Meet The Authors edition #6 (March 2020 to November 2020)

interview #7 @Grace_Harding

1 what is the best way to handle a bully?

From my personal experience, I think the best way to handle being bullied is to tell people you can trust, ie, your family, friends and school (as you may have heard before) and to also laugh it off -- I'm not making this up -- laugh it off. In high school I used to be made fun of for being shy and quite a push over. Bullies saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of my weak state. I didn't tell anyone and had to learn to deal with it myself, and from my own learning, the best thing to do is to laugh it off. However, this is mainly directed to bullying which isn't physical. When you laugh it off (for example, someone making fun of you), they will realize it doesn't bother you. It may take a few weeks, maybe months, but they will give in because they are not getting the reaction they wanted. They want someone which will make them feel powerful. All you have to do is laugh it off. Or even better -- smile at them too. Then walk away. DON'T fight back or show you are upset because people like them prey on weakness and by showing them you are upset by arguing back, they will lunge for the kill.

Trust me on this. I fought back at the start and they found that as a way to make things worse for me. I was slow to learn that I had to laugh along with them and smile. Trust me, the shocked look on their faces was totally worth it! Plus they left me alone!I really hope this advice helps :)

 2 what inspired you to write? 

Okay, this is a hard question for me to answer haha! Truthfully, I have been writing since I was around seven years old. You're probably going to expect me to say I was inspired by J K Rowling or Jaquelin Wilson, but truthfully I don't think I was inspired by a who, but in actual fact a "what" -- and that "what" is the world around me. 

When I was younger (around seven), I used to love horses and used to fantasize about ridingthem across green hills, leaping over high bushes 

I have never been given the chance to do horse-riding, but that didn't stop me from dreaming. I'd sit in the car and look out at the fields and suddenly I was away in fairyland. Later on when I was fourteen (I believe), I fell in love with a book series called "Heartland" and that's when I started writing pages and pages of horse novels -- none of which I finished, unfortunately, but would like to one day -- even if it's for my own personal benefit! Lauren Brooke was the author of those books and I guess for a while, she was an inspiration to me, but she didn't inspire me to write -- she only inspired the idea to write about horses. 

Since then, my obvious focus point in writing has changed to teen fiction and romance novels as you can probably tell. 

Years later and I'm now eighteen and still have a strong passion for writing! I believe that what inspired me -- and still does -- to write is everything . . . From golden sunsets to endless skies and people like you and me.

3 what's your favorite holiday and why? 

Ooh, my favourite holiday?! I think I would have to say Italy or Spain! Sitting by the beach, sketching landmarks (secretly hoping a hot Italian/Spanish guy will come along hehe!), enjoying the escape, doing yoga on a veranda, writing to my heart's content . . . Dare I say more?. . . I just need to wait until I'm not broke to be able to go!

4 what's your schedule regarding your writing?

My schedule . . . Well, to be truthful, at this moment in time, I have a very lose schedule for my writing. I'm caught up in a whirlwind of stress surrounding school since this year (and next) is loaded with exams, so pressure is really building! I also have lots of other responsibilities -- like prayer group, singing, guitar, chores, work, (to name a few lol!) . . . However, every Sunday when my parents go to church, I have three hours where I write my book (I go to church in the evening).