Awwthentic Magazine ©

Smiling All the Way :)

Interview with Smilies :)

1) Tell us about yourself

> My pen name on here is Tonia Stark, and I'm a fantasy/paranormal/adventure sort of reader and writer. I've been on Wattpad for two years, and besides anything to do with books and stories, I like listening and playing music, and watching tv shows and movies.

2) When did you started writing? What inspired you to write?

> I started writing when I was about eleven or twelve years old for fun. Before that, I wrote stories for school, but never really liked it because I had to write what a picture told me to, and I never liked restrictions. My biggest inspiration to actually write is other stories that inspire me. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series is the one that really started my hobby of writing, and though I've found other favourites over the years, PJO holds a special place in my heart. <3

3) Do you have a specific writing style?

> Writing style? Well, I'm not sure what the question is asking exactly, but I write in third person in basically everything, and I start sentences with "and" purposely because I get frustrated with the system sometimes, if that's what you mean. ;-)

4) Do you see writing as a career?

> Writing as a career...as much as I love writing, I can't ever see myself writing as a career. I can't force myself to write, and I'd never be able to publish anything that I'm not 100% happy with. I'm also not good with deadlines or anything. Thing is, I love writing so much that I don't want it to be my job. I guess it could be fun, but I have other career paths, but even then, I'll always still be writing and reading.

5) You have a book of reviews and interviews of your favorite wattpad authors. What made you decide to start this book?

> Well, I guess to give some certain deserving undiscovered authors a little spotlight. I think bringing attention to these great writers who aren't noticed by Wattpad as much really helps them, so I created a book to give them some recognition.

6) Tell us about the books you have written. What's special about each of them?

> Well, I'll talk about the ones on my profile since the two other books I've written are (putting this nicely) donkey poo.

First is This Blinding Smoke, the first story I've actually finished. It's special to me, for that reason I just mentioned, and also because I created a whole new world for the story based off of the Victorian Era, filled with demons and wars and other creatures, and I'm really happy with that. My other completed story, Furtive Affairs, which is a romance/paranormal is cool because I've never written a romance before. It's special because it's not /just/ a romance. It has scary parts, family struggles, death, hardship. I try to make the romance realistic, and women strong and not wimps that lose their brains when they meet "the one". Phantasia, a fantasy/adventure is about a teenage girl stuck in her dream world. Usually, when I read these type of stories, the character is stuck with a boy or a crush or something, so I wanted to break the cliche and make her stuck in this world with her mom, which certainly makes things interesting. Also, Phantasia is one of the only stories I've written that take place in modern times. My last story, one that I just recently started is Oasis of Blood. I'm really excited for this and think it's special because it's really something I've never done before. It takes place in a world that's vicious and brutal, where sin is around every corner. It has this spiritual element to it too, which I rarely incorporate into my writing at all. And it's a story about love, love between parents and children, and families, and God and all that.

7) Name a favorite character from any of your book and explain why?

> Alright, so my favourite character from any book is definitely Ivana Harper from Furtive Affairs because she's such a strong, independent girl in a world that's against her. She stands up for what she believes in, isn't a stupid idiotic fool when in love, and she cares immensely for her family and her friends. But she also has flaws - she has a big mouth, is a bit judgemental at first, but flaws are what make her more human, I guess. And I think flaws combined with good traits really bring a character alive. :)

8) Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?

> Yeah, I always read reviews/comment (even if I don't always reply to them because I have the memory of a piece of grain). I try to respond to them, and I'm slowly getting caught up on them. It doesn't make any difference to me if they're good or bad reviews though, I'll respond to both.

And as for my advice towards "bad" criticism, I think you just have to accept it. Sure, it may be a little disheartening to hear, but it really is helpful. Don't look at it as a "bad" review, look at it as one that's trying to help you. Unless, of course, they're just being trolls and unhelpful, just bashing on you and your writing. They're not out attacking you personally, they want to help you grow as a writer. I love reading constructive criticism and I don't actually view it as "bad". No one's perfect, and unless you accept that you can ALWAYS improve and learn, you're going nowhere with advancing your talents as writers.

9) Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it?

> Basically, anything I wouldn't read, or anything I would never want my parents to read. If it's something I think my parents would disown if they read, I would never write it. (Not that they'd ever disown me though, because I'm flawless. ;D)

10) How much of your book is your imaginations, creativity or real?

> All of my books are imaginations, but in books like Furtive Affairs and This Blinding Smoke, I base off the setting from certain time periods or eras in history that I love. I don't use real people or anything like that in my stories.

11) Your message to readers.

11) My readers mean everything to me on Wattpad. The very fact you look at my stories mean so much to me, even if you don't vote or comment or anything. I wouldn't be where I am without you guys. I wouldn't have votes or reads or comments if people didn't like my work, and I just love sharing my stories with such awesome people! I hope I have made you feel some sort of emotion through my writing (be it anger, frustration, happiness, joy, or dem feels when a ship sets sail ;D) Anything who even checks out my writing is beyond beyond beyond awesometacular and I don't have words to express my gratitude. (wow, and that's coming from a writer! I'm supposed to be full of words!!)

Oh, and Shine On! ;)

Quick Questions:

Movie: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Music: Soundtracks/Orchestral Music

Book: The Book Thief

Song: Anything that can make me cry

Quote: 1 Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." =)

Enjoy Reading!

Thank you.

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