Terry "Wookie" Hoffman is an artist.  But his talent is not limited to one form of artistic expression.  With his tattoo gun, he renders his images with fine detail and amazing accuracy.  And with his pen, he breathes life into the characters who inspire him to tell their stories.  Terry views himself as a family man and views life through a childlike expectancy, wondering where it will take him next.  We encourage you to check out Terry's story, REBIRTH.  

We are proud to have him as the newest member of The Bleeding Pen.  

You have been a successful tattoo artist for quite some time. What prompted you to start writing?

I’ve always had stories running wild in my head, I just never thought I could properly convey them in the genre of writing.  One night, I was sitting out back on my porch, hanging out with my wife @Wookiesgirl and our dear friend and writer, @Jinxie_G having a bit of a Twitter party. They were discussing a book project that they are working on and my mind started to wander.  Before I knew it, I had written the first part of Ahres’ story and I took a chance and emailed it to Jinxie.  She looked up from her computer, with a very serious look upon her face, and told me I needed to post it on Blogger.  I was blown away, and the story just took off from there. 

What inspired you to write in this genre?

I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t influenced by the writings of J.R. Ward.  She wove this tale of Vampires that was unlike anything I had ever read.  I saw the possibilities in thinking outside the box of traditional Vampire stories and his tale just started evolving in my mind.

How much time do you spend writing?

I don’t have any set time dedicated to writing.  I usually just get it out as fast as it comes to me.  I like to write after I get my kids to bed; it’s more of my time that way and I don’t feel like I’m robbing them of something.

Do you have to be alone when you write?  What's your process?

I work up the next piece of the puzzle in my head over the course of a few days and set to typing.  I used to just type and post, but as the story has gotten more and more involved; I find myself going back to edit, then I have a good friend of mine look it over, @werecat1.  Also, I love running ideas past my wife.  She is very good at helping choreograph the romantic scenes; she is very well read in that genre.

Are you an avid reader?  Who are your favorite authors?

I have always been an avid reader; something I have to credit my Dad for getting me into.  I do have to admit that I get to read a lot more these days.  Ever since my wife started going nuts for Paranormal Romance novels, I find myself enjoying reading that much more. 

You have a blog with an ongoing story, Rebirth (great story by the way, keeps me reading), tell us a little about the story.

The story centers around the character, Ahres, and his journey through having his destiny thrust upon him. He is tasked with the protection of a certain class of Vampires brought forth from a blood curse from the beginning of civilization.  He is left with all the tools of his predecessor, the estate and servants.  He is starting all over and learning as he goes, hence the title ‘Rebirth’. He is also faced with an ancient prophecy that keeps rearing its ugly head throughout the story.

Most authors say their characters find them and suddenly begin telling their stories, is that what happened with your main character Ahres?

Actually, I created Ahres on accident.  I wanted someone I could role play with on Twitter.  It wasn’t working and I put him away for a while.  When the story finally jumped in my head, it was on.  He came back out and literally came alive.  I originally based him on a version of myself some 15 years ago, but he took off in his own direction as the story grew.

You have another character whose viewpoint you write from, a female character, was that difficult to do?  I mean writing in first person from a female character's point of view?

Oh, yeah, Aeona.  She is a wonderful addition to his story.  I loved writing from her perspective.  I have to admit that it was very challenging and this is when I really sunk my teeth into editing and having other eyes beta read for me.  I can’t wait to bring more of her to the story, I was actually having a bit of a lull in the creative process and I talked to my friend Jinxie about my ideas of shifting point of view for her.  She said it would be awesome, as long as I made it clear that it was her, so as not to confuse the reader and kill my story.  So I thought about it for a few days and set to writing. That particular section I completely rewrote 4 times before I was happy and still had some editing to do to get it just right.

Have you submitted any work for publication?

I never have. To be quite honest, I haven’t given it much thought.  I just write what comes to my mind. 

What does the act of writing do for you?

I find writing helps me clear my head.  I started writing down my personal thoughts in a bit of a digital journal a couple of months before I started this story.  Never wanted to show them to anyone, just had to get them out and free up space in my mind for better things. Some of them were pretty dark.  When I realized how much better it could make me feel, I just kept going.  Now I get to invent and create feelings that I want to convey through Ahres and Aeona and hopefully instill those feelings in the reader.

If you knew you would never get published, would you still continue to write? 

This is an easy one.  Considering I never set out to get published, yes, I will continue to keep writing as long as the characters keep talking to me.  The fact that people seem to really enjoy what they have to say through me is an added bonus.  Personally, I think it makes them keep talking.

You are on Twitter under WookieStyle, and I noticed your character Ahres_Guardian is also on there.  How does using Twitter help your writing and the development of your character?

Actually, Twitter has been an invaluable tool in the development of Ahres’ personality.  Also that of RoderickIvans, his main servant and right hand man.  They are both on Twitter.   His sarcastic side, his flirtatious side, his defensive side and, more recently, his romantic side as well.  It really has made it much easier to write a scene. Ahres has built a relationship with another character on Twitter that has helped considerably with his romantic side, but it doesn’t parallel his story.  I say that so anyone who might follow him doesn’t get confused. I sit back and ask myself, “What would Ahres be doing or saying right now?”  Usually, he just takes over, and I start writing what is happening.

What other artwork besides tattooing do you do?  Is there somewhere we can view some of that work?

I dabble in charcoal and airbrushing.  I have had a few charcoal pieces shown in some galleries and I’ve done specialized airbrushing upon request.  I had to airbrush a bass guitar for a raffle to help raise money for my deceased cousin’s kids.  It was great because people who otherwise wouldn’t have bothered buying tickets ponied up the money, just to have a chance at winning that bass guitar. You can check out my work at www.clubtattoo.com as well as www.myspace.com/wookiestyle1

One last question... What kind of support do you receive from your family when it comes to your creativity?

Because I’ve always been in some sort of creative line of work, it is second nature to them to be supportive.  My wife has always been my biggest supporter. She used to go on the road with me to tattoo conventions and be right there working the booth with me, pimping me out for all she’s worth.  Now with the writing, it is a shared interest and, like I mentioned before, she helps me quite a bit.  She is also working on a couple of projects herself. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.