One thing about me that will never ever change is my love for reading books – and then fangirling about them and the authors who create them.
But every true fangirl knows that it’s more fun to fangirl with others.
Since Wednesday is the time to shout out our Woman Crushes, I’ve decided to make this Wednesday a special #WCW – Author Edition. I will be sitting down with fellow authors and talking books, words, and other random things (because I am who I am lol).
I’m kicking off the inaugural chat with one of my FAVORITES, Ginger Scott.
Not only is Ginger the author of some of my most favorite books, but she’s also an incredible human being. I’m so honored to have her featured today and I will be talking about some of her books on my Instagram throughout the week.
Without further ado, let’s welcome Ginger!
Thanks for chatting with me, Ginger. I thought we could start the conversation talking about the obvious… WRITING.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
GS: When I was in third or fourth grade, I did a book spotlight for our library’s local access cable channel. It was on Judy Blume’s Super Fudge series, which I was a huge fan of. A woman from the local paper came to interview me, and I thought she had a pretty cool job (because she had a very nice pen and this long, skinny notepad that she scribbled on while I talked). I thought maybe I could do something like that when I grew up. Fast forward a few years to pre-teen me. I was in a Goodwill with my grandmother and looking at the books, and I discovered a chapter book by Judy Blume titled “Forever.” We bought it for a quarter. I took it home and read it in a night, staying up and reading by the light of my digital clock. It was the first book I read for teens about teens that was authentic and real. I decided in that moment that I wanted to be those women, to write real stories, fact and fiction. I graduated with a journalism degree, worked for several papers and magazines, and when I finally conquered my fear of sharing my fiction, I made the switch and my life has been forever changed.
What comes first, the plot or characters?
GS: It is different for every story. For my Waiting series, my heroine, Nolan Lennox, came first. She was clear as day and guided every turn of all three books. The same happened for Wild Reckless and Owen Harper. I had this little boy in my head who witnessed something horrific and I just kept worrying about what that would do to him, and I imagined him growing up and carrying the weight of it all as a teenager. For other stories, though, like Cowboy, Villain, Damsel, Duel, the plot drove everything. That book more than any I’ve written, really. It’s twisty and strange, and the story itself is almost a character.
Where is your favorite place to write?
GS: Outside, either at a baseball field or on my back patio. There is something about the Arizona air, the breeze in the shade, the birds chirping. It all feeds my creativity.
Do you prefer writing in silence or to music?
GS: A little bit of both. Sometimes I just have to have quiet. Some scenes call for still concentration and I need to go there in my head and live in the scene and moment. Any sound can be distracting. I always use music to form my mood, though. I do a lot of my plotting to music while I walk, and I make a playlist for every book. I have a few go-to bands and musicians that feel like my voice, too. The National and Greg Laswell show up on a lot of my playlists.
How do you come up with the titles to your books?
GS: What a great question! More often than not, the title is the first thing that comes to me. Sometimes even before the characters. I usually have a faint idea of the plot in my head and words will start to form. Hold My Breath just felt like the perfect marriage for speed swimmers, and Memphis had the right feel for both a title and a character, and I don’t think my boxing book could be anything but that. The Hard Count came along with the plotting. Everything about my hero’s life was challenging—hard. But he was so good and so strong, and the hard count in football is one of those things that, when done well, is a game changer. Nico Medina, my main character in that book, is the exact type of quarterback and human who can change games.
THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT GINGER
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
GS: Anything baseball. Watching my son play, playing myself, shopping for new gloves. Baseball, always.
What was your dream job when you were younger?
GS: I’m living it.
Share something your readers wouldn’t know about you?
GS: I sing some mean karaoke covers of Rihanna’s Stay and Love on the Brain.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GINGER & HER BOOKS, CHECK OUT HER SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor/
Twitter: @TheGingerScott
IG: https://www.instagram.com/authorgingerscott/
Website: www.littlemisswrite.com
Amazon page: amazon.com/author/gingerscott
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ginger-scott
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
GS: Ummmm, let’s go with 20 (lol). I have several shorts and novellas too. My answer to this changes a little sometimes, depending on the mood, but more often than not, I feel that The Hard Count is my favorite and most special book I have ever written.
Who is your favorite character that you have written? If so, who? And what makes them special.
GS: This answer also changes depending on my mood. Right now, where I am in life, I feel very rooted to my first character, Nolan Lennox, a girl with a boy’s name in love with the hometown hero. I have a teenager, and whether you’re a girl or a boy, the things that have to be navigated in those hard years shape you. Nolan was both shaped and helped shaped others. Tomboy, soulful, forgiving, smart, and a growing self-confidence that she works for and earns. Today, I pick Nolan.
You’ve written in the YA, NA, and contemporary romance genres. Do you have a preference?
GS: My heart is always with coming-of-age stories. I think there is a little of that in all of the genres I write, even if my characters are older. But YA sings to my soul.
If you were to genre-hop, which genre would you most like to try?
GS: Fantasy! I dabbled in sci-fi fantasy with Cowboy, Villain, Damsel, Duel and goddamn was it fun!
If you had to recommend one of your books to a new reader, which would you recommend?
GS: I usually tell people to begin with This Is Falling. I think that story is the most representative of me and my voice and the stories I like to tackle. My work can get grittier and more heartbreaking or it can get lighter with humor, but it’s almost always centered on something very real.
The Scoop on
VARSITY HEARTBREAKER
Can you share something about your current book that isn’t in the blurb?
GS: Second-chance, enemies-to-lovers, high school Indiana football
Are there any secrets from the book, you can share with readers?
GS: Some really hard things to overcome
Do you write listening to music? If so, what music inspired or accompanied this current book?
GS: I do, or at least plot to music.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J9gHk6fsC6zBGs9DaDpOn?si=J9U_mEmRQ2OIsRpaGmoBfQ
What is the future of the characters? Will there be a sequel?
GS: They are in their senior year of high school and facing big decisions about who they are and where they will be, and what they are willing to let go of.
If you had to describe the main character in THREE words, what would those three words be?
GS: Brave, Determined, Honest
If your book was going to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
GS: Millie Bobby Brown and Hero Fiennes
AUTHOR CRUSHING
Who is your favorite author and why?
GS: I’m cheating and picking three…
Judy Blume. She is the queen of coming-of-age honesty, and my inspiration.
Stephen King. Nobody builds a character and writes youth better.
Curtis Sittenfeld. She is not afraid of taking her characters into the painful and the uncomfortable, and she is just as ok leaving them there. It’s brave.
Who is the author you most admire in your genre?
GS: Katie McGarry. Her books touch on all five senses, and make powerful statements.
Favorite book when you were a kid?
GS: Forever by Judy Blume and The Outsiders.
Favorite book you’ve read as an adult?
GS: The Night Circus. This book is the reason I want to tackle fantasy some day.
What famous author do you wish would be your mentor?
GS: Judy. Always Judy.
BEFORE I LET YOU GO, HOW ABOUT A RAPID FIRE ROUND?
Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or a room full of spiders?
Oh man. I guess spiders. I feel like I’m bigger and have a shot.
Would you rather have an endless summer or an endless winter?
Endless summer.
Would you rather always be an hour early or be constantly twenty minutes late?
Always an hour early. Makes me anxious to be late.
Tea or Coffee
Tea
Coke or Pepsi
Coke
Toilet Paper: Over or Under
Given the times, any way I can get it.
Morning Person or Night Owl
Night Owl
Share a link to a favorite song
Byegone by Volcano Choir
https://open.spotify.com/track/6MMojjMFcyv3btdSXFGeYc?si=Rnpr7whjSNedmNGImjMmww
