“Ever since I started seriously writing novels, I’ve held this vision of myself sitting in the airport surrounded by family and friends getting ready to jet off to some exciting locale.”
-Gina Hooten Popp
A member of the Writers’ League of Texas for two years, Gina lives in Dallas.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Gina Hooten Popp: Historical Fiction and Literary Fiction
Scribe: What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
GHP: Coffee drinks with Stephen King and Sandra Brown. (These two writers kind of remind me of each other in that they have a unique perspective on the way the world works. I’d also buy them pastries and then just sit back and let them do all the talking.)
And, an icy-cold beer with Hemingway. (We could talk about things like how hard it is to write simply before we started posting six-toed cat photos to his Facebook page.)
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
GHP: Obviously, the Bible would give me hope and inspiration in my desperate situation. Plus, it has some good stories in it. I’d say to myself, “Oh, look at Job, Joseph, David and Daniel, they made it out of a bad situation.” And, if I didn’t make it off the island, I think the thought of an afterlife would be very comforting.
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
GHP: A few years back when I was first starting out as a writer, I was a finalist in the Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest, and it changed my perception of what it would take to make it in the industry. I met many quality agents, authors and publisher types at the award show that year and they challenged me to go back and try even harder. For the first time I felt I could make it as an author.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
GHP: I would like to travel all over the world meeting people through book signings, interviews and speaking engagements. Nothing makes me happier than to sit down and talk with people who’ve read my books and hear what they have to say about them and about their own lives. Also, I think international travel would inspire me to write new and different stories. This may sound funny, but ever since I started seriously writing novels, I’ve held this vision of myself sitting in the airport surrounded by family and friends getting ready to jet off to some exciting locale. It never hurts to dream big.
Scribe: Here at the Writers’ League, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one Texas-related book that has come out within the past year that you couldn’t put down?
GHP: New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas came out with a new book named Ransom Canyon late last summer. I love the first two lines – “Staten Kirkland lowered the brim of his felt Resistol as he turned into the wind. The hat was about to live up to its name.” I’ve read her books for years and I love their Texas-inspired themes. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the series – Rustler’s Moon and Lone Heart Pass.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world?
GHP: An opportunity for blatant self-promotion! I’m about to publish The Emigrant’s Song, a short story, in a few weeks. It’s a prequel to the novels The Storm After and Lucky’s Way in my Winds of Change series. Also, I’m closing in on finishing Chico Boy, a literary fiction tale set in the late 1970 about two teens who witness a murder. It sounds serious, but it’s actually kind of humorous. That’s about it for now.
One more thing, I love to connect with other writers, so please visit me at https://www.facebook.com/ginahootenpoppauthor or (twitter) @gina_popp.
