The Grimm Chronicles Book Tour - Christine Haggerty

Christine Haggerty, Author of The Grimm Chronicles

Christine Nielson Haggerty grew up in rural Utah with three brothers, a sister, several chickens, a goat, and an outhouse. She always loved the escape of fantasy and the art of writing, and her passion for life is to craft stories of strength and survival.

As a former high school language arts teacher and a black belt in karate, Christine has found a niche in combining those skills to help authors write effective fight scenes.

An award-winning young adult author, she is now launching her dark fantasy fairytale novella series The Grimm Chronicles.

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About the Book

When Maddie's father catches her with a boy, he hauls her into town in a pig wagon and finds her a husband. But Peter's cabin in the woods promises something very different than Maddie's happily ever after.

Pretty Things, a retelling of "The Robber Bridegroom," is the first novella in the Grimm Chronicles series. Warning: not your granny's fairytales!

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An Interview with Christine

What are your goals as an author? Where do you see yourself in five years?

My goal as an author is to write more and more and more. I feel successful as long as I have a reason to write another story.

What is the biggest obstacle you face as an author and what do you do to overcome it?

The biggest obstacle I face is sheer time. Writing is a very time-consuming endeavour and requires quite a balancing act with the rest of life. I hold myself to pretty high standards as well, and I often have to remind myself that it’s one word at a time.

Does your family support you in your writing, or are you on your own?

My family has been an amazing support to my career. My kids loving having my around the house more than when I worked a salaried job, and my husband has been willing to adjust so that we can afford for me to build a new career.

What do you enjoy to do aside from writing?

I am a black belt in Shotokan, a traditional Japanese karate. I enjoy training and I enjoy helping authors with their fight scenes. I’ll be presenting at the Authors Combat Academy in Nashville in April.

What is the harshest criticism you've ever received as an author?

I haven’t had any criticism that I considered too harsh. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not because I figure that just means it’s still coming. As a general rule, I don’t focus on my reviews or stats—I spend my energy on the next story.

What is the best compliment you've ever received as an author?

Somebody read the whole thing. :)

What is your writing process?

I am an outliner. I like to separate all parts of the process, so I prewrite (dream), draft, revise, and edit as all separate events in creating a story. It took me the last year to find all that out, but I’ve discovered that in the end I write more that way.

Do you ever base your characters on people you know?

My characters are always influenced by people I know, and even people I don’t know. I love to people watch in malls and at the airport, and even at restaurants. The best way to fill a creative pool for stories is to be out living life.

What are you working on now?

I’m finishing up my next fairy tale novella, a version of “Hansel and Gretel,” and I’m also polishing up my punctuation on the second book in my young adult dystopian series, The Plague Legacy:Assets, which will release April 9.

Have you ever gotten an idea for a story from something really bizarre? Tell us about it.

I have a story idea that came from a documentary about jellyfish. It’s on my list of books to write this year.

What was the hardest part about writing your latest book?

The hardest part of my latest full-length novel was settling into my own writing process. I spent the better part of the year trying to skip parts of the process and jut get to the story drafting part, but I’ve discovered that I get farther faster if I spend time on all the parts of the process individually.

I'd like to thank Christine for taking the time to answer my questions. It's been great getting to know her a little more. I hope you will help support her by visiting her links, following and buying her book!