Meet Christina Hunter

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My name's Christina Hunter. I've been probably a, you'd say, a freelance writer since my first article was published in 1999. So I've been doing a lot of writing off and on- since then. I did decide to publish two romance novels in the 2000s. Mm-hmm. In, in between still doing random freelance work, and currently I have a essay printed in a recently published anthology. That's a, a overview of my writing. Awesome.

How Writing Started By Accident

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And then so you published two romance novels. What first drew you into writing, and what keeps you coming back to it? It was a pure accident. Let's see. It always did-- Writing was always good for me in terms of English class. Always got me good grades. And so in college was the same way. Then at the end of college, my last paper, which was a research paper, was about disabilities and the job hunting process. Because I do have a disability. I have a mild form of cerebral palsy, so I want to know what the next step was involved, and so the research paper let me do that. At the end of that period my professor, when reviewing the essay at the end of the semester, said, "You know, it's good enough. Maybe it should be published." And I thought that sounds cool." So, I was lucky enough that there was a magazine that accepted it. That was back in 1999. Two years later, a friend of mine in college, she introduced me to romance novels, and I then surpassed her in the number of romance novels that she's read. And so she moved away, came back, Or I'm sorry, she moved away and she and I kept in touch via email. And in the process of her phone, we decided to, Just write random romance novels via email. Long story short, at one point at the end of one of them that we were sending back and forth, my friend said, "Oh, you're really good at this. Maybe you should write a novel." And it was like another, okay." Yeah. So between, it was never a planned thing to be a writer. It was more like, "Oh, okay, I can do that." Yeah. So. That's awesome.

Why Romance Welcomes More Stories

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And I feel like romance has so many different styles and subgenres. Yes. So it's perfect for so many different people getting back into reading and things like that. Yes. It's a very welcoming genre- Yeah 'cause there's just so many, so much diversity, and not only of characters, but ideas and storylines. So yeah, I think it's awesome. Yeah. And then with romance novels- Mm what do you think makes it such a powerful way to explore human relationships- Mm and emotions? Mm-hmm. Well, I think love is a pretty basic human emotion. Mm-hmm. So I think that's the first attraction- Mm-hmm in the genre. But now especially, it's like the genre is open to so many ways of love. Yeah. Whether that's romantic love, there's a lot of family love within the, you know, romantic love stories. Mm-hmm. So many experiences. I know when I first started out, there were very few romance novels with people with disabilities. Mm-hmm. And I have found, especially in the last five years I would say, but overall over the years, that's really exploded. It's been more welcoming- Yeah and more dynamic of storylines. So it's very it's just an awesome genre. Yeah.

Librarian Life And Creative Influence

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Awesome. And you spent 20 years working as a librarian, correct? I did. Yeah. How did being surrounded by books, authors, and different readers influence you as a writer? Being a librarian is awesome because you're surrounded by all these books all the time. New books, old books books that open your mind to other things that you never expected 'cause you're just flipping through them or checking them in or checking them out. Um, and as you said, there's author programs, so you can meet authors. In my case one of my coworkers, another librarian, was a, is a poet, and he self-published his n- his work, and that's where I got the idea to self-publish my work. Mm. So it wasn't just the material, which is awesome, but it was also the atmosphere and the people I worked with that was helpful in my writing career. Yeah. That's awesome.

Where Story Ideas Really Come From

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And then when writing, what part of what part of the novel comes to you first? Mm. Is it the character, a situation, a relationship, or is there anything else that comes to you first? It's a good question. Yeah. I don't h- have a smooth answer for you. Um, I think I get random ideas all the time. I think the what if, what ifs are always a trigger for me to think about. Uh, like with my second book, I was working for a little while in a place that was, like, in a business park, and there was construction going on. Mm. So I was like, I don't know why, but driving by I was like, "What if it was a, one of the businesses was nature supportive or nature related- Mm but at the other end of the street there's construction on the nature?" So that's kinda how it fo- evolved. I never sit down and go let me think- Hmm of a storyline." And- Yeah it doesn't work like that. It's- It just comes to you at r- at random times? Just very random. I wish I, there was a formula that I have figured out, but I have not.

