Interview with z-aliceinwonderland-z

Here is your weekly interview with z-aliceinwonderland-z!

1. Where were you and what were you doing when you got the idea to write
Hope?

Lina: Hope came to me kind of randomly. I can’t remember the exact day or where I was. Everything all just seemed to click together in my head, Jasper’s scars could relate to being in a gang and being abused, Alice coming to save him from the dark life that he had lived. And then her being in a car accident to lose all her memories so she could find Jasper. It all pieced together in my mind and Hope came to life quickly after that.

2. Are characters/experiences based on someone you know or events in your own life?

Lina: Not entirely, like we said in the last interview, sometimes we take little pieces of people we know or ourselves and put them into the characters. I can name things about the characters, like features or sometimes names that are based on friends or families. Events in my life...? hmm, yes, sometimes, little things, for sure.

3. What was the hardest part of Hope to write? Hardest part of Forgotten
Hope?

Lina: Hmm, I’m not sure. There was actually one thing I cut out from Forgotten Hope because I couldn’t write it. It was just too horrible, in my mind, for it to happen, but it worked out actually much better that we didn’t do it. I’m not sure about Hope though, it’s never too bad to write because I know it’s going to work out in the end. But Hope & Forgotten Hope are emotionally gripping stories that can be hard to write at times. I love the characters so... it can be tough.

Lucy- Spencer... *shakes head* tsk tsk. the kid is not cooperating.

4. Were there any authors/books/fanfictions that gave you ideas for Hope?

Lina: Uhh... Stephenie Meyer, of course, who you all know wrote the Twilight Saga, she gave me the foundation, the characters of Hope to write about. I don’t really get ideas from other fanfictions because they are so far off from my story. Sometimes TV shows do though, stuff like that. Little situations give me ideas and I tweak them and make it happen.

5. While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the
characters? If so, which one?

Lina: Haha, no not really. I try to think like they would as I write so I could write them properly, but I never really feel as if I were them.

Lucy- wellll lina writes it so well that i always feel like i am the
character when im reading over it ;). i try to get into their heads when im editing!

6. Have you ever had a dream that you were one of the characters?

Lina: Nooo, I wish! I’ve had dreams with Hope characters in it, lots of times actually. Since I usually write at night my mind is in Hope mode when I go to sleep.

Lucy- not that i *was* one of them, but they've been in my dreams before
haha.


7. Did you expect Hope and Forgotten Hope to be this big of a hit?

Lina: Not at all. I was very new to fanfiction. I had only been on for a month, if that long. Hope just blew up into a story with hundreds of readers and I am so gratefully for all of you for taking this journey through Hope with us and now Forgotten Hope. We love you all for it!

8. Are you more like Alice or Chloe?

Lina: Oh goodness... I’m not sure. I have qualities of both I suppose, though I’m too much like them either.

Lucy- *thinks* im a little bit of both... but i think i'm more Chloe
overall.


9. Do you ever get writers block? If so, what do you do to get over it?

Lina: yes! Very much so lately, I used to be able to write easier with Hope but lately I’ve been getting a lot of writers block. Sometimes I start writing a part I have figured out, and then work around in. Other times I ask my amazing beta. Sometimes you just have to get up for a while and wait till it comes to you. Sometimes you have to wait for the characters to tell you.


10. Any hints on what is going on with Chloe?

Lucy- hmm... i'll leave that one to lina. but she's... definitely a tad
stressed.

Lina: *laughs* No way xP. You guys aren’t getting any hints. But Lucy’s right, Chloe is definitely stressed out at the moment.

11. Do you have a schedule when you write, or do you write when something
comes to you?

Lina: Both actually. I try to write on weekends because I don’t usually have much time during the week, but then sometimes it’s too busy of a weekend and sometimes I don’t know what to write. But lots of times things just come to my mind and I sit down and write them at random times. The chapters come out a lot better when I am inspired.

