Written by: The Editors
Image Source: @AprilHillWriting
The October issue’s theme, ‘Bold & Beautiful’ seeks to bring out the stories of those women who attained their dreams and passions by taking the brave steps necessary to make those visions come true. One such person is April Hill: a renowned poet and microfiction author. With her famous persona of an adorable doodle ghost, April Hill Writing is all about creating poetry out of emotions and states of mental health which leave the reader feeling like they are not alone. With her latest book, ‘This Is Where The Sadness Ends’ April successfully spins gold (and poetry) out of complex feelings, trials and successes. You can read more of her published work in her books, ‘Hold This When You’re Scared‘, ‘Thoughts on Love’ and her debut publication ‘A Slow Fall Into Weirdness’, all of which are available on Amazon.
Earlier this month, April graciously agreed to be featured in The Riptide Magazine’s featured interview for October. She answered the editors’ questions with patience and enthusiasm. Read the full interview below.
Q. Everyone has a ‘Why’ behind their story of becoming what they are. Describe your ‘Why’, and tell us about how you decided that writing was your calling.
“I decided to start writing because I needed a way to get the thoughts out of my head. I was wrapped up in so much thought and writing was an easy way to calm the worries and anxieties, I tried to hide it for a long time. Someone finally read something I wrote and they resonated with it and I realized if one person was able to connect with my ideas then maybe some more people would.”
Q. There is a consistent presence of a ghost throughout your work. What inspired that, and what does it represent?
“The ghost represents many things. A symbol of everything that I fear. Also a means of covering up my identity and staying anonymous. Instead of just wearing a mask I wanted to write from a place that disregarded class, age, sex, race, and any other label. I wanted this to be something that people could see themselves in and connect with.”
Q. Does your anonymity impact your work in any way? How, do you think, would your writing differ if your identity were public?
“My anonymity definitely impacts my work and makes the creative process ten times harder. First of all, I love the spoken word, I love music and lyrics and I can’t use my own physical voice when creating with April Hill Writing. That adds a creative block right off the start. Also, everything I have written in the past almost seven years has not included a label, I know that doesn’t seem like a big issue to most people but we use labels a whole heck of a lot in writing and in society. It definitely makes the subject matter harder to harness but I wanted to start a new way of thinking, challenge myself, and now it has become second nature to me and hopefully my readers.”
Q. Every writer has a process, and perhaps even a way of deciding what they choose to write about. How do you decide what you’d write about? Where do you look for inspiration?
“I always say I don’t write anything. I have a little voice in my head filled with worries, anxieties, and unsurieties, and I just personify it, give it a pen, and listen closely. All of my fears and worries are turned into words and I just add a picture and share it with people who might be afraid of the same things.”
Q. What would you say is the first thing people who are new to your writing should read? Can you recommend a few to us?
“If I had my druthers, I would love people to read my newest book. It is called, This Is Where The Sadness Ends, and it took a lot for me to put that book together. An interesting part of writing in a social media age is while posting and creating art for an online world, you also catalog a portfolio of pieces you love even more for your books. I hope people can take the time to give them all a read because they all serve a purpose and have a perspective.”
Q. Congratulations on ‘This Is Where The Sadness Ends’ being in Amazon’s Top 10! How would you describe your journey to being published? For those of our readers who haven’t read the book, what would you say it’s about? And how is it different from ‘A Slow Fall Into Weirdness’ and ‘Thoughts on Love’?
“Writing is like any exercise or lesson, or skill, you don’t just get better with time but you adapt and learn how to do things differently to make the process better. I just love creating things and making new things every day and being able to make this book has been an incredible lesson in growth regarding where I want to see my work go next and what I value in the content that I produce. I like writing about sadness, anxiety, and fears because it is a taboo subject that nobody really talks about. Putting it in these little love notes to people’s brains makes it so that people can feel a little closer to themselves.”
Q. What advice would you give to your past self (when you were starting out)? And what would you say to those women around you who wish to be writers, too?
I want people to do whatever they want to do. Obviously, success is going to look like a million different things to a million different people, but as long as your dream doesn’t hurt anybody and you can still make enough money to survive, focus on that thing you wanted to try. When I started I couldn’t draw, now I consider myself an artist. When I began writing it was lyrics and thoughts and now people call it poetry. Things will just get better with the amount of time you put into them and if they don’t, at least you tried to do something good with your day.
Q. We know from ‘Superhero’ that #1 on your To-Do List is to “save the world”. We’re curious to know what #2 is.
“I would say #2 would be rest and repeat.”
To read more such interviews, click on The World.