Book Title: Bitter Hearts: A Dark Cinderella Retelling
Author: selzy123
Interviewer: _bailies
Q. How did you come up with the idea for the book?
A. I've always loved Disney Princess movies but a couple months ago, I started watching those "I'm about to ruin your childhood" Tiktok videos and they brought out that side of me that had always wondered if everybody had a happy ending that easy. That's how Bitter Hearts was born and because at that time murder and mystery novels were fascinating to me I decided to write my very own murder book.
Q. What were some challenges you faced during the writing process?
A. Well the very first problem I had was having the courage to actually put my book out there. It took a lot out of me to actually publish. I've been mocked for writing, been told that writing won't take me anywhere, my work is trash stuff like that and for a very long time I believed that but in recent times I have started to put all that hate behind me and just pour out myself into what I love to do; writing :-).
The other challenge is getting myself to actually start writing. Bruhh I love it but I'm lazy!
Q. The story seems to have a LOT of characters. Does that become a problem sometimes?
A. Not really because before I start writing the next chapter I read the entire book again just to refresh my memory. I also have a book with information about my book, it has my characters name in it and little details about them, so I can I can always go back to it.
Q. What are some struggles to set a background and community of a story unfamiliar to many people (ie. Nigeria) and yet make people relate to it?
A. Well my story is set in West Africa. I'm a Nigerian so incorporating Nigerian culture isn't hard at all but having to incorporate the other 15 countries in West Africa is were the struggle comes in. Google and Pinterest are my best friends, I research a lot with them because I want to write facts, things that are true. Researching makes it easier to set a proper background.
As for it being relatable, my characters are humans after all so they are going to pass through relatable issues. The West African setting will not only educate people but also let them think about their own cultures and what their culture has in common with West African culture.
Q. What were some of the scenes you enjoyed the most writing?
A. There are three scenes I love the most; • the scene were Zenaida was found dead with a note in her hand • Cedric and Amari's wedding scene• When Mia was describing General Pricha after seeing him at the river.
Q. What are some bright and some dark aspects of writing that you'll like to share?
A. The bright side about writing is that it's fun to do, it's something that makes me happy. The amazing comments you get from really nice readers, the pride that comes with being able to string words together that actually makes sense. These are the bright sides of it.
The dark side, is when you get hate from people around you because they don't understand it, it's when you feel so low you write how you feel and when you go back to read what you have written you weep because you wonder how you can feel so deeply sad. Being a writer I over think, I think so much on how to make my characters and scenes perfect but in real life I end up over analyzing everything.
Q. Is there something you'd like to say to your readers?
A. Ignore the terrible things that have been said to you and do what really makes you happy. If you stop doing what makes you happy those people will still look for something nasty to say so why stop your happiness for people that are so insecure about themselves?
Q. And lastly but not the least, is there an advice you'd like to give to young writers?
A. It's been said over and over but I'll say it again if you like writing then just start, publish your book already!
Speak the words you write, stop trying to write like someone else, stop writing things that are way too cliche because that's what's hot on the market. Edit that chapter before you post it, do your research, stick to what you've written about your characters, not today she's blond, tomorrow she has raven black hair! Write things that are relatable, things would actually make sense in real life, show and tell equally, make sure you get the emotions correctly. Finally, this something i still struggle with, update regularly. Readers get tired of a book with slow updates.
And yes of course, have fun while you're at it.
~Thank you for reading!~
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