Multi-Talented Author Holly Huntress Talks Books, Inspiration, & Beating Imposter Syndrome

Our July author is Holly Huntress.

Holly Huntress is a self-published author. She has written five books and has two currently published on Amazon. The first book, Haunting Memories, is currently unavailable because it is being revamped in preparation for a sequel! In the meantime, her Broken Angel series is available, with the third and final book Forsaken Angel, being released August 2nd. 

If you would like to purchase Holly’s book, Broken Angel, you can find a copy here.

Tell us a little about your writing journey.

I started writing formally my sophomore year of high school. It was after I read the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer that I realized I wanted to write my own book. I never really thought it would go anywhere, but it was something I enjoyed and helped me to escape the real world. 

I didn’t end up self-publishing until college, I believe it was my junior or senior year. I used the Barnes and Noble publishing site, but have since switched to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. 

After college, I spent a lot of time wondering what I wanted to do with my English degree, and realizing it was a hard field to get into with little to no experience, so I did what I knew best - I turned to writing.

Was there a certain point you remember where you felt empowered to call yourself a writer? Or have you always felt like you were a writer?

It took me a while to call myself a writer, but more specifically an author. Even after I had self-published Haunting Memories, I called myself an “aspiring author,” which is crazy because I had already written and published a book - what more did I need to do? Once I started connecting with other authors on social media, I came to realize that I was holding myself back. 

For me, I felt I wasn’t a “real” author because I hadn’t been traditionally published. So, seeing all these other self-published authors on social media and realizing I wasn’t alone in not being able to become traditionally published made me understand that self-publishing is just as valid. 

It wasn’t until last year that I was finally able to say “I’m an author” instead of aspiring or want-to-be. 

Where did the idea or inspiration for Haunting Memories come from?

As the first book I wrote, a lot of the inspiration came from my life. I started the book in high school, so the setting is based on the town I lived in, and the people I went to school with. Obviously the premise of the book was something I made up, and I don’t know what exactly drew me to the idea of a murder mystery, but it just kind of flowed out of me. My uncle was a police officer at the time so I asked him about some of the logistics of an investigation, so that was interesting to learn about. 

The original Haunting Memories I wrote was from only the main character, Zac’s perspective. I added in later the perspective of the murder victim leading up to the day of her death. What spurred this decision was that I had started writing another book very similar to Haunting Memories and realized I was just writing the other perspective that HM had been missing. It’s interesting how as we write, the shape of our story can drastically change.

Your book, Haunting Memories, is a murder mystery, but also deals with memory loss and love. How did it feel to write about such serious topics from younger perspectives?

It was a lot of fun. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to talking about more difficult topics, even in high school when I began writing HM. I think having started the book so young, it helped me to write from that age perspective more accurately. I wrote as I wished my high school experience could have been (minus the murder). 

That’s also part of the reason why I’m in the process of re-editing it now, though, because my writing skills have grown so much over time, that HM doesn’t quite match the quality I’ve come to expect from my own writing.

The book has several prominent voices for different main characters, which is something I love in books. How did you balance writing through the various unique voices? Did you enjoy writing one character’s sections more than the others?

Honestly, I loved writing from both perspectives, which isn’t always the case for me. From the moment I began writing, I never hesitated when it came to writing a male main character. For some reason, it just seemed natural, even though I’ve obviously never lived that experience. 

When it came to writing Alana’s side of the story, it was harder simply because I knew her fate, it’s the whole point of the book. Every chapter I wrote brought her closer to that fate, and there were some moments where I wanted to change the ending and let her live - but that wasn’t the story I was writing. Sometimes, we don’t have a choice in the matter. 

As for being able to go between the voices, it wasn’t much of an issue for me, since I wrote Zac’s story first. I hadn’t planned on adding in Alana’s perspective, but it really rounded out the book and made it so much better.

Describe your writing and/or creative process. 

Whenever I have an idea for a story, I do an unorganized info dump in a notebook, just to make sure I remember the idea as it was when it first came to me. Then I try to flesh it out a bit. I start with looking at the main characters, then I move on to the plot and setting. Sometimes I know where I want the story to go, sometimes I don’t. I like to have some idea though, because I like to write books in a series and being able to connect them together is really important. 

After that initial part, I just write. I am someone who likes to write in order, I don’t skip around too much. However, if I get really stuck on a certain scene, I’ll skip it if there is something I’m really excited to write that comes after. It helps keep me moving along. Sometimes I fall into writing slumps where I don’t work on my book for a month or longer, and it’s hard to break out of that. When I do, it’s like coming home to my characters.

What was your biggest writing obstacle and how did you overcome it?

Definitely imposter syndrome. I STILL have a hard time hyping up my own books. There's a part of me that doesn’t want people to read my books because I don’t want them to not like the stories. I’m not afraid of bad reviews, just that people will think less of me if they don’t like my writing. 

I’m slowly overcoming this fear, and it definitely helps that I see improvements in my own writing since I wrote my first book. Being able to see that for myself makes me realize that I am a good writer! (It makes me cringe to say that - I should be able to say it loud and proud! Someday!)

What is the part of your published work or writing process you are most proud of?

Putting myself out there and self-publishing. Also, starting to put myself out there in the form of marketing my books. I never thought I’d be comfortable making videos and sharing them with the world, but I do it all the time now!

Do you have any new writing projects in the works? If so, would you tell us a little about them?

Yes, and I am super excited about them all! I mentioned earlier that I’m working on a sequel to Haunting Memories, but I'm also working on a new high fantasy series. I have the first book done - it just needs to be edited and then sent to beta readers. 

I also have a dark fiction book (possibly another series) that I started where the main character is male again, so I’m excited to be back writing in that field.

What do you want the world to know about you as an author?

I’m not a genre specific author. Even though I write mostly fantasy at the moment, I write whatever strikes me at the time. Fantasy is a lot of fun, but I keep having the urge to go back to teen romance/fiction. I never know what I’ll write next!

What’s the biggest piece of advice you would give to aspiring writers?

Don’t let fear hold you back. This goes with every part of the writing process. Starting to write, continuing to write, putting your book out in the world, marketing your book, etc. 

Someone out there will love your writing. Don’t write because you have to, do it because you love it. Otherwise, it’s no fun and you’ll resent it after a while. 

What would you say to someone who’s thinking about writing a book, but isn’t quite sure if they can?

You can do it! It’s so much fun once you sit down and start writing. All of the logistic stuff comes later - so don’t worry about it while you write. Just have fun and start writing. 

There are so many awesome people who can support you now, thanks to social media. Get on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok - wherever you feel comfortable - and start connecting! I have met so many great people this way and that’s also how I find my beta readers and editors. 

If you would like to purchase Holly Huntress’s book, Broken Angel, you can find a copy here.

If you would like to purchase Holly’s book, Condemned Angel, you can find a copy here.

If you would like to purchase Holly’s book, Forsaken Angel, you can find a copy here.

If you know an author (or of an author) you would love to read an interview with, email me at rachel@capturingyourconfidence.com or submit a suggestion here.