Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #3 (3 of 3)

A showcase with @Aqua_King author of: Intrigued

1 What inspired the idea of your story?

Some of my own personal experiences in life was what inspired me to start writing. I often journal my experiences and I wondered if anyone could relate. This book is my diary in the least bit though. It got me through the door to write consistently if you will. Then I realized I'm still in college and I can see how run down and tired everyone is mentally and many other aspects and applied them to the book. And there's just so much more, but I'll stop here lol.

2 what is something you struggled constructing with your story?

The primary struggle with writing this and some of the other projects I'm working was nailing the flow & the pacing of the story. I want to be descriptive. I want anyone who reads it to feel and see what the character goes through as if it were them. However, I don't want to reader to become before things start to pick up. In real life, love isn't always instant or happen quickly. There are people out there want to take their time to get it right. Those same people could be dealing with many, many insecurities too.

3 what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

One of my favorite part writing this story is definitely writing the interactions between Malachi and his dad/friends. That and putting a few of the more intense emotions in the book. I felt proud of every little moment thus far, but when I went back to read it, it felt relatable. More importantly, I captivated myself, lol.

4 what's the overall response of your story from your readers?

 I'm not sure honestly, it's really difficult to gain readers. Consistent readers at that. But so far, that isn't my focus. My focus is to make sure that I put out the best body of work I can. Once I do that, it's only a matter of time before the readers come.

5 is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series ?

Well honestly, I'm not sure yet! I do think that there is plenty of potential for it to become a series as some of the side characters storylines begin to develop! I would most likely give the readers a choice as to who's storyline they would like to see develop. Besides, there's another series I'm working on too :)

6 what would you like your readers to take away from your story?

This is such an important question to me, seriously. One hand, the main thing that I want my readers to take away from the book is self-love, acceptance, and self-care. Being able to tell yourself that it's okay to work on yourself and what you may deem as flaws, but to understand that all of your flaws to you, are not ALL flaws to others. On the other hand, I want to teach my readers about some of the more important themes. Sexual assault, rape, and mental health are all things I feel we don't talk about enough or do enough for. I had random thought that I would like to illustrate my idea of how badly these experiences can tear someone down. How difficult it can be to love yourself, much less to let someone else love on you. 

7 what advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story?

Advice? Hmm, I'm definitely not an expert, but I would say not to focus so much on the number of readers. Focus on making your work the best it can be. I never thought that as writer, I would go back and read my work, smiling to myself thinking 'Yeah, I wrote the hell out of that!' Besides, less readers equals more focus if you want to look at the bright side. Should promote your book? Yes. Am I saying don't try? No. It just shouldn't be your primary focus nor influence how often you work on your projects.

8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

I love this question as well! Yes, absolutely yes! Malachi is the most similar to me. From the way he presents himself, the way he only opens up more around his friends, to the way he's suspicious about any romantic interest/actions thrown his way. There are quite a few references towards myself shown through him. However, his life isn't parallel to mine obviously. He has his own experiences and struggles. Declan (Dex) represents the rebellious side of me! He's blunt, can be very unfiltered, ignorantly insensitive. The side that I wished I said, did, done something, etc. He represents that classic moody teenager anger with a little extra on it. But he has his reasons for acting the way he does. 

9 what is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers?

 I believe the cohesiveness of my story will draw people in. Putting in a little bit more extra work. By the time I publish a new chapter, believe me when I saw I'm about ten chapters ahead. Just editing them. There's always something you can add, take out, combine, elaborate a little more, or just describe more. But the most important for me would be making it LOOK like it will be a great read and then hope for the best lol.

10 do you have any future projects?

Ooh yes! I'm not giving any details whatsoever, but I will give you a little something at least lol.

Werewolf (Series)

Mafia (Standalone)

College (Standalone)

There's a couple more but that's all you get. The order they are listed are how they'll be released! And I'm not one of those authors that will rush to release a million books lol. I want them to be just cohesive. I'm especially excited for that werewolf series! You guys just don't understand! It's already twenty in!