Conversations with Hope Hollinsworth Coaxum

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Hollinsworth Coaxum.

Hi Hope, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It all started after the death of my son, an experience that profoundly changed my life and inspired me to begin expressing my thoughts and emotions through storytelling. I started as a novelist, writing stories inspired by everyday life, with a little imagination and embellishment woven into them.

Over time, my storytelling evolved beyond the page, leading me into theatrical productions, where I discovered a new way to bring stories, encapsulated by everyday life to the stage, which also included writing songs. From there, I expanded into film, continuing to explore different creative forms and finding new ways to share stories, emotions, and experiences with others.

Today, my creative journey continues to be rooted in that original passion for storytelling and the belief that even the most difficult experiences can inspire something meaningful while revealing your purpose and to use my creativity and experiences to tell stories that connect, inspire, and give meaning to the lives of others.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t believe anything as meaningful as your gift, per se, is ever completely smooth and without challenges. One of my biggest struggles has always been questioning whether people would gravitate toward my writing, connect with my words, or truly believe in the message I’m trying to share.

Putting your thoughts, your purpose, and a piece of yourself out into the world can feel incredibly vulnerable, especially when you don’t know how others will receive it. But over time, I’ve learned to appreciate those struggles and challenges. They’re part of the process.

When something truly means that much to you, the road may not always be easy. But the obstacles along the way can shape your voice, strengthen your purpose, and ultimately make the work, and the message behind it, even more impactful.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I consider myself a creative, a storyteller who builds, shapes, and brings the written, visual, and emotional elements of a project to life. For more than eighteen years, I have developed stories and characters through literature, theatrical production, and film, continually exploring new ways to transform imagination into experiences that audiences can see, feel, and remember.

My literary journey includes seven novels, A Juicy Story, Delusional, A Gift of Sunshine, Once Upon A Place in Time, and Everything Necessary, as well as the co-written works SOULS, One and SOULS, Two. My stories eventually began to move beyond the page, opening the door to theatrical productions, Never Judge a Book By It’s Cover, a gospel theatrical stage play, Diary of a Mother, a stage documentary and, ultimately, film, Smile of A Monster, Her Decision, A Son to A Father. Most recently, my storytelling expanded into the series Half Past Thirty and other visual forms of storytelling, including the vertical drama, Romeo and Lela, which propelled me into directing. Today I direct and produce my film work, bringing my stories from concept to screen through both creative vision and production.

My first theatrical production, A Gift of Sunshine, was adapted from my novel of the same name. The production received a Betterment of Achievement Award, an honor I am particularly proud of because it recognizes a project that demonstrated meaningful engagement with and contribution to the community.

My creative process is rooted in visualization. I have a natural ability to see characters, environments, moments, and scenes beyond the words on the page. I then work to translate that vision into something an audience can experience, whether through the written word, live performance, or the visual language of film.

Sensory storytelling is central to my work. I use descriptive language and visual detail to create mental pictures while engaging the senses of sound, smell, taste, texture, movement, and emotion. I think that’s what sets me apart from others and what I am most proud of is when I hear from a reader who says “I could actually picture the room”. I want an audience to do more than watch a story unfold. I want them to feel as though they have stepped inside of it.

That same approach informs my interest in film. Film provides another dimension through which I can shape a story, using imagery, performance, sound, setting, pacing, atmosphere, and visual composition to communicate what may sometimes exist beyond words. I am especially drawn to the way a single close up shot can convey complex emotion, capturing the depth of sadness and allowing the audience to feel what the character may not be able to say. I am interested in the entire creative experience, developing the story, understanding the characters, envisioning the world they inhabit, and helping determine how that world is ultimately experienced by an audience.

Whether I am writing a novel, developing a theatrical production, or bringing a story to the screen, my purpose remains the same, to create an experience that feels real enough to enter.

I believe the strongest stories invite audiences to participate with their imagination. They allow us to see ourselves in unfamiliar places, situations, recognizing pieces of ourselves in characters, feel emotions we may not have expected, and leave with something that continues to resonate after the story ends.

For me, creativity is not confined to one medium. It is the ability to envision something that does not yet exist and then build it, word by word, scene by scene, image by image, until the audience can see it, feel it, and become part of the story.

How do you think about luck?
Luck is such an interesting word, and in some instances both, good and bad, may have played a role in my life and business, but I’ve never viewed it as the defining factor in my success or failure as it makes it seem almost accidental.

Yes, there have been moments when things didn’t go my way, opportunities didn’t work out, and circumstances felt like setbacks. At the time, they may have looked like bad luck, but I don’t believe in that. Those experiences supported me tremendously, pushing me in directions I may not have chosen for myself.

I’ve grown, evolved, learned, and continued moving forward. What some might call luck, I consider fate, whether others define it as good or bad. All of the circumstances, opportunities, choices have shaped my journey and continued to do so.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hopehealing, @hopebyhhc, @njabbic, @diaryofamother, @half.past.thirty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hope.coaxum
• Twitter: @hopehealing2
• Youtube: @HDPTV_FILM