12. How did you come up with names for your characters?

Lina: I have three ways I actually come up with names. Yes I have methods to my name choices xP. 1. Sometimes I choose from people I know, like a few of the names/middle names are people I know. 2. Name meanings. It’s actually very important to Hope actually. For example, Nick’s middle name is Ryder, which some of you may not know, but that means Knight. I thought that was pretty accurate because he always is there to save anyone who needs him. He has his friends’ backs till the end. Also, Greg, my beloved villain’s name meaning Watchful or Vigilant. That matched because Greg is a people reader, he watches people and preys on them when they are their weakest. One more is Mack’s middle name is Ethan which means Strong or Firm, and was matching up to all he has been through he still pulled through it. He doesn’t think he’s strong but he is. There are many more things like that in the names of Hope characters, lol. 3. Randomize. Lmao, if I can’t find it through those two ways I just pick a random name that I think will match and hope to hell it will!

13. Is Mack in for some love with a Katie look alike?

Lucy- we can Hope. i think Mack has to deal with some of his own issues first
before he can get the right kind of girl for him... maybe once he's past
fighting all of the addictions, he'll find someone.... he's still really
missing Katie.

14. Will you give us a hint on what’s coming up next for our Chloe/Nick
fans?

Lucy- answers! =) haha. umm. i think Chloe finds out more about Nick before
Nick finds out more about Chloe, though.


15. Is there a message in the Hope Saga that you want readers to grasp?

Lucy- good question! i think for me, the things that i've grasped throughout
all of it are: 1) don't let other people control your life--be in control of
it for yourself. 2) follow your heart and 3) always have Hope. that's the most important one.

Lina: Aww! Lucy took my answer. *sighs* Okay, I got a new one. Never trust a guy named Greg. xP that's the moral of the story. but yeah, I totally agree with her, especially on the last one. Hope is about Hope, finding it in the darkest times and finding it in the people others would have least expected it. Hope is always there and everything thing will work out in time if you have Hope.

Thanks for the amazing interview Alice, we enjoyed! xD & i really liked your last question. No one's ever asked that before.

Interview with mandymallette!

1. You made a quiz telling us who our Hope guy is, how about you? Who is your Hope guy? Not necessarily from the quiz though, which guy do you like best or which guy would you like as a boyfriend?

Lina: I actually didn’t take the quiz, because I knew the answers so I would just rig it. But that’s a difficult question to answer since all the guys are so great, they all hold like the greatest qualities a boyfriend can have. Personally, I’d pick Mr. Perfect: Spencer Wright, even though I would take Nick, Jasper or Mack in a blink of an eye too. But even though Spencer can be emotional (but only because he lost the love of his life, he wasn’t like that before) I still think he is amazing and would pick him for sure.
But as far as the quiz says, since I just took it, I got Mack! Maybe I like complicated guys too xP.

Lucy: I got Mack on the quiz... I'd take him for sure, but I don't think he'd want me... his heart still belongs to Katie and it will for a while, I think. But Mack is adorable and such a sweetheart.... And then there's Nick. Who I just want to hug. He's had a pretty crazy life... it's different from Jasper's, but he's still had his problems... hence why he was in the gang in the first place. Buttttt yes. Sadly, I couldn't take Nick away from Chloe. They like each other too much & they're perfect for each other... buttttt I would say that my Hope guy is definitely Nick or Mack. Love them. =)

2. A lot of writers get ideas for their characters from people they know, have any of your characters been inspired by someone in particular?

Lina: Hmm, interesting question... I’m sure I have done that, not particularly picking someone in my life and basing a character on them, but I know sometimes I take traits from people and put them in my characters.

Lucy: I'm with Lina. Adding traits in from yourself or people you know... but no one is fully anyone from real life.

3. You write from a lot of different POVs, which is your favourite to write/edit? Is there any certain POVs struggle more with writing?

Lina: My favorite, at the moment, is Nicholas’ POV. I have a lot of fun writing his point of view no matter the situation, he is just thinks things straight out, his thoughts are so him, he is just so fun to write! He is a big goof and I love to write him. I bet my beta will agree with me on this one too. Haha

Lucy: I like to write Chloe outtakes... =). Haha. Annnd Nick's POV is amazing for the same reasons as Lina. Absolutely agree with her on that. Alice is fun cause she's so confused... Jasper is fun cause he's struggling with Alice's situation... I'm not as big of a fan as Lina is on writing Spencer, though. And lately we've both been having a hard time with that boy. He's not telling her a lot cause he's really worried about Alice leaving him again... so writing him has been difficult.

