratch, thrift store shopping, and researching both history and technology for new 'retro-future' concepts and ideas.

As your crew cast your lifeless body into the core of the nearest star, list three pieces of music likely to be rattling the bulkheads.

A weird mix, but this sums it up my cosmic eulogy:

"The Rapture" by Siouxsie And The Banshees

"Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" from Monty Python's "Life Of Brian"

"Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley

If you were one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which one would you be and why?

Death. Holding the power which decimates all, no matter how high or low, would be awesome. Everyone bows to the Reaper. Plus it would be cool to wear all black and carry a big scythe. Yes, I'm still a goth at heart, lol.

What was the first piece of writing you were ever truly proud to have written?

I was about nine or ten when I started writing my first lengthy pieces of fiction. I wrote a fanfiction story based around my favorite Saturday morning cartoon, "Wildfire". It was a fantasy epic in which a herd of magical horses had to team up with their human friends to stop an army of evil dragons. It took me three months to write, and was over a hundred pages long. I still have it in a box in the back closet. I suppose it could be considered my first novel. Funny...I was so proud of it, but I never showed it to anyone.