OBS owner/reviewer Dawn is back with another great interview, this time with author H.L. Wampler and his book ‘The Last Grimm: Red’s Hood’, where they chat about fairy tales, her characters, upcoming projects, fun facts and more. Enjoy!

Read the review for ‘The Last Grimm: Red’s Hood’ here.

Dawn: Why did you choose to build a story around an established fairy tale?

H.L. Wampler: I love fairy tales. I was actually reading the original Little Red Riding Hood to my boys, and wondered what it would be like if the story were told in a more modern time. It just developed from there.

Dawn: You probably can’t answer this but I’ll give it a go. Is Connor as great as he seems?

H.L. Wampler: Oh he is. I mean he IS a fairy tale, so he’s everything a woman could ever want.

Dawn: I think it’s sad that Abby was never really parented. Will we learn more about that later on?

H.L. Wampler: Yes, in the second book I kind of delve into why her mom is an emotional basket case.

Dawn: What can we expect from the next installment?

H.L. Wampler: A few more big twists, Abby has some emotional turmoil going on that she deals with while trying to keep the world safe from the Evil Queen. I’m still debating if I kill anyone in the next one. I kind of want to, but not so sure who I would off.

Dawn: Tell us about your journey to get the book published.

H.L. Wampler: Once I finished I did a lot of research into traditional publishing and self-pubbing, I opted for self-pubbing when I read more and more that publishers weren’t super interested in fairy tale retellings anymore. I’m also SUPER impatient and did not want to wait another year or more for it to come out. From there it was a matter of getting it edited (which I had an awesome friend who helped out with that), finding the PERFECT cover, formatting, proofing, and a lot of uploading.

It has been hard. I’ve gotten a few not so stellar reviews, a lot of nitpicking about the story that got me really down. In fact, for a brief moment I completely unpublished the story. (It’s back on Amazon) It had me questioning my ability to write, BUT I realized not everybody is going to like my story or the way I write. In fact, I told a friend of mine I wasn’t writing anymore and that was that. She yelled at me. She demanded that I at least finish the Last Grimm series  because she’s hooked. So, I am.

Fun stuff:

• favorite color: Blue. I love the color blue. My Pens throwback jersey is blue, my phone case is blue, my new laptop is blue, my 3DS is blue…90% of my clothes are blue. Hell, even my eyes are blue!
• favorite place to write: At my writing desk in the office my husband and I share. It’s cute…we have a his and her working area. He does his web design stuff on one side, I do my writing on the other.
• favorite/inspirational teacher: My absolute most favorite teacher ever is Mr. Michael Rozell. He was my orchestra instructor from 3rd grade until about 11th grade. Even then he was always in his office at the back of the room. (The school district hired him some “help”) He is so patient, inspirational, and while I didn’t realize it then, he really sparked my fire for the arts. I still bust out my clarinet on occasion and play.
• favorite literary villain: Dracula! I LOVE Dracula. He’s such a tragic villain. All the poor man wants is to love, but ends up killing everyone. He’s doomed to spend eternity searching for something he can never have.
• favorite candy: Snickers candy bars. If they didn’t add 10 lbs to my hips every time I ate one, I’d live on em.

Thank you to author H.L. Wampler for a great interview!