Q. mandymallette: lol, it sounds like you really like writing all their point of views..?
Lucy--there're good things about all of them. so yesss =)
Lina: did you just admit there is something good about SPOV, lucy? Lol.

4. You’ve finished Hope now and you are part way through Forgotten Hope, which would you say you prefer writing/editing? Or do you like both equally?

Lina: Oh god, I miss Hope! Not that I have anything against this sequel because I love writing it too, but I think I just was so attached to life in Forks and all the characters there, like the Cullens, Johnny & Mack, it’s just difficult to leave them all behind. Oh! And Greg! I missed that boy like hell. But I think I do like them equally, I just miss Hope.

Lucy: I like them both equally, I think. For different reasons. Hope was awesome because of the plot & cause Mack and Johnny and everyone was there... butttt i like Forgotten Hope cause now Nick has Chloe... annnnd because of all of the craziness that's going on in Alice's head haha. I love the conflict there.

5. Do you struggle with writer’s block often? And when you do how do you deal with it?

Lina: Yes, sometimes, I definitely struggle with writers block sometimes. I think it was easier with Hope because it was summer when we were writing some of it and so I had more time to focus on Hope, but now I have life again because summer is over and I can’t have my mind focused on Hope every minute so I have more trouble sitting down and writing it. Sometimes it’s easy and I can write a bunch in no time but other times I’ll have to sit there for like a whole Saturday pulling my hair out trying to write a chapter. How do I deal? Lucy. Sometimes I’ll just be like “I can’t write!” and she’ll give me some advice on it which helps, every time, other sometimes I’ll just get over it and my mind opens up. It depends on the time.

Lucy: Awe, I'm glad I can help Lina =). And yeahhh I get writer's block... I'm waiting it out right now actually. I work on editing for Lina when I'm blocked and I just ignore my own stories & wait for inspiration to come, pretty much lol. Or I'll write something different til whatever I'm blocked unblocks itself. No specific technique at the moment =).

6. Have you ever gotten frustrated and written something you regretted later?

Lina: LOL! ...i have no idea what you are talking about. I would never write something that I would regret... *nervous laugh* right lucy?

Lucy: Lina never kills off her characters for shit & giggles. Neverrrrr. ;) But in all seriousness, neither of us ever write anything we regret cause we get to know the characters more when we write them. Even if it's writing something that will never happen or isn't important to include in Forgotten Hope/Hope. The more you write a character, the better you get to know them.

7. You have pictures for most of the characters, when you write them do you actually imagine them like that or do you have another picture in your mind?

Lina: I think for most of the characters I imagine them as the person they are in their picture. At first I didn’t so much but now I’ve gotten so used to their faces they kind of just became the image of the characters. Mack is Chace Crawford, Nick is Jonathan Bennett. Jasper and Alice are Ashley and Jackson. The Cullens are the Cullens. It all matches up, I think so.

Lucy: I go off of the pictures that Lina has posted on ffn... I have my own vision of Johnny, since there's no picture of him yet, and I know who I think looks like Chloe in my head... still trying to convince Lina ;)

Q. mandymallette: Speaking of pictures, are you planning on adding one for Chloe?

Lucy: I know what picture(s) I would add... but final decisions are up to Lina =).

Lina: we are planning on adding a picture of Chloe. We are just... in the process of it. We probably will have it up soon though, because I like the person Lucy picked more and more as time goes by.

8. I know Hope is a big part of your lives, but when you’re not working on it what is your favourite thing to do?

Lina: Drinking Coke? Is that an acceptable answer? Lol. Other than that I’d say being with my friends, yes they are behind writing Hope ;). Shh...

