Funky Brown Chick
Meet Twanna A. Hines - a sex, dating and relationships writer living a very public (and fascinating) life in New York City. She's been featured on everything from CNN to the San Francisco Chronicle and blogs at The Huffington Post. She even hung out with Gary Vaynerchuk on Wine Library TV. We've been Facebook chums for awhile now and I totally dig her. She's smart, sexy and always a good read. Fans of Sex and the City will find a real-life Carrie Bradshaw (minus the issues). Much like TBK, this is a bold woman who enlightens.
Q: My you've been busy. CNN, Glamour, NPR. How do you market yourself?
Honestly, believe it or not, I don't currently do any outside PR or marketing. I firmly believe, when you're being your most honest self, people who are looking for you will find you. Oprah has a quote about luck being mostly about preparation. I really believe that.
Q: What motivated you to start your blog? How do you see it evolving?
I started this particular blog when I moved to New York. The dating scene here was so different than anywhere else I'd lived, so I started writing about it. My site's evolution is very organic. It started on blogger.com in 2005, then I migrated it to my own domain. I've redesigned the template too many times to count. My motto is: you're either changing and evolving or you're stifling your inner creativity.
Q: What would you say to those who are uptight about sex?
Get over it.
Q: What post has generated the most comments?
It's always the posts that I don't expect to get attention that actually do. I wrote a post about men who wear thongs once and it got CRAZY attention. Dudes started sending me pictures of themselves in thongs and everything.
Q: What's your favorite thing about New York?
That it constantly evolves. It's the same city, but it's never the same place for long.
Q: How has porn shaped our view of sex... if at all?
Porn is like a two-way mirror. It projects out at society, but it also shows us what's already there.
Q: You say you like a good boy who's bad. Define "bad."
I don't like bad men. I like good people who aren't confined by societal norms. I've always been subversive, and I'm drawn to subversive people.
Q: As an avid Foursquare user, aren't you concerned about stalkers?
Stalking existed before Foursquare.
Q: What are some of the best songs you've heard recently?
It's old now, but I can't ever get enough "BAD ROMANCE." For what it's worth, generally, I gravitate toward classics more than new stuff. On my Pandora, I shared a funny story about a dude who ended a date with me super early because of my musical tastes.
Q: What influences led to you being a writer?
I started writing in personal, hand-written journals when I was a very little girl, and I've never stopped.
Q: What's the biggest misconception people have about you?
They assume I'll sleep with them or that I'm generally very easy - just because I write about sex and relationships. Doesn't work that way.
Q: What's your favorite supermarket indulgence?
I live in New York. I almost always eat at restaurants.
Q: What do you want for Christmas?
It's a secret.
Q: What's next? Can you elaborate on the "FOURPLAY" project with Bravo?
That, too, is a secret. :)
Twanna Hines on the Web
Buddha
Reader Comments (2)
Nice pic. I like her dress. I'll read the text later.
I read the text. She seems really intelligent. Great interview.