Rejection, Timing, And Self-Publishing

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And then what was the process of turning an idea into a finished, published novel like for you, and what do you think aspiring authors should understand before starting that journey? To answer the second part, I would have to say there was an agent that I was doing a a webinar with, that she put it very well, which I wish I had known way back when, is that just because your work is, quote, "rejected," end quote, by publishers, agents, whatever, does not in any way signify the quality of the work. It's more about what that agency or that publisher or editor wants at the time. So it's more about, being in the right place at the right time sometimes- Yeah. for it to click more than, thinking that you're not a good writer, 'cause I certainly went through that for a period of time. Not a good writer not good enough, et cetera, et cetera. So that's what I would say to anyone that's kinda starting out, 'cause I think she put it well, that it's not about creativity, it's about what they're looking for at the time. Yeah. That's all it's about. That makes sense. Yeah. You always hear that w- rejection is redirection, so just- Ah, see pivoting and finding- Exactly, yeah what works best for you. Find the right space for it. Yeah. And that's why I went with the self-publishing, because- Mm for five years I was trying to, to publish my work, and it wouldn't quite fit somewhere. And I think nowadays it's much different. Mm-hmm. It's a, it's a more open and diverse community and publishing world. But- Mm-hmm it's still, you know, they may be looking for something and not looking for something, and that's all it's about. Yeah. Awesome.

Disability, ADA Learning, And Voice

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So you've written about your experience as someone with a disability, including essay, including an essay exploring the job hunting process. What inspired you to write about that subject, and why was it important for you to share your perspective? Well, at the time again, it was more just I needed to learn this. I felt that I needed to learn this because I had finally gone through many years of school. I was done with school, and, um, the working world was way different than college. And so I felt I needed to learn something, which I think we-- I've learned you always should it should always be a goal to learn something new. But in that case, it was to learn how, what what are the details of the law, like ADA and stuff- Mm uh, related to, you know, what I was experiencing at the time. Okay.

Authentic Representation That Rings True

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And then when disability is represented in books and other media, what do you think makes a difference between a portrayal that feels authentic and one that kind of relies more on assumptions? I think being authentic is what we all strive for. Mm-hmm. We don't always get it, but- we strive for it. And I don't think that is just an individual thing. It should be a, you know, neighborhood thing. It should be a, um, city, county, state- Mm-hmm you know, all that. To be not only authentic yourself, but be in a place that welcomes your a- authenticity- and celebrates it. Yeah. Um, and I think we're working towards a more diverse world, but I will say that I feel like disability is not discussed or represented authentically- um, enough. And so that's something that still needs to be worked on. And then how do you think that personal storytelling can help people better- Mm understand experiences such as living with a disability that might be unfamiliar to them? Again to create a more diverse and welcoming world- Mm-hmm um, it's always good to go to the library and read the stories of other people- um, that you don't normally interact with. And to- I hope that people, whether that's, neighbors, cities, governments, would want all input and all thoughts Mm. And that would include everybody- Yeah, absolutely um, including people with disabilities. Yeah. 'Cause they have their own experiences and may even have ideas that no one had thought of before. Um, so like any other diversity issue, it's listening, being welcoming, and there's probably ideas and input that others would not have thought of- Mm-hmm that perhaps that person or that group of people could bring to the conversation. Yeah, absolutely. And then like you said, within each community, each person has their own unique experience as

Joining A Disability Story Anthology

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well. Exactly. I'm glad you said that because I have had, in the past, been told I cannot c- call myself disabled 'cause I'm not in a wheelchair. And it's like, no, it's pretty... Within the dis- disabled community, there's a, a diverse- experience. Yeah. Um, and that's, uh, the anthology that I'm now have a, um, essay in is- Mm-hmm one of the points of having it is to point out, I believe there's 26 stories, so there's 26 different experiences within that, the disabled community. Mm. Amazing. And then how did it, how did it feel when you knew that you were going to be writing an essay for the anthology? First of all, I have to give a shout-out to Tracy Garner who put it together. She's another local Loudoun author. So- In one respect, it's good to see her work come to fruition 'cause she's been working on it for, like, a year or two. And then to be lucky enough to be part of it I think is... It's wonderful to have my work in print. It's been a while that I've had anything new. But also this time, I've done a few blog posts, but this time it was personal. I really got to tell one of the many stories I don't think many people know about me personally in my disability experience. Um, so I was very excited to have it in there. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Awesome.

