Hope Squires is an author of a nonfiction book who took part in the November 2016 NaNoWriMo month long writing project. Here's the link to Hope's Show Notes page with highlights, quotes, and links to her websites and social media connections.

Hope wrote her first book when she was six! She laughs when she describes doing a second edition at age nine. She used a little blue typewriter for some of her stories. Later she became an English teacher. Her first book, The Flourishing Tree, was published in 2014. She walks us through the development of the book and why she wrote it. Needing a break from her second book, Hope decided to join NaNoWriMo and write a story around an extended family's experience during the Okeechobee hurricane in 1928. Her goal was 40,000 words and she took Sunday's off as a break from the daily word count demands. Having never written fiction before, Hope found it beneficial to use her family story because she could understand the characters more and talk to surviving family members for background. We talk about the challenges of writing fiction when all you've done is nonfiction. She shares her method of writing in her moleskin notebooks, away from her computer. Hope is adamant that participating in NaNoWriMo can be a good experience but says to plan ahead of time. She already has a story idea for 2017. If you have never heard of NaNoWriMo, this is the perfect interview to whet your appetite.