Imagine Blog Tour // Interview with Alexa Peterson!!!

    Hello, lovelies! Remember how I did a cover reveal for Teen Writers' Nook's anthology, Imagine, a few weeks ago? Well, Y'ALL. TOMORROW'S THE DAY. IMAGINE IS FINALLY BEING RELEASED!!!!!!

   Sooo, to help kick off this TOTALLY AWESOME EVENT that'll happen in T-minus 24 hours, I'll be interviewing one of the AMAZING, FANTABULOUS, authors featured in Imagine, Alexa Peterson!!!! But before we jump into that, here's some info for Imagine including a pre-order link! (Yep-o! You can go ahead and order the e-book RIGHT NOW. Of course, if you wait, you can normally order yeah, I don't know what the opposite of pre-order is XD an actual physical copy of Imagine tomorrow!)

Zee magical pre-order link!

It’s time to imagine…

Imagination.

Such a small word for such a huge impact it has. Every great story begins here—at that moment after the idea but before the story is completed. The spark. The vision. The idea that will expand into a story that clings to readers’ hearts for a lifetime. An author’s story is limited only by his imagination, and how far he is willing to go to breathe life into characters. To build the foundations of another world. To see the struggles and envision the victories. To search for the magic burning in the darkness.

Teen Writers’ Nook presents a collection of short stories and poems from talented young authors that will take you beyond the boundaries of your mind. From snarky protagonists to the tear-jerking sacrifice. From mystical fantasy worlds to indescribable sci-fi stories. Thrilling adventures, daring choices, inspiring messages, heartfelt romances, and everything beyond. Maybe—just maybe—these tales will have you journey past reality and to the depths of your imagination. Will you take the risk and embark through the pages of this book?

Featuring work from Alaine Darkwood, Alexa Peterson, Allie Jo Andersen, Chloe B. Christensen, Faith Elizabeth, Grace A. Johnson, Grey S. Park, Linyang Zhang, Lissa Johnson, Lorelei Angelino, Penelope Rugan, Selah Sigmon, Victoria Crooks, and V. L. Smith!

COMING SEPTEMBER 21 (A.K.A. TOMORROW)!!!!!!

    Anyway, let's get to the interview! Like I said, Alexa is one of the authors featured in Imagine and she wrote the INCREDIBLE short story "Sparks"!! (Mind you, I haven't actually read it yet, but I know it's gonna be FANTABULOUS anyway.) 😉I actually got to know Alexa earlier this year and YOU GUYS. She is one is one of the coolest, sweetest, and encouraging people EVER! This gal is such an inspiration in my life and always brings a smile to my face whenever we get in touch!!! So what are ya waiting for? If you don't know her already, hop on over to Alexa's blog HERE and say hi!

   Now, let the interrogation begin! *evil cackles* (Note: my questions will be bolded and Alexa's answers will be normal.)

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*clicks on a lone, flickering lightbulb in the middle of a dark room* Howdy, Alexa! (Wait, wait, wait...that's too chipper. Lemme try again.) *clears throat* Hello, Ms. Peterson. Thank you so much for joining me today. So, I heard you are going to be a published author tomorrow. Many congratulations on that. Due to some confidential files, I also know that you're working on your own novel right now. Is this the first time, however, that you’ve ever written a short story? If so, what was something you learned through the process?

*shifts in the cold, metal chair* Yes, this is the first time I’ve written a short story and...followed it through. I do have a lot of stories that are started, but I haven’t exactly finished them. For me, I’ve learned that short stories are almost harder to write than novels. (Call me weird if y’all want. XD) It’s just hard to summarize everything you want to say in such a small word limit, you know?

Oh yes. Being a writer myself (in addition to a self-proclaimed inspector and a few other...secret identities) I completely understand that. Now tell me, where did you get the inspiration for your short story? Was it a particular song, book, or something else? Was it even something...shady? *dramatic music plays in the background*

Maybe it was something shady…. *narrows eyes* *coughs* Believe it or not, it’s actually quite the opposite. Sparks is inspired by a LOT of things. One of those things is a Disney movie. (When you read it, see if you can guess which one...)

*leans forward and folds hands together* A Disney movie, eh? That's very interesting, indeed. Now I'm even more intrigued to read your story. What has been one thing you’ve learned after going through the process to be published in the Imagine Anthology?

