Georgine Hodgkinson
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson
Author of Crypto Island: A Memoir of Midlife Relocation to Puerto Rico
Georgine had built a life of careful control. She was a wife, mother, and college professor— someone who played by the rules—after surviving a turbulent, poverty-and-addiction-marked adolescence. Then the pandemic sent her and her husband Mark to Puerto Rico, where she stumbled into a wild, high-stakes cryptocurrency community and the island's tangled-up politics. Crypto Island is her memoir about what happened when her carefully ordered life met chaos again—and what it forced her to finally face from her past in order to embrace midlife reinvention. Kirkus Reviews calls this story of resilience "brutally honest and deeply introspective, a courageous and powerful memoir."
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson
Author I draw inspiration from:
I’m going to cheat a little by dividing this question into two categories: Authors who inspired me to write my own memoir and authors who helped shape my thinking about craft.
Two authors that inspired me to write a memoir are Lara Love Hardin, author of The Many Lives of Mama Love and Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Chronology of Water. These authors have written many books, but the two I mention here are particularly courageous. They give the reader a front row seat to their struggles with substances and family dynamics. They reveal the most personal details of lived experience. Their honesty inspired me to write transparently about my own life in Crypto Island.
When it comes to craft, two books stand out. Mary Karr's The Art of Memoir challenges writers to find their voice, arguing that "each great memoir lives or dies based 100 percent on voice." The memoirist's voice is the thing that pulls a reader inside the story, inside the mind of the narrator. Jennifer Leigh Selig's Deep Memoir taught me the other half of the equation—how to connect to the heart of a reader through the archetype of character, which helped me broaden the appeal of my own book.
Deciding to tell your story is step one, but finding your voice and connecting to the hearts of your readers? That's where the magic lives—the thing writers might spend decades trying to perfect. These are the two books I'd hand to anyone just starting a memoir.
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
I split my time between California and Puerto Rico, so this answer changes depending on where I’m located. I have lots of well-loved reading spots but my favorite is on the island. When I’m in Puerto Rico, you’ll find me devouring pages at the beach. After a day of working in front of a computer screen, I grab a book, a beach chair, and head for the sand. There’s nothing better than reading under a palm tree while pelicans soar and waves crash nearby.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Okay, before I answer—I have to tell you that the thought of being stuck in an elevator freaks me out. So my answer is related to a possible escape! I think I’d choose Lucy Pevensie from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. An elevator is a lot like a magic wardrobe, right? My hope is that she could get us both to safety.
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I’ve always thought of myself as a writer. You’ll find proof of this fact in the many boxes of little-girl diaries in my garage. But a memoirist? This is a more recent development. I decided to write a book when I moved to Puerto Rico in 2020 and got involved with the cryptocurrency community on the island. You know how they say that truth is stranger than fiction? The unusual events I experienced, and crazy cast of characters I met, were the perfect ingredients for writing a book.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback and paperback—It’s a tie. I love how these books smell, how the paper pages feel in my fingers, and how their cracked spines line my bookshelf. Hardback and paperback books feel like old friends. Plus, I like to annotate old school style, pen and highlighter in hand. I know, I know, they take up too much space, but these formats are my favorite. I give both top marks.
Ebook—I love the space-saving convenience of this format. I don’t stop and hug my kindle to my chest when a story moves me like I do with paper books, but if you’re a reader, ebooks simplify life and make travel easier. The days of lugging a stack of books on and off planes in a backpack are over for me. When I’m on the move, it’s with ebooks.
Audiobook—My enjoyment of this format hinges almost entirely on the narrator’s voice. I don’t mean to sound shallow, but a book I might not typically read like The Woman in Me (Britney Spears’s 2023 memoir) caught my attention because Michelle Williams (the Oscar-nominated actress) was the audiobook narrator. Loved it!
The last book I read:
I just finished reading The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline. Next month, I’m headed to a writer’s conference and she is the keynote, so we’ll be discussing her book. Anyway, this novel is fantastic. Its characters are unusual and the narrative is incredibly imaginative for historical fiction. Set in the 1800s, it tells the story of the world-famous conjoined twins, Eng and Chang Bunker and their wives, Sarah and Adelaide Yates. If you read this book, don’t skip the author’s note at the end where Baker Kline reveals her personal relationship to the book’s cast of characters.
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I’m a computer person all the way, unless I get really stuck. If I can’t seem to dig my way out of a particularly bad bout of writer’s block, I close my lap top and grab a yellow legal paper pad. (My husband is an attorney so these extra-large pads are all around my house!). Sometimes changing materials, and shifting from keys to scrawl, is the thing that allows me to find a new narrative direction.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Over the years, I have longed to befriend many a book character. Female characters who have endured, grown, and transformed are almost always my cup of tea. (Think: Kya Clark from Delia Owens's Where the Crawdads Sing). But strong female characters I’ve loved to hate? I didn’t have any until I read Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. I found the protagonist, Natalie Heller Mills, one of the juiciest characters I’ve gotten to know in years! And while I’m answering this question in the reverse, she’s a character worth mentioning. As a successful “tradwife” and social media influencer, Natalie and I are as opposite as can be, but her presence on the page provides a riveting social critique that is worth investigating.
Author Interview - Georgine Hodgkinson | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Teacher. I mean, I am a teacher, so this one's easy. I've been a professor of communication studies for more than thirty years. It’s a job I love. My favorite class to teach is interpersonal communication, where I get to learn about relationships—with ourselves and others—alongside my students each semester. Given my academic background in self-identity and family dynamics, I suppose it was inevitable I’d become a memoirist.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I grew up in the eighties—the age of big hair, big dayglow, big eye shadow, big earrings, and big love for Madonna. What’s not to admire from this fashionable era?
Place I’d most like to travel:
Relocating to Puerto Rico has offered many benefits, including my ever-growing love for Latin culture (and Bad Bunny!). In the spring, my husband and I plan to visit Mexico City. I love that this place is a mix of old and new—classic Spanish architecture and modern creative energy. Friends who’ve been there tell me the food scene is like no other and not to miss the quesadillas—sold right on street corners with Oaxacan cheese, squash blossoms, and fresh salsa.
My signature drink:
I’m a G&T fan, but the perfect cocktail comes with the perfect setting. For me, that’s watching the sunset at Kikita Beach House in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
Favorite artist:
This question is like asking a bumble bee if they have a favorite flower, so I’m going familial with this answer: my fourteen-year-old niece, Whitney. She recently painted me a beautiful canvas of koi that I proudly hang in my home. She’s got real talent and I can’t wait to watch her artistic future unfold.
Number one on my bucket list:
A summer-long baseball stadium tour. It's true—over the years I've adopted my husband's love for the game. When we travel somewhere new, we do our best to catch a game. Most recently, we saw the Nippon-Ham Fighters play the Orix Buffaloes in Japan.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you for reading this interview. I hope you’ll connect with me on social media:
Author website: https://georginehodgkinson.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@georginehodgkinson
Instagram: @georginehodgkinson | https://www.instagram.com/georginehodgkinson
About Georgine Hodgkinson:
Georgine Hodgkinson
Georgine Hodgkinson is a professor of communication studies at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where she also served as program coordinator for Re-Emerging Scholars, a program for formerly incarcerated students. Her published scholarship includes book chapters, journal articles, and essays exploring politics, gender, and spirituality. In 2025, she was a People’s Choice Winner for the Amy MacRae International Memoir Award. A certified yoga instructor who loves to run and play pickleball, Georgine splits her time between Dorado, Puerto Rico, and Folsom, California, with her husband, Mark.