Lucy: Writers are usually readers... I read when I have time & absolutely love it... I'm usually super busy with school stuff... I'm involved on campus with a few organizations... umm... yesss...reading, writing, watching movies... dont watch a lot of tv except for Family Guy & The Office... and I own pretty much every season of Gilmore Girls. But my all time favorite thing to do outside of Hope... it changes, but at the moment, hanging out at my apartment with my boyfriend, watching a few good movies, drinking hot chocolate & eating homemade cookies... playing cards, Scrabble, or Apples to Apples... just having your typical night in is my favorite thing to do. [and talking to Lina on Twitter of courseeee]

Lina: Oh! & playing zoo tycoon. Has anyone played that? The children’s game that you create a zoo and crap? Haha if not, do it! Its addicting. Oh and like Lucy, I enjoy our twitter talks. Haha.

9. How did you first get into writing fanfiction?

Lucy: IIII found ffn through Harry Potter message boards when I was like... eleven. lol. And then I wrote some HP stuff under an old pen name. Terrible terrible writing.... I took a break from ffn for a few years and then just recently got back into it for Twilight and started writing A/J fanfiction and I've become addicted/hooked to it once more.

Lina: Oh! It’s weird but my media arts teacher? Haha. In grade eleven media arts we had to learn about all the crazy websites like FictionPress, Fanfiction, and blogger websites, etc. And once we had, she asked us to write a beginning of a fanfiction story so I did, which would be the one chapter story on my profile, I don’t remember its name. But that’s was how. That was how the addiction began.

10. What has been your favourite chapter to write/edit in either Forgotten Hope or Hope?

Lina: Good question. I really liked writing Mack’s story, that was one that stood out in my mind, I absolutely loved that heartbreaking moment. Both times, when Alice had the dream about Mack at the park talking to Katie and when Mack told Alice his story. That was one of my favourites... hmm, lemme think of another. I also liked the chapters at the cottage, which were near the same time period as Mack.
I’m not sure about my favorite from Forgotten Hope... There hasn’t been as many chapters yet. I liked writing Heartless, it was an emotional chapter, Nick has his first date and Alice had to take care of Spencer after his dad let him down once again. That one was a good one to write and I also liked the writing the one where Jasper left, which was a very recent one.

Lucy: No favorite... I love them alllll.

11. You are part way through Forgotten Hope, the sequel to Hope, have you thought much about what you are going to do after you’ve finished? Are there more stories in the works?

Lina: Uhh, if I told you I would have to kill you. Sorry.... haha, no I guess I can tell you a bit. We haven’t spoken much about a sequel to Forgotten Hope. Not at all... which is kind of sad news. Although, my beta and I have spoken about a prequel.

Lucy: I haven't given up hope on writing more for Hope stuff lol. I could see us doing SOMETHING with it in the future... we just have to let it come to us and figure out *what* =).

12. Do you ever feel bad about writing all the horrible stuff that happen to some of the characters in your stories?

Lina: No not really... haha. Sometimes I do, but it seems like the more I like the character the more I make happen to them. So maybe I express my love for them by hurting them? I think that’s what I’m turning lucy into too, a heartless writer, who tortures the characters! Lol

Lucy: Lina writes the horrible stuff, so I blame her :-P lol. I dont feel bad because I know they'll overcome in time. They're strong....

Q. mandymallette: Lol, so it’s like tough love?

Lina: lol. Exactly. We do really love our characters, but everyone has to go through their problems and Hope would not be what it is without drama and pain.

13. Which couple is your favourite to write about, Alice and Jasper, Alice and Spencer or Nick and Chloe?

Lina: Right now? Nick and Chloe! All the way.
Lucy: Nick & Chloe. Hands down. Love them. Alice and Jazz are a close second though.

14. How do you find the songs for your playlist?

Lina: It’s pretty crazy sometimes you are just sitting listening to the radio and the words just describe the exact situation happening in the story, or would match one of the couples so well. It’s pretty crazy. It’s usually random like that but sometimes I go looking for them, like going through bands lyrics and songs trying to find ones that’d match Hope or Forgotten Hope.

Lucy: They come out of nowhere. I'll be listening to something randomly & it'll click that it goes with one of the characters... and then I frantically pm/tweet Lina & tell her all about it haha.

15. Do the songs on the playlist ever help inspire you while writing?

Lina: For sure. I haven’t put together a playlist for forgotten hope yet but for Hope I sometimes did play the Hope playlist to get into my Hope mode.