Dang, this is a good question! *remembers that I’m being interrogated* *smothers any ounce of emotion* I’m going to have to say that I learned that no matter how awesome you think your story is, it still will need edits. And luckily for me, I had such a great gal going through my story and helping me find everything that I needed to improve on. 

That's a great reminder, Ms. Peterson. Humility is definitely something every author has to grow in on their writing journey. Can you give us a fun fact of something that happened during the writing and/or editing process? Perhaps, for example, you had an amusing typo? Was there a strange fact you had to search? How about the best edit you received? Anything like that?

Interesting fact, I’ve never written in present tense before. I usually prefer writing in past tense, but for Sparks, I felt like the present tense suited the story more.

I see...Stepping away from the topic of writing for a moment, is there anything else you like to do for fun besides crafting fictional worlds from your imagination?

*shifts in seat* *clears throat* When I’m not writing or reading (or working on homework ‘cause that’s what most of my days seem to be full of recently) I love to bullet journal, blog, rollerblade, and hangout with friends and family. Lately though, I’ve found an obsession of looking up book memes. Wait no, I’ve been watching Disney sing-along videos. XP *wonders if Inspector Crooks will mark this information in my files* 

Hehehehe...*writes this down in her files* XD Now, it appears there are many other aspiring young authors around the blogosphere. Do you have any words of inspiration or advice for them?

Ohh, I think one of the hardest things to remember as a writer is that you are good enough. I constantly find myself doubting my skills or worrying what others think. And yes, you will need to make improvements to your writing but always keep in mind YOU ARE PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE.

Ahhh, yes. It can be very hard to have self-confidence when writing. In fact, I think we both know that being a writer can be a very difficult activity in general. What is one of the toughest struggles you’ve had as a writer and how did you overcome it?

*swallows* I’ve struggled with finding motivation to write. And honestly, I don’t think I’ve overcome this problem yet. But I know that if you struggle to find the motivation to write, there’s only one thing that you can do. 

Write even more.

The struggle is real, Ms. Peterson. *nods in agreement* I believe we are also aware about how hard it is to be published sometimes. Regarding Imagine, is this your first time or have you ever been published before?

Yes ma’am, this will be my first time. 

That's quite exciting then! Personally, "Sparks" seems like a very interesting story. What was your favorite part of writing it and why?

I really loved writing in the realistic fiction genre. Most of the time, you can find me writing a fantasy novel about a protagonist who’s a broken assassin, but I liked switching things up a bit.

Oh, those broken assassins are hard to resist writing about, aren't they? *winks* Finally, what is one message you want readers to take away from your story?

YOU matter and you WILL change the world, no matter how small you feel. <33

That message is very touching. Well, I can't wait to read about it and your story soon!

Thank you very much, Inspector Crooks for this *cough* interrogation session. *nods briefly* 

*shakes your hand* You're quite welcome. Thank you for joining me in this very creepy room to be interviewed in an unnecessary, but entertaining way, Ms. Peterson. You are now dismissed and I hope you have a lovely day. 

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    *Dies* Y'all, I only used one exclamation point during that whole interrogation/interview. Lemme tell ya, that was a pain. XD But I must say, Alexa and I had WAAAAY too much fun with that. 😉

    Anyway, if you missed Alexa's blog tour stop, she interview me about my short story in Imagine, "To Risk the Truth", with the same questions on her blog! So if you wanna see my answers hop on over there and check it out HERE! Speaking of my story, I thought I'd also share a couple fun graphics I made plus one Issabelle Perry did for "To Risk the Truth" today!

There's the one Issabelle made!

This one is for my main character.


And this one is for another character!

    So, that's about it! If you wanna check out the rest of the Imagine blog tour stops here's a graphic with all of the links for the rest of the blogs and don't forget to head on over to Teen Writer's Nook for the Imagine release post!!!

Tally-ho!

ARE YOU NOT JUST EXCITED FOR IMAGINE TOMORROW!?!?! *squeals and jumps up and down* What did you think of the interview? Which of Alexa's answers were your favorite? Which graphic is your favorite? Have you pre-ordered Imagine yet? Let me know all about it down below!