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Today we welcome GNF Author Shaina Cilimberg. Thanks for accepting our interview.
So Shaina, When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I wrote for fun on and off since eleven but I guess I was 13 when I first started to realize it.
How long does it take you to write a book?
It takes me a few months but then I have to edit and re-edit so that takes a few hours…then few months later i have to re-edit again.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
A few from personal experiences , from other people’s experiences, the internet, observation, TV, Movies, Music and Books
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Go to church, school, watch Bachelor/ette, watch Good Luck Charlie, watch Austin and Ally, watch xfactor. JESSE is also a funny show. Debby Ryan is so funny. I excerise and listen to music. I spend time with friends. I like fashion but I also like kicking around a soccer ball adn shooting hoops. I dress anywhere from trnendy, to punk alternative, to girl next door. I like thrift stores and other inexpensive stores. I prefer music that is deep and has meaning. I also like good guitars and drums in songs. However, I do like Justin Beiber, One Direction and Selena Gomez. I am a Demi Lovato fan, but her songs are probably in a different section of pop music. I like “Firewok” and “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry. I like some country. There was a country singer named Maxfield on Season Two of Glee Project and I like him. I also like Carrie Underwood. I like Christian rock groups such as Icon for Hire, Red, Skillet, Flyleaf, Tenth Avenue North, POD. I like Linkin Park’s old stuff-2010 and earlier. I also like The Fray and Parachute. I also like to play a little bit on my guitar once and a while. I sometimes try to play “Hero” by Superchik and “In Christ alone” on my guitar. It’s fun but writing is probably a better fit. If I had things my way, you could burst out in random song and dance without it being weird. They should make a “Random Dance and Sing” Holiday. If I were President, I’d totally invent it.
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I wrote a bunch of books since I was 13 and gone through lots of edits. Only two are online: “Crowded” and “Perfect Forgiveness” I have a very short non-fiction book called “Racing Bloodstream,” about a girl who rides horses.
Tell us about your most recent book.
Right now, I am working on my third book. It is about an orphaned girl with OCD and Asperger’s who falls in love with a boy who practically got a makeover during the summer. They also are in a band together. It also deals with their insecurity. My books deal with bullying. Even though the boys in my book recieve physical bullying, bullying does not always have to be physical. It can be verbal, emotional, mental and cyberbullying.
How can readers find you online?
- On twitter : @longhairrox
- https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Deep-River-High-Series/226787394036230
- http://authonomy.com/writing-community/profile/me/
- http://jesusfreak-ponderingsofanamusedwriter.blogspot.com/
Shaina has been writing since the age of eleven. She took Creative writing and journalism in 8th grade, journalism in 9th grade, creative writing in 11-12 grade. She is promoting her second book in the Deep River High Series- Perfect Forgiveness.
A last message from Shaina:
I write my books to bring people to and closer to God. I hope people read my books and discuss the characters. I want them to be able to relate. I wrote “Perfect Forgiveness” originally I thought it would be a good idea to write about. I did not want bullying to be the reason. I think bullying contributes to school shootings, but I think there are other factors that go along with it. Then, I decided to have one of the shooters actually shoot down the school because of bullying. The character fo Kirk is very sad and I hope you get to see the struggle throughout the book. He was kind of inspired by Santana High School Shooter Andrew Charles Williams. Also, I based it on the rumor that Dylan was more or less going along with Eric Harris in the Columbine shootings. Supposedly, Dylan Klebold let a guy go and Eric got mad. Another time, they were overheard aruging. Dylan wanted to stop adn Eric did not. I do not know if that was true or not. So, basically the other two shooters did it because they thought God wanted them to. Kirk shoots down the school because he was bullied and from a broken home.
Characters from Crowded make an appearence. Emily, Lydia and Josh befriend him, along with a new character. So, that adds more to Kirk’s struggle, including how he deals with what he’s done. Lydia is not quite as happy-go-lucky as she was in “Crowded.” Josh is not a jerk like he was in “Crowded.” Emily is more or less the same.