Baby Rhinoceros And Learning To Type

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And then could you tell us, for our listeners that haven't been able to read the essay- Sure could you tell us a little bit about your essay? About it? Yeah. So it's titled Baby Rhinoceros, and it's an essay on when... I think your listeners might be shocked at this, but there was a time in the mid-'80s, we didn't have smartphones, we didn't have computers. Um, the, the techn- technology at the time was typewriters. At that point in my life, I had been in special education for a couple of years, and, um, my grades had improved and academically I was doing well. The big barrier was physical writing- which of course, coursework, schoolwork was, that's how you did it back then. So my principal at the time got this amazing idea to do, to bring in a private tutor to teach me to t- to type- Mm on a typewriter. So it's about that experience and about The fact I had to balance hating it- because I didn't like the tutor very well. And I didn't like being taken out of class. Mm. And I didn't understand why it was a good thing. No one sat down and said, "This is gonna help you." And, you know, I was 10, so I wanted to rebel against- anything adults wanted- Right me to do. Um, but at the same time, it was the beginning of learning to be a writer, ironically. Um, I would not be a writer if I could not have learned to type at that point. Oh. So that's what the essay is about. Amazing. Mm-hmm. Yes. And then going back to kind of the writing process.

Vulnerability, Confidence, And Aging

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Mm-hmm. Writing can be a very personal process but publishing means putting your work in front of other people. How do you navigate the vulnerability- Hmm that comes with sharing something you've created? I don't always navigate it well. And I think now that I'm over 50, I accept it more as a journey than a destination. And I think I'm a little pickier about where I do send the writing now- Mm instead of just like being full blast- Yeah. when you're 20 and like, "Just take me." It's more about the process and the audience where I, what I want to say and to whom I wanna say it to. And just, yeah, having a better feeling right now of what I want to say that makes me a little bit more confident, I think- Mm-hmm than when I was 20-ish and just, wanted anything in print, yeah. Awesome. I know as, as artists and as creative people- Yes I feel like it can be so It can be a really big thing to share our work- Yes with other people. Agreed. Yes. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Awesome. And then what would you say is most exciting about what you're doing now? Oh my. Probably the focus of being able to tell my unique story. Mm-hmm. Having more confidence, I think, in being able to do that. Whereas in the past it was, you know, my story isn't that interesting. I'm not- Mm you know, good enough, whatever. Um, that form takes. And just being able to take a little bit more time with it, I think. Yeah. Um, yeah. Awesome. And then with, Do you think the confidence comes from more time and more experience? Yes. And being in a place, finally, that I do feel, yes, confidence and if something is not liked that I, I wrote or sent out- it still bothers me if they don't like it. Mm-hmm. But I do have experience enough to go, you know, whatever. Yeah. So, you know? So, yeah. Just whatever. So I'm not saying that happens all the time. Yes. But I notice that a little bit more. And I'm just like, "Whatever, I'm just gonna do whatever." Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah.

AI Writing And What Humans Bring

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And so going back to technology- Mm artificial intelligence is changing the way people create and publish content. What do you believe human writers bring to storytelling that technology may struggle to replicate? Well, I know it's certainly an issue now. There are a lot of, headlines about authors being found out that, AI wrote- their stuff. Um, I believe that good writing, human writing, is, has some sort of a soul to it, and I don't think that AI will ever have that. I'm sure it will try, and I don't know if it'll even come close. But there's something about writing your truth in your story that can't be replicated by anybody else. Mm-hmm. It's like, n- yeah, I don't think a computer would ever get that or, again, have the soul to really- Yeah understand the emotions of it. Yeah, I agree, 'cause every, every person has their own unique lived experience. Exactly. And I just feel like technology really cannot, they can't replicate that. I can't see- Yeah how it could ever replicate that. Yeah. Yeah.

