Interview with author Ginna Moran
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a dreamer, creator, slightly shy wishful thinker who spends a good portion of the day hanging out in my own head. I refuse to believe I’m thirty when I feel like I’m twenty and can live off chocolate and coffee ice cream. I’m also the author of eleven books, mostly YA paranormal romance, but my upcoming release, If This Was a Movie, is the first book in my YA contemporary romance Falling into Fame series.
2. How long have you been writing?
I started off writing angsty poetry when I was 12 or 13 years old, and after graduating high school and during my first semester of college, I wrote my first unpublished full length novel. It was quite terrible and will never see the light of day, but it sparked my passion for writing, and I haven’t looked back since.
3. Tell us about your books.
I write a little bit of everything in YA—from star-crossed lovers in my Destined for Dreams and Finding Nate companion series, a little devilish demon hunter in my Demon Within series, and now a girl trying to figure out how to navigate the gritty world of Hollywood in my upcoming Falling into Fame series. Later this year, you can also dive into the magical world of mermaids in my Spark of Life series. If you like some romance, some butt-kicking, save-the-world or save-the-day, and figuring out what you want in the world in your YA, you can find it in any of my books.
4. Do you have a certain writing process or routine?
I’m a night owl and write after eleven P.M., probably because that’s when everyone in my house is asleep. I don’t outline and only plot in my head as I go, talking through things with my critique/writing partner. I always re-read the last chapter before writing the next, and after I complete a first draft, I let it sit for months before I start revisions. I also always work on two projects at once—a WIP and another one in various stages of editing.
5. Who has been your favorite character to write so far? Least favorite?
This is a tough question! I love every one of my characters for specific reasons. I’ll try to narrow it down. I loved writing Cami Anders because she was the most surprising character to me, but she was also one of the hardest characters to write. If you ever read my Demon Within series, I put her through Hell and felt bad for her a lot of times.
I also loved writing Nora Novak from my upcoming novel, If This Was a Movie, because I relate to her the most. Her story came from one of the most trying times in my life where I found myself unexpectedly in Beverly Hills, CA for an extended stay while my husband had to rebuild our lives in Austin, Texas after life threw us a curve ball.
As for my least favorite characters—there are two. I despise Nora’s stepmom in If This Was a Movie and another character named Trent Wood from a novel to be released later this year.
6. Did you always know that you wanted to be an author?
No, actually. I spent three years of college focusing on Psychology and Sociology. I changed my major to Literature and Writing after I did freelance fragrance reviews for a small tech company in San Diego, CA. After writing a few more novels since my terrible first one, I became serious about publishing, and then after having my daughter and leaving work, I took the initiative with guidance from my mother-in-law, a cross-over published author, and haven’t looked back since.
7. Do you have another job or do you write full time?
I do a lot of freelance work alongside my writing while being a stay-at-home mom.
8. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Try not to be too hard on yourself. It’s easy to let self-doubt get the best of you, but you are your worst and hardest critic. Of course, that’s easier said than done haha. Just remember you’re not alone in your self-doubt. Also, here’s some practical advice—back up everything. There’s nothing worse than having your computer crash and losing a precious manuscript because you forgot to back it up.
9. What genre do you like to read?
I tend to stick to everything within young adult, but I occasionally read adult paranormal, contemporary romance, and I’m currently beta reading a romantic comedy.
10. What do you like to do in your spare time?
Paper crafts! Making cards, origami, etc. Also, I’ve started bookstagramming and enjoy staging books and photography. I love computer design as well. Recently, I’ve taken up painting with watercolors.
11. Are you working on anything right now?
I never stop writing unless I’m on vacation, and even then, I still don’t stop. Currently, I’m working on an untitled YA mystery with supernatural elements to be released in 2018. It’s pretty twisted and my MC is unpredictable, but I love it. Also, I just got back the first book of my upcoming mermaid series from my proofreader and will be starting on the last read-through.
