Tell us a bit about your most recent work.
My most recent release is called What’s With Atlanta?: The Quirks, Personality, and Charm of the ATL. It’s a fun history guide to Atlanta, with each section a short tidbit that reads like trivia (so you’ll ace any Atlanta-themed trivia night!).
If you’ve ever wondered why every street is named “Peachtree” or how the Braves came to be in Atlanta, then this is the book for you. It’s a great guide for both tourists and locals, especially Atlanta newcomers who want to know why they can’t call it “Hotlanta”. I really tried to hit all the big attractions, festivals, traditions, sports, food, and historical moments that make Atlanta tick.
What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?
I’ve always been interested in the unusual, the quirky, the odd attractions, the things that give a place character. And I’ve also found that even the major attractions that seem quite normal will often have something quirky in their past, so I try to get to the heart of that unique history. I mean, every state has a capital building, so what makes one more special than another? (For Atlanta, it’s the Dahlonega gold and the weird way they got it here.)
What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?
I’ve always been a writer. I remember writing stories for assignments in elementary school, and I started writing short stories for fun in middle school. My English teacher even let me and my friends put my stories toward pages read in our reading logs. Then I entered and won a few short story contests in high school, took a creative writing class, and found a university program for creative writing that showed me that I could actually make a career out of writing.
What inspires you to write?
What of your works has meant the most to you?
My travel blog, PaigeMindsTheGap.com, is my everything. It’s full of so many memories from my travels as an adult. It’s a constant work in progress where I get to improve my old writing, which can be fun and cringey at the same time, and create more helpful articles nonstop.
If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?
I do have a draft of a historical novel that’s been hidden away from the world for years, and it’s about time it gets a little TLC. I’m at the point where I feel like I want to completely go back to the beginning and start all over again because I started it when I was in college and I feel like I just didn’t do it justice then.
What writers have influenced your style and technique?
Margaret Mitchell, Mark Twain, Bill Bryson, Kristin Newman, John Berendt.
Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or is it a science continuum?" Why?
It’s definitely an art, but some mediums can feel more formulaic than others. After writing for the Internet for a while and trying to please the algorithms, writing blog posts started to become lackluster. Thankfully, I’ve finally found the balance where I can put my personality back into my posts. And then writing a travel guidebook was a whole new way of framing my travel advice.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Letting anyone read my draft. It feels so vulnerable. Because before then, it’s only been you and the story for however long it’s taken to write it, and suddenly you have to let someone else in with their thoughts and criticisms.
How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?
It’s always nice to have someone to talk to who just gets it. We can bounce ideas off one another and encourage and support each other so that we all can become better writers.
What does literary success look like to you?
Just knowing that people have my book in their home, on their bookshelf or on their coffee table, and that they have read and enjoyed it is success enough for me.
Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?
I’m constantly writing about new and exciting destinations on my travel blog, PaigeMindsTheGap.com. I cover a lot of metro-Atlanta activities and Southern destinations that are great for short weekend trips and day trip, but I also write about bucket-list destinations from Yellowstone to Japan. I write easy-to-follow itineraries, round-ups of restaurants and attractions, city guides, and hotel reviews.
In the future, I’d love to write more guidebooks about Atlanta and other Southern destinations.
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