Author Interview: Samira Armin Hodges

I was supposed to interview this very talented debut author on the 20th, but I missed the date. >.> Anywho, I think that might have worked out for the better since I'm reading Milestones now and I think it's an excellent book thus far. Samira Armin Hodges debut novel Milestones was released on August 1st.




First, tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Samira and I’m a 29 year old Pediatrician by day and Young Adult author by night. I was raised in Canada but I met and married a Texan in the Caribbean, so I recently moved to Texas and will likely stay here for the long haul. I have two crazy rescue dogs named Carrie Bean (guess where we found her) and Cocoa Bean. Milestones is my debut novel and it is book one of a trilogy.

What makes Milestones different from other books at the bookstore?

What a wonderful question and one that I don’t think I’ve ever been asked before. The reason I wanted to even write Milestones is because I felt that it was a story unlike ANY that’s been told before. Not a single person who has read it has predicted the outcome or the ending yet. Milestones take common themes of regular every-day life and turns it into something unrecognizable by the reader. All I can say is: give it a chance. You may be very pleasantly surprised. It is NOT your average camp story. That is a promise.

When you write, do you plan or just let the ideas come to you?

A little bit of both, I think. Normally, I plan out the whole story in advance. For instance, I always knew what would happen with the Milestones story. I came up with the entire tale at one time. But when I write, I just let the ideas come to me. Does that make sense?

Since you’re both a Pediatrician and an author now, is managing your time harder now?

*sigh* You. Have. No. Idea. That is the theme of my life right now and you’re very perceptive for picking up on that. I don’t want to bore you with the details of my job but right now, I work 80 hours a week. It’s very tiring especially considering that many of those hours are piled up consecutively (like 30 at a time, without sleep!). If you factor in sleep and well, regular every day tasks like showering, grocery shopping and paying bills, that doesn’t leave me time for much else. But this is where multi-tasking comes into play….as well as having a wonderful support system that helps take some of the load off.

Now for a completely irrelevant question. Swine flu is sweeping the nation and driving medical personnel (like my mom) insane. Is swine flu making your work harder?

Absolutely. I feel like everyone has the swine flu these days. Even people who don’t have any of the symptoms! The hospital ward and clinics are much busier than usual and well, people are very worried about the possibility of getting the swine flu so they are seeking medical attention a lot quicker than they normally would. We medical personnel have to be very careful when treating patients, otherwise, we could get very sick....over and over again. I’m waiting for it to blow over or for people to become a little more comfortable with the concept of the swine flu and realize that it is no more dangerous than the regular flu.

What are you reading now?

Another fantastic question. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Hunger Games that I decided to give it a read. I just started but so far, it’s very intriguing!

When can we expect the next book of the Milestones Trilogy?

At this time, it is expected to be released in the Fall of 2010.

Thank you for having me on your blog Megan and for your very unique questions!

Thank you, Samira, for having the patience to wait on me! I like how we're on the same train of thought over Swine Flu. Thanks for the wonderful review. You guys can check out her personal website and make sure to pick up a copy of Milestones as soon as possible!