Interview with A.G. Stoll IV

On April 4th, one of our Miss Lit self-published author came out with her second book, Flattened. It was originally written on Miss Literati under her account, AtlanticAngel, as well as the first book of the series, Dare Me Not.

 

I was fortunate enough to interview her in time to upload it on the day of her book coming out. :D

 

Question One: Your second book, Flattened, is being published today! I bet you’re excited. How are you going to congratulate yourself?

 

Probably a lot of screaming. Definitely some jumping up and down. XD But I’m going to congratulate myself by starting a new book! I’ve been editing and revising and editing and revising for months! I can’t wait to jump straight back into writing again!

 

Question Two: Do you believe that Miss Literati was your stepping stool for your writing career? If so, why?

 

Definitely! I’ve made a lot of friends on this website (quick shout out to TLOSC!) who gave me suggestions and helped me through all the blocks. Without them, Flattened would most likely still be in the works.

 

Question Three: How did you know that your first book, Dare Me Not, was “the one” that would be published?

 

Actually, I wasn’t quite sure back then. XD I was playing around on a self-publishing website, and ended up making the cover and description for Dare Me Not. I feel in love with everything (especially the cover!) and ended up publishing. =D

 

Question Four: The cover pictures of your novels are beautiful! How did you decide on those pictures?

 

My friend actually took them! I’ve always loved her photography, and I happened to stumble upon a picture of the sunrise after Hurricane Sandy, and I knew it was the one for Dare Me Not. When I began looking for cover pictures for Flattened, I already had one in mind. The picture of the cross comes from after Hurricane Irene. After all the destruction on the beaches, that cross seemed to be the only item standing. <3

 

Question Five: Many writers realize some point in their middle of their story that the pace slowed down. Does this happen to you? If it does, how do you overcome it?

 

It actually didn’t happen until the middle/endish part of the book. But I honestly think that a writer has this instinct that they know what story is the story that they’re supposed to be writing. I forced myself to keep going, and listened to lots of music. Thank goodness for Imagine Dragons and Of Monsters and Men!

 

Question Six: Many authors, like Jacquelyn Eubanks (who I’ve just interviewed not too long ago), stress the importance of second, third, and fourth drafts of novels. What’s your opinion on this?

 

Hmmmmmmmm. It definitely is important to edit and re-edit, and you definitely need at least a second draft. And even then, there was a section of Flattened that I rewrote at least five times.

 

Question Seven: How did you get help on your editing?

 

My grandmother helped me! And a bunch of teachers! I stayed after school a lot in order to figure out how to rewrite certain parts, and my grandmother and I met up quite a few times to discuss the draft. It was great to have an outside opinion, and I cannot stress this enough! Try to get someone that you aren’t particularly close to read what you’ve written. This means the person isn’t obligated to say that they love the story. (Which is absolutely okay! Everyone has their own opinions :D )

 

Question Eight: How did you come up with your pen name, A. G. Stoll IV?

 

XD I love explaining this. It’s actually a family name. My dad is August George Stoll III, and his father was the second. I’m a girl, so “August George” couldn’t exactly fly. I continued the name by using A.G. Stoll IV!

 

Question Nine: Like everyone else, your life is probably busy between school and family. What do you do when you need to squeeze extra writing in?

 

I basically hide out at my house on Saturdays! And I’m always writing things down on scraps of paper at school. (It keeps me from getting too bored XD)

 

Question Ten: This last question might be the easiest or the hardest question: Why do you love writing?

 

GAH! This is a hard question! I love it because I find myself to be pretty shy and have trouble expressing my feelings sometimes. Writing is a way to escape to another world and figure out how I feel. It helps to make sense of a lot of things, and I love bonding with my characters. (I literally never, ever, ever, ever, shut up out Alexander Hall! <3)

 

Well, there you have it! Her book is now out so make sure to pick up a copy of both Flattened and Dare Me Not on Amazon!

 

-Interview by Juniel