Attention, Community, And Memorable Stories

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And then with so much content competing for people's attention- Mm-hmm what do you think makes a story memorable enough for a reader to stay invested? Hmm. I know that things right now with social media and everything, there's just so much of it that it can feel overwhelming. Mm-hmm. But there is kind of a good side to it in that there are more voices to it. And so it's more room for those stories. So maybe just like with the, what the agent said, it may not be you may not have a million followers, but you have 100 and they're invested in it because- they like your story. Yeah. Not everyone has to like your story or follow your story. Um, but there could be enough vested in it that, you know, 100, I'd rather have 100 invested than like- Yeah 5 million that I don't even- know or- Yeah live anywhere near me or any connection like that. So there's good and bad to it, but I think it's- it can, you can find your own- Yeah niche is what the- Yeah point is. Yeah. Yeah. And it's nice when you, I feel like social media is good at connecting people- Yes and you're able to find your your community there. Right. Right. Yeah. Also, and as y- as someone who spent years helping people discover books, what do you think makes readers connect so strongly with certain authors or genres? I think it, again, goes back to experience. So what the reader's looking for. Like, I, I remember a lot of people be like, I just want a good murder mystery." And it's not like they wanna go out and harm anyone, but it's like they wanted to just step away from reality and get invested- Mm you know, somewhere else, and that could be James Patterson or a whole lot of other, great authors. Um, and there may be others. There were, people who were going through illness and they were like, "This romance author just helped me get through whatever physical s- stuff they were going through." So I think it really goes, again, to diversity and being able to, find what you need at that point- Mm-hmm in your life. Like it could be- Yeah like 10 years later you might wanna do a romance instead of Patterson. Yeah. And that's okay because that's what we have for you at the library, so. Yeah. That's, and that's the nice thing about reading. Like you can- Mm-hmm find your- Thing find your interests and you can just escape to another world. Exactly. And it's like the diversity now is good. Mm-hmm. And that that you can find that- Yeah when you need it. Absolutely.

Advice For Doubting New Writers

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For someone who wants to start writing but doubts whether- Mm-hmm their work is good enough to share- what would you encourage them to do? I would encourage them to write, just write. First, and I've heard other authors say this, but write for yourself first. You're the first audience. You should like what you're writing. So if you're doing it for, you know, publishing purposes, money purposes, et cetera, that's not probably gonna get you very far. You have to be interested in what you're writing, and also interested in w- reading and enjoying the genre that you hope to work in, publish in. So it's not always about writing. There's reading involved- Mm-hmm in that too. And getting, you know, different vibes and learning styles that may or may not- Yeah work for you and stuff, so. Yeah. Yeah, 'cause I think as creative people, we have to be able to consume other people's art- Exactly in order to create our own. Yeah, exactly. To draw inspiration from different people. Yeah, and I feel like I've done that through the years. I may not consciously know it- Uh-huh 'cause I read all those romance novels. Again, I read them all having no idea at all of writing- Mm one, but it, you know, that material was still in my subconscious I think. Yeah. So yes, definitely. Awesome. If you could change one misconception about writers- or the writing process, what would you want people to understand? For me, in my experience, I, for a long time, tried to replicate other people's writing process. Get up at 5:00 AM and do, you know, writing, and then do, do pages, free writing every day. Or, do it from midnight to 1:00 AM when the baby's sleeping. You know- there's all these different authors will tell, and nothing is wrong with what they say, but in the end, it's good to find your own- your own routine. And I get it that it might t- take a while for you to figure that out. Yeah. And it's okay to try other people's, but I think in the end long term, you have to figure out what your own routine is and what- fills your cr- creative cup. Yeah. Get the work done. So that's what I would say, yeah. Yeah. And I think with social media, it can be easy to watch everybody else's- Mm-hmm. Right routines and everything- Sure, sure and try to replicate- Sure, sure everything. But I think through trial and error, it's so important- Yes to figure out what works best for you. Right. Yeah. Yeah.

Memoir Goals And Where To Connect

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Looking ahead, what kinds of stories or writing projects would you love to explore next, and what would you like your work to accomplish for readers? Oh, wow. Um, I am-- so the baby rhinoceros essay- is actually part of, uh, my memoir that I'm working on. So I hope to complete that semi-soon. And that would be nice because it would be a full published book about my experiences, not just- Mm-hmm the fiction that I've done- Mm-hmm before. So I hope for that to be in the future. Beyond that, I would just, I would like to be a supporter of readers and writers especially in this AI world. And hope to just facilitate somehow getting more stories, individual stories out there. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And for anyone interested in discovering your books, reading your essays, or following your work as an author, where can they connect with you? So I do have a website. So it's Christina Hunter, and it's spelled C-H-R-I-S-T-Y-N-A H-U-N-T-E-R.com. Awesome. And then as we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to add that we haven't touched on today? No, I think you did a really good job of covering- Oh, thank you everything, and I, I certainly hope that it's always good to have diverse voices out there. Absolutely. I think that's what I would ha- end with. Well, thank you so much, Christina, for joining me on "The Alimond Show" today. I wish you the very best in all that comes your way in the future. Well, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.