Kat Helgeson and Hannah Moskowitz Interview
Hey readers, I have a treat for you today. This is the interview with author, Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson aka the authors of the book. Gena/Finn. I hope you enjoy this and if you would like to check out my review on Gena/Finn please click here or if you would like to check out Kat and Hannah's websites please click here and/or here.
Question 1: How exactly did you two meet and come up with the idea for the book?
KH: We met writing fanfiction online and liked each other’s writing. That led to a few collaborative works of fanfiction, which paved the way to wanting to write something original together.
Question 2: Do you feel you identify with Gena more, Finn more, both, neither, etc.?
KH: I actually identify with Finn more now than I did when we were writing the book. Finn is very impulsive. She doesn’t really think before she acts. When she does stop to think, she often finds herself incapable of making decisions. I have that problem, but it’s not a quality I gave to Finn consciously.
Hannah and Gena are also a lot alike. They both thrive in online communities and forge digital connections effortlessly.
Gena is more of a loner than Hannah is, and less involved with her family. Finn is gentler than I am.
Question 3: Have you ever personally had you own fangirl/fandom experiences (being star struck or just getting to meet a celebrity you love at a convention, dealing with certain people in your fandom that you do not agree with, sharing content you created for and/or about your fandom, meeting up with your online friends in real life etc.) either like ones that Gena and Finn experience or ones that are not in the book? If so what happened exactly?
KH: The way Hannah and I met for the first time was almost exactly the same as what happened with Gena and Finn in the book. She was an established author already and was presenting at a publishing convention in Chicago, so I came to see her. We ended up spending the whole weekend hanging out together and ignoring everybody.
Question 4: Did you use any of your own experiences with fandom life or events/situations you have seen happen in fandoms, for this book?
KH: The character TylerGirl93 is based on some very real experiences with fellow fans. Fandom can be really awesome and inclusive, but you do meet some people who want to dictate everyone else’s experience. It always surprises me when I come across fans who tell me I’m appreciating the wrong aspects of the thing we both love.
Question 5: Why did you decide to make Gena a former child actress?
KH: One reason is that it let us explore layers of public vs. private life. Finn’s very awkward about her online life and doesn’t even share it with her boyfriend. Gena’s a lot more comfortable with that aspect of her life, but she doesn’t want to talk about having been on TV as a kid.
Question 6: Was either Finn’s job struggles or feelings of being torn between whom she loved, in any way similar to any situation that either of you have experienced in your own lives?
KH: When I first finished college and moved away from home, I couldn’t hang onto a job. I went through two or three before finding the right place. It’s something I laugh about now, but it’s a scary thing to go through as a young adult just starting out.
As for the feeling of being torn between loves, I think that’s something a lot of people go through in one form or another. And yes, we probably both have.
Question 7: The book uses a lot of different mediums and formats of communications to tell the story (text messages, emails, blogs, fan art, fan fiction, diary entries, “official” documents etc.)? How exactly did you decide which type of communication to use and to tell what part of the story?
KH: We just did what came naturally to where the characters were in their relationship. As Gena and Finn get closer, their methods of communicating become more intimate, progressing from comments on fanfiction to email to chat. At the end of the book, Finn takes over the narrative due to Gena’s mental illness, so that’s why we switched to journal entries at that point. It was also a way to keep the story going once they were living in the same place - you don’t usually exchange emails with someone who’s in your house.
Question 8: What was the writing process for this book exactly? Did you each write a certain chapter or as a certain character and only write the lines of that character, etc.?
KH: Generally, I wrote Finn and all the secondary characters in her life, and Hannah wrote Gena and all the secondary characters in her life.
Question 9: What do you hope your readers take away from gena/finn?
KH: Don’t hold back from love just because it’s unexpected or hard to explain. Whether it’s a fictional character or a person who doesn’t fit neatly into your life, love is a good thing. Make room for it.
Question 10: Gena and Finn are both involved in the Up Below fandom, are either of you involved or have you ever been involved in any types of fandom? If so which ones?
KH: Up Below is really just Supernatural with Clark Kent glasses on. We didn’t disguise it very much.
I want to thank Hannah and Kat for taking the time to do this Q&A. I hope you all have a Happy Holiday (in case I do not post another blog till after Christmas and/or New Years).