Lucy: Sometimessss =)

16. Do see any similarities between yourself and the characters in Hope/Forgotten Hope?

Lina: Yes, totally. I am perfect like Spencer Wright. Yep. Haha. But other than that, I’m not sure, maybe a little like Alice in the way she likes to help people. Like the way she had to save Nick and Mack... yeah, the persistence on helping them is something that is a similar to me. AND I LOVE MINTS LIKE SPENCER!

Lucy: Yesss. Umm. I have Alice's eyes. [or she has mine? O.o] :-P lol. Similarity in that they're both green....I can relate to Chloe in some ways... overstudying sometimes. But she'd never procrastinate and I am the queen of procrastination SOO... that's a difference haha. Umm... also, Chloe likes English & writing & so do I... and we both love Nick, but she doesn't know she loves him yet. ;) I'm with Lina & Alice on the liking to help people thing... but in the end I keep coming back to Chloe. I think it'd be awesome to study at NYU & work at a book store, but I don't know if I'd want to live in NYC for semesters at a time and Chloe loves it... so there's a difference tooo. I think I'm reading too much into this haha. I'll stop there ;).

17. Stephenie Meyer has said that Jacob suddenly started taking over and getting a bigger part in Twilight. Do you have any characters that started small but suddenly started taking over and getting a bigger part in the story?

Lucy- Nick, Mack, Chloe... all of our new characters seem to start out small & work their way in haha.

18. Okay this a really random question… Sometimes when I read the same story a lot I started thinking kind of like the book is written. Do you ever find yourself thinking like any of the people in Hope?

Lucy- To work on character development & stuff... sort of... if I'm understanding the question correctly haha. Like sometimes when I have time to just sit and daydream I'll try to think about what one of the characters would do in this or that situation... get into their heads a bit... get to know them more.... So yeah, I guess sometimes I find myself thinking like one of them would. And I'm sure I probably do it sometimes without realizing it :-P haha.

Lina: I think like Greg sometimes... but I think he just takes over my mind when he’s bored. :P...but other than that, no not really. Like Lucy said, I can get into their minds when I wrote or when I am trying to figure out what a situation between people would be like, I try to think like they would so it’ll be written the best it can be.

Thanks for the awesome interview mandymallette! :)

Interview with 3JasperHale

1. Where did the idea for Hope and Forgotten Hope come about?

Lina: Hmm, this was is hard. I created Hope so long ago, or at least it
seems like it. I can tell you Forgotten Hope though! At the beginning of Hope when I introduced Spencer I was “I have to make Alice get her memory back and go back to him!” I loved the idea or it, but I knew I couldn’t do it for a
long time so it landed up being the sequel. It created a pretty emotional story.

2. How do come up with the character of Nick?

Lina: Nick started off as a not so important secondary character because
Jasper needed at least one person to have his back before Alice came around
and so I made him. Both Nick and Jasper had crappy lives and that brought
them together, neither of them trusted or loved. They were guarded but they found some connection and comfort in each other, creating a close bond. In the beginning Nick didn’t have much importance in Hope. He was around Jasper sometimes and he stuck up for him when Jasper left the gang, but he wasn’t in the story too much. He became very important once Jasper went to jail and that was when we really introduced him and how far he would go for Jasper. I
thought it would be awesome to have a best friend for Jasper...no one could
live through that much alone, right?

3. Team Jasper or Team Spencer?

Lina: Honestly I love them both, obviously since it is an Alice/Jasper story
I love Jasper and I created Spencer making him that much more loveable for
me. But I gotta say if I were to pick....it might have to be Spence. xP

Lucy: Team Jasper. All the way. and then Team Nick & Team Mack are a tie ;).
Spence is cool & all, but I'm more attracted to the others haha.

4. If you were to be stuck on a desert island with one of the characters
from the stories, who would it be and why? ;)

Lina: Well, having said my answer to the last question I will stick with
that. My Mr. Perfect over there Spencer Wright. Oh the fun we could have on
a desert island! Why? Well.... he is Spencer Wright :P. Doesn’t that answer
it? No? Fiiine. I really love Spencer, some people might say he is whiny and
pathetic but what he has truly went through in his life and he still lives
up to what everyone wants from him. That’s hard and I think he is amazing for
that. He is always a gentlemen with Alice and everyone one else, he tries to
please his dad even if he knows it’s impossible, and he is drop dead
freakin’ gorgeous! I loved him since the beginning of Hope, where he was
an absolutely joyous character always having fun to the deep dark depressed man he is now. I love him! Haha, there’s my long explanation.