About the Author
Ginna Moran is the author of the several young adult series, including the Falling into Fame, Demon Within, Destined for Dreams, and Finding Nate series. She lives in Austin, Texas but is originally from Southern California.
She started writing poetry as a teenager in a spiral notebook that she still has tucked away on her desk today. Her love of writing grew after she graduated high school and she completed her first unpublished manuscript at age eighteen.
When she realized her love of writing was her life’s passion, she studied literature at Mira Costa College in Northern San Diego. Besides writing young adult novels, she was senior editor, content manager, and image coordinator for Crescent House Publishing Inc. for four years.
Aside from Ginna’s professional life, she enjoys binge watching television shows, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, anything that glitters, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf.
Ginna is currently hard at work on her next novel.
Thank you so much Ginna Moran for stopping by and chatting with us.
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If This Was a Movie by Ginna Moran
Release Date: May 9, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Everyone’s someone with a good enough headline.
When seventeen-year-old Nora Novak’s father dies and she discovers he cut her from his will, she finds herself in an unbearable situation with a woman who can only be described as a step-monster. Struggling to put together the pieces of her shattered life, Nora moves from Austin, Texas to Beverly Hills, California to live with her aunt in hopes of a fresh start.
After a silly T-shirt sparks a conversation with Eli Evans, an up-and-coming teen celebrity heartthrob, Nora is swept into the dazzling limelight of Hollywood. But beneath the glitz and glamour of fame lies a world where even the most innocent stories are twisted for a great headline.
As secrets from Nora’s past emerge in the tabloids, she must challenge the most ruthless paparazzi in order to hold onto her relationship with Eli and salvage what’s left of her reputation—or return to a life where she’s just another nameless face amid the masses.
Excerpt:
I hear the snap of the camera before I see the man, the one with the professional equipment, standing next to the fake, white painted tree in the alcove of the bakery.
“Hey, sweetheart, you dating Elijah Rousseau?” the man asks.
My heart pounds in my ears, and I clutch the white paper bag to my chest without answering him.
He rushes ahead of me and then walks backwards so he’s facing me, aiming his camera in my face. “Don’t be shy. I heard he had a mystery girlfriend. What’s your name?”
I keep my eyes trained on the ground. “Please, just leave me alone. You might miss an opportunity of getting a great shot of Hadley. I’m no one.”
He laughs. “Everyone’s someone with a good enough headline.” He snaps another photo, and I glower at him.
A good enough headline? Is he for real? If he doesn’t leave soon, my headline’s going to read, Mystery Girl Throws Bag of Pastries in Man’s Face.
I ignore him, covering my face. He takes another photo. I don’t know how celebrities do it. Taylor and I used to love looking at pictures of celebrities doing ordinary things, like leaving the gym or pumping gas, but now I feel bad about it. This sucks.
A horn blares as Eli stops in the middle of the street, ignoring the honks echoing from behind him. “Come on, Nora!”
I dash toward the Range Rover without a second glance at the man with the camera, who captures every second of my departure. Eli hits the gas and rolls through the empty intersection, ignoring the stop sign.
I lean back in the seat, clutching my bag of desserts to my chest. I let out a breath. “You gave him my name.”
Eli curses. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
I slouch in my seat. “I guess it was bound to happen at some point.”
He reaches over and clasps my hand. “It shouldn’t have gotten out from me, though. I’m sure it’ll go public by tomorrow.”
I bring his hand to my lips and kiss his knuckles. “Maybe we should make it less of a story.”
His eyes sparkle. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“Better us than them.”
“This is why I love you, you know.” He smirks after he says the words, nearly melting me into a puddle on the floor.
“You do?”
He rubs his thumb under his chin, keeping his eyes on the road. “Yeah.”
, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries
for Berkley Prime Crime, and Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne. She additionally writes the Superstition Mysteries
for Midnight Ink. Her latest cozy mystery series, the Barkery and Biscuits Mysteries
are also from Midnight Ink.
