This interview is with BrittTheBookSlayer, one of Wattpad's featured writers. She is the creative mind who gave us Life's a Witch and if you're not reading it, check it out.
Brittany is also the Managing Editor of American Cheerleader Magazine and she writes a wonderfully entertaining blog at brittanythebookslayer.blogspot.com.
Brittany is a really fascinating person and this interview is a true reflection of that. I highly enjoyed reading this and I hope you do, too.
Enjoy!
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1. Where did you grow up and what was the most important thing you learned about life from living there?
I grew up on an island in Washington in a town called Oak Harbor. I think the most important thing I learned about growing up there was that even though you might have a really difficult time growing up, it doesn't mean things won't get better. See, high school was not a fun time for me. I was teased, bullied, threatened. Guys weren't really interested in me, friends ditched me for no reason and I never felt like I fit in. Cheerleading was the only place where I had anyone around me that I felt had similar interests, but even then, I still felt like I never got that manual that everyone else got which told them how to be a happy teenager. So as you can see, I wasn't a big fan of that period in my life.
After high school though, I went on to college, then moved to NYC to work for a national magazine. Now, I've got an amazing group of TRUE friends who make me laugh and I never have to feel like I don't fit in. I've got an awesome (and hot) boyfriend, and a job that allows me to do what I love: write. So, surviving high school showed me that I can get through just about anything.
2. What did you want to be when you were little and did you make your dream come true? Are you still working on it?
I think, like most kids, I went through phases of what I wanted to be when I grew up. An Olympic gymnast. A teacher. A doctor. Famous. Not for anything in particular, I just thought I'd be famous one day (Ah, the American dream). But the one thing that I always wanted to do no matter what my day job was, was write books. I'd be a teacher who wrote books on the side. I'd be a doctor who wrote books in her spare time. I'd be famous...and then write a book about it. The writing part never changed over the years...only my day job did.
Today, I get to write at my day job (as managing editor at American Cheerleader magazine) and then I get to go home and write for me. I might not be famous (yet) for writing books, but I'm doing what I love, and ultimately, that's all I ever really wanted.
3. How supportive is your family of your writing and what do they think of it?
I was blessed with parents who believed it was more important to love what you do than to make a lot of money. There was never a time when my parents dissuaded me from wanting to write. In fact, a few years ago, my dad even confessed that he'd like to eventually write a book himself.
But my mom especially has always been my number one fan--despite the fact that she hates to read. Whenever I'm having a tough time dealing with the rejection that comes along with trying to get published, she always tells me, "It only takes one yes." She's never told me I couldn't achieve something.
4. What three words would those closest to you use to describe you and why?
Well, I just asked my boyfriend this question and initially he said awesome, hot and dorky. When I told him to be serious, he said: Caring, motivated and inquisitive. Caring because I genuinely want to help people, whether I know them or not, and I put other people's wants and desires before my own. Motivated because I'm dedicated to my field, to my art, to my writing, and won't back down in the face of adversity. Inquisitive because I'm interested in things outside my breadth of knowledge, and I read more books than any human being should. These are all his words...see why I love him?