Lucy: It's a hard choice between Nick & Mack... probably Nick, if Chloe
wouldn't get mad. But if she'd be uncomfortable about it, then I'd send those
two to an island and pick Mack. Just because I absolutely adore both of them.
Can't even pretend I'd say Jasper though, cause he is ALL Alice's in my mind.


5. The drama never seemed to end in Hope, I was always on the edge of my
seat reading it, will Forgotten Hope go the same way, or will it stay on a calmer note?

Lina: Forgotten Hope is going to get pretty intense! You’ll be staying up
till 4 in the morning, fidgeting on your seat, tears trailing down your
cheeks. It’ll be more emotionally gripping and painfully than Hope was and
it’ll have some action packed parts too.

Lucy: The amount of action drama in Hope sort of just wrote itself, I think.
This one will DEFINITELY have drama... lots of emotional drama and some action drama as well. I'm hooked at just the thought of what's to come lol.

6. Then there's little Johnny, the cutest guy I think I've ever read about,
where did the inspiration for a younger Jasper come from?

Lina: *takes a deep breath* good question... I was trying to remember for
this question but it’s tough. My sister said she thought him up but I
don’t remember. But Johnny’s main purpose was to keep Jasper’s soul.
Johnny was the only pure thing Jasper had ever seen in his life and Johnny
idolized Jasper. That made sure that Jasper kept himself in control to make
sure Johnny never turned out like him.

7. There was a lot of gang activity in Hope, will there be more of that in
Forgotten Hope, will Greg come back for his revenge? Or will we hear anymore
about Mack and how he is getting on?

Lucy: Umm... let’s just go with... yes. Don't wanna give away a lot, but we'll definitely see some of our old characters showing up. We're already starting to, if you've read the latest chapters! Got some amazing Mack stuff going on =). Love him.

8. Are you planning a sequel for Forgotten Hope?

Lina: Top secret stuff. I don’t know if I can tell you that. I will tell
you though that there has been a little discussion on a prequel.

Lucy: I'm up for it if Lina is =). I love these characters too much to just
stop writing about them.

Lina: Thanks so much for these amazing questions 3JasperHale! We had a great time answering them and we hope we gave you the answers you wanted!

Interview 1- Homegirl AKA Amanda

This is an interview with a very loyal reader, Homegirl-AKA-Amanda. Enjoy it!!

1. Where did the general idea of Hope come from? What was the inspiration behind this wonderful story?

Lina: Oh... that’s a hard one. Hope started so long ago. I don’t really remember... I think I had/have some horrid obsession with abuse stories. Haha, another story I had started to write on ffn was based on an abused person too. Then I became a huge twihard and I was like 'what about if Jasper got his scars from abuse' (because I didn’t really wanna write a vamp story). Then the gang thing added onto that, and then the story line of Alice the innocent girl from a big city comes along and changes his whole life around was added to that because Alice always comes with Jasper, of course. It all just fit in really well. I’m not sure if that’s a good answer for the question... but that’s what I can remember up to now.

2. With Hope and Forgotten Hope, do/did you have basically the whole story written out already or is/was it more of a make it up as you go along type deal?

Lina: Uhh, I can answer this one! Hope had a general plot line I was going with, the gang and Steve were the two big problems Jazz and Alice had to overcome together. It wasn’t already written, things were changing as the story went on and I added things, took things out, but the general plot line stayed the same. Now for Forgotten Hope, (SPOILER) I had the idea for Alice to forget Jasper near the beginning of Hope and I had to wait to do it, so I had the first chapter written like a while ago, I knew what was going to be going down for that part. Now this time, it’s a bit different since I have a beta the whole time, since I started alone last time, I had to tell her my plot which helped. That way I had to think into the future and put things into writing, so for Forgotten Hope we have a pretty good lay out of the whole story going down. But we still change things as we write, little things pop up and ideas fly.

