Coffee with Hope Bolinger

It’s that time of day when we take a little break and sit down with the authors we love and get to know them a little better.

Today, I have a chat with Hope Bolinger who is one of the authors of Picture Imperfect. So grab a cup of your favorite drink and maybe a little snack and enjoy the conversation.

Thank you for joining me, Hope.

Let me start by asking, what is the key theme and/or message in the book?

In Picture Imperfect, the main theme is hope. Hope that although our lives are not picture perfect
(see what I did there?) that God will turn everything out for good. Hope is a resounding theme
throughout the entire series.

Amen and Halleluiah to that. Without hope, we would all be a giant hurd of Eeyores from Winnie the Pooh.

So, what was the inspiration for the story?

For Picture Imperfect, and the whole series, we wanted to show what a starving artist looks like
today. We capture what this looks like in four different fields: publishing, singing, theater, and
film. We also wanted to show what the experience of twenty-somethings is these days. Not many
books are written by those people who are in their twenties, and let me tell you, twenty-
somethings look way different than they did even ten years ago. And ultimately, we wanted to
show them trusting in God for their financial struggles and with their call to create—as Alyssa
and I (Hope) have had to do many times.

Wow! You’re in your twenties? Well, bravo for chasing this endeavor into writing and publishing. Welcome to the family.  I have two twenty-something year olds, and yes you all are a different breed than when I was in my twenties.

What is the most difficult part about writing for you two?

Honestly? Finding the time. We both love writing, but with working full-time jobs to pay the
bills, it can be hard to find the time to get writing in. We remember hearing once that Harper Lee
had her friends pay her a year’s salary to go write her book. That’s when she wrote her famous
one that’s read in English classes to this day. So if anyone wants to pay us a year’s salary to
write, we will not complain, haha.

Thats awesome. (Why didn’t I think of that?)

What advice would you give a new writer or someone just starting their writing journey?

We both would agree that it’s important to remember why you started. This industry is
tough—tougher than most writers realize when they get started. So remember why you have a
passion to write. And remember to have fun with it. We have collectively had more deadlines
than we can count in the past three years, and it can start to feel like a job. Make sure to give
yourself space to enjoy writing.

Yes to all of that. It is so important to have fun but also take it seriously. 

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
It depends on which author you ask, because Alyssa and I have many that will (thankfully) never
see the light of day. For me, (Hope) personally I’m one book shy of forty. In terms of favorites, I
can’t choose. It’s like picking a favorite child. But I can say the ones I’ve written with Alyssa are
the most fun.

It’s always nice to have a buddy to work with. It makes things more interesting. 

Well, Thank you again, Hope, for joining me today. I hope this tour blesses you both and I look forward to seeing more from you. 

Readers, please be sure to keep reading and enter the giveaway. 

About the Book

Book: Picture Imperfect

Authors: Alyssa Roat and Hope Bolinger

Genre: Christian Sweet Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 5, 2021

Can a struggling career woman and a procrastinating artist save a beloved nonprofit?

Aspiring novelist Caroline Penn expected a promotion, not a picture book assignment. But when her employer, the non-profit Helping Hope, runs into financial trouble, this book might be the solution. With the company struggling to stay afloat, she and the illustrator will need to collaborate on a strict deadline—no problem for a workaholic like Caroline, right?

Andy Jackson, a “starving” artist, pays the bills by taking on graphic design gigs, but his perfectionism gets in the way. If only he could focus on a project for once, perhaps he could achieve his dream to make art for children for a living.

When the two are thrust together to create a book, Caroline can’t seem to write for children, and Andy can’t meet a deadline to save his life. As time ticks down to release day, the two must face their pasts and insecurities. If they can avoid strangling one another for long enough, they may just bring to the table what the other is missing.

If not, the fate of their careers—and a beloved nonprofit—hangs in the balance.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Authors

Hope Bolinger is the managing and acquisitions editor at End Game Press and the author of 25+ books. When she isn’t accidentally writing a book in seven days, she likes to model, do theater, and hike around northeast Ohio. Find out more about her at Hopebolinger.com

Alyssa Roat is a multi-published author and has worked in a wide variety of roles within the publishing industry as an agent, editor, writer, and publicist. When not reading and writing, she likes to swordfight, rock climb, throw axes, and generally engage in tomfoolery with her silly cats. Her name is a pun, so you can find more about her at alyssawrote.com.

More from the Authors

Alyssa and I never thought we’d write a sweet romance book together. Sure, we’d done a superhero romance during the summer of 2018, but we didn’t think we had the prowess or mastery of description to make a jump into the genre.

Long story short, we were perfectionists. We wanted everything to be just right. We knew that our publisher was in need of filling a hole that some romance authors had left behind.

So we tried.

We really struggled with the first draft of Picture Imperfect. We felt shaky about it at first.

But then we learned along with our characters. That there is beauty in imperfection. That there is hope for all of us.

We decided to let go and embrace the book for what it was. Messy, but still beautiful in its own way. 

Looking back, as the final book for the series releases this week, I am so happy that we jumped into the world of Picture Imperfect. We learned a great deal from these characters, and it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the world of Roseville.

If you’re looking to see a story of redemption, hope, and embracing life’s hiccups, I hope you absolutely fall in love with Picture Imperfect.

It was funny because we both took on characters that we felt reflected our coauthor. When I (Hope) wrote Andy, I saw many aspects of Alyssa in him. And when she penned Caroline, we saw many glimpses of “Hope” as well.

There was something so beautiful and emphatic about jumping into the shoes of characters who felt different from us. We could understand other creative processes and embrace people for all their intricacies.

Thank you for joining us on this journey, and hope that you love Andy and Caroline as much as we did when we first wrote them.

Sincerely,

Hope and Alyssa <3

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 5

Bliss, Books & Jewels, August 6 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 7

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, August 8 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, August 8

Texas Book-aholic, August 9

Back Porch Reads, August 10 (Author Interview)

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, August 11

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, August 12 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, August 13

Beauty in the Binding, August 14 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, August 14

The Book Club Network, August 15

For the Love of Literature, August 16 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 17

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 18

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, Alyssa and Hope are giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.