Lucy: Yesss Lina just tells me things & I say yes or no haha. We talk out a lot of what might happen & when... decide what fits, etc. She'll bounce ideas off of me & I'll build on them, or vice versa... & then we both know the characters so well that it all just clicks together.

3. Lina and Lucy, you two seem really close. Do you know each other outside of ?

Lina: lol! Yeah, we are long lost cousins... no actually, I have never met her in person, ever. But yeah, I’d say we’re pretty tight, for sure. We talk daily so I guess we have gotten used to each other :P. We even have a mind connection now, that’s what you get when you start to write with someone. It’s pretty intense. But yeah, I don’t even know how I’d write without her! She is a huge part of Hope.

Lucy: *blushes* awe thanks Lina! =) But yeah, it's crazy. We just met through ffn cause Lina wanted a beta... & what's insane is that I had never beta'd before, didn't really know what I was doing, but I had some extra time cause it was about to be summer. So I pm'd her about possibly beta'ing, we gave it a try, and then just started chatting [about Hope stuff & just real life] via pm [and recently twitter]. We definitelyyy have the mind connection, which is great when you're working so closely with someone on something like Hope! Absolutely love all of it! We've definitely become close just through writing Hope.

Lina: ...we actually talk in like three different ways at once. Ffn pm'ing, tweets, and then direct messages on twitter. It can be pretty intense sometimes :P.

4. So we got a little taste of a drunken Alice at the gala. Will we see more of this behavior from her.

Lucy: It's tempting. We had so much fun writing her drunk, just because she is an adorable drunk. Even if the reason isn't so great... :-\. Butttt though anything is possible in Hope, right now we're thinking she probably wont be drinking like that again. She learned her lesson, got really sick from it, andddd upset both Spencer and Jasper. She wouldn't want either of them to have to take care of her like that again... and it was not the most pleasant night for her. So we'll lean towards no more drunken Alice in the near future!

5. Can you give us real time dates (i.e. birthdays, date of when J/A started dating, and date when S/A started dating).

Lina: Real dates? Sure! Maybe not too specific... Alice’s birthday is late September, Jasper’s birthday is mid November, Alice and Jasper started dating was early March, I believe so, Spencer and Alice started dating on Christmas day four years ago. Those aren’t too specific but will get more specific as Forgotten Hope progresses!

Lucy: Totally been asking Lina this very thing for a little while now ;) haha. So I'm glad you asked, too! Late September for Alice means it's coming up!! And then Jazz is not too far behind...!

5. Are we going to see more of Alice and Spencer's friends? Are they going to
be more pivotal to the story?

Lucy: Not yet. We might find some use for them later. Ideas just sort of come to us haha. But as of now, no big plans for them [in my mind, at least].

Lina: What she said, lol. But do remember that Alice and Spencer were never very close to anyone but each other, so their friends aren’t that close to them.

6. In the beginning, Mack was just this gangbanger spewing corny pickup lines
at Alice. But as the story progressed, he became a major character. What made
you decide to make him that way?

Lucy: Cause I LOVE him and Lina likes to make me happy!! Haha, no, just kidding... I just follow along with Lina, but we both saw potential in him after we got to know him a little better. And then as we got to know him, we slowly created his back story and then started putting him in as an extra conflict for Jasper and Alice to deal with, since Jazz wasn't too fond of her hanging out with him. He then also became the one who leads her to Greg, even though he didn't want to.... We got to the point where we knew him so well that he sort of just wrote himself, and then we couldn't keep him as just a minor character anymore.

Lina: Exactly. I just did it because Lucy loved him. Haha. But the OTHER reason was we did see a lot of potential in Mack. He was the missing piece to the ending of Hope. We needed him to make it all connect together. During that time we all fell in love with the boy.
Also this teaches a good lesson and much like every character in Hope, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Mack might have seemed like a hardcore, crazy guy who didn’t care about anything, but then once you heard his story it all made sense.

7. Ok, I have to ask...who is Dan secretly rooting for? Lol

Lina: lol! If he is secretly rooting for one I can’t tell you. It’s a secret! Nooo... I’ll be nice and tell. I believe that Dan is trying to be neutral. He can see both Jasper & Spencer love Alice very dearly and would give their lives for her. He trusts them both. But... you have to take into consideration the past. Spencer grew up being like a son to Dan, Dan is much more of a father to Spencer than Jim is and they have a special bond. Even though Dan would be okay with either of them, deep down he is rooting for Spencer. GO TEAM SPENCER! :D

Lucy: Personally, I think he's probably the only parent who wants Alice to make her own decision. He will be happy with whatever choice she makes. The moms are obviously for Spencer, and Spencer's dad is for Jasper... but Dan just wants his little girl's eyes to shine again. He hates seeing her so torn and confused. So even if deep down he's rooting for Spencer, I'm happy he'll be accepting of whoever she chooses.

8. Okay we know of the pregnant Alice, Nick rotting away in jail, and Mack
possibly dying...all plots of the story that was trashed. Were there any other things you wanted to happen, but the characters had other plans or it just wouldn't fit with the story?

Lucy: I think for maybe a second, Chloe was just going to be a short time girlfriend to introduce Nick to the idea of dating. But then we liked her way too much to get rid of her so quickly! =) Umm... other than that... I can't think of any at the moment!

Lina: Yes. The Chloe thing, she was just going to be a girl he dated for a bit, but then Lucy and I just fell in love with her and created her whole story. Now we are all stuck with her, for now. There was something else way back when Hope was at the beginning and I was creating Spencer. Originally Alice was going to get in a fight with Jasper, about the gang I think, and then go with Spencer back to New York and then Jasper would have to win her back and Alice would have to pick between them. But then I changed my mind because I thought up the plan for Forgotten Hope.

9. I see that Mack is staying on the straight and narrow. What is he doing
with his life now?

Lucy: Being adorable, missing Katie, trying to get his life together. See chapter 18. ;)

Lina: Chapter 18 pretty much answers this question. Lol

10. (Bonus ) Can you give us ANY kind of hint/clue as to what is about to
happen?

Lucy: Nothing crazy happens in October in the story? Not too big of a hint lol ...anddd stuff is about to get exciting. We have like 986236 things that are going to start coming in to play shortly with all of the characters. Umm... I think the only hint *I* can give you is that you'll like it. Cause
it's all ultimately in Lina's head, and I'm liking what I've been hearing. =)

Lina: Jasper gets shot by Mack in his sleep because Mack all along has secretly been on Greg’s side but wants Alice for himself and he finally got the opportunity to get rid of Jasper. *innocent smile*

11. So in Hope, Spencer made the big decision of leaving Alice alone in hopes
that she would remember him someday and come back to him. Now Alice
remembers and is with him again, and we hope that Jasper is going to try to win Alice's heart again. Is Spencer going to fight for Alice's heart this time around and not sit passively like before?

Lina: Good questions! Well, to answer this I’m going to bring us back to chapter 17. Here is a direct quote from Spence : “She was still mine and she would remain mine. I would be the best boyfriend anyone could ever want. I could do it. I could be better. I was going to try harder. I didn’t care what my dad said... I was going to be better than Jasper. I didn’t care if
Jasper wanted her. She was mine, forever.” Then, let’s see a little glimpse into the mind of Spencer back from Hope (Chapter 14): “I was going to let Alice go and have a normal life, without a surprise boyfriend who is trying to break her up with her other boyfriend. I was going to let her be happy, even if it meant giving up everything for me. Even if it meant giving up my reason to smile… the reason I was still living… my inspiration, my love, my everything…”
Anyone else see the difference in his mindset? I don’t think Spencer is emotionally or physically able to let go of Alice again like that. Right now, he is not going to let her go without a fight. And remember, Spencer’s mind is a depressing place right now, he would give up everything for her this time around. He just can’t lose her.

Lucy: Yeahhh he doesn't wanna let her go.... :-\


Lucy: Thanks Amanda! Good questions =)

Lina: Yes, thank you very much Amanda. We enjoyed your questions and we always enjoy your participation in the forums and reviews! It was great having an interview with you.

Hope you all enjoyed the interview, more will come as the updates continue!