Triple A Interviews

Meet Jaeson Clifton

1. How did you start writing on Wattpad?

I started writing on Wattpad on a previous account back in 2018, originally meant to show positive LGBTQ+ representation for the Slavic community as it's usually unfortunately frowned upon, and I wanted to show to fellow Slavic people that it was okay to be different. I had a few side project stories I had been messing with, and being a kid then, I originally wanted to share what I had of those stories for feedback from older writers. Writing has always been a passion for me, though as I've been creating my own stories since I was about five. I took a break from Wattpad in 2020 to focus on school but unfortunately lost access to the original account. I made a new one (my current one), though I didn't come back to use it until 2022 when a friend of mine made their own. For fun, I decided to slowly publish one of the dark fantasy stories I was writing in my free time—-as I did that, I remembered just how much I loved putting my stories out there for people to read. With school not being a problem anymore, I found myself having a lot more time to finish projects that I might've not before. Since then, in my stories, I've made a major focus on being more informative on mental illnesses (such as schizophrenia, something I had to grow up with) to combat the negative perceptions of people who suffer from these things.

2. What are some of your favorite tropes to use in your writing? What do you love about them?

Enemies to lovers has always been one of my favorite tropes in writing. Friends to lovers is interesting enough, but I personally find enemies to lovers more compelling to me with the things I write. Oftentimes, characters will both have to get over their grudges with the other to focus on wherever the plot leads them. I find that enemies to lovers provides interesting interactions between the two. I personally love to see how much they grow from the beginning to the end. I also enjoy the "chosen one" trope every now and then, especially if the character wants nothing to do with it. It's always interesting to see how the character will handle everything that's expected of them especially when they're just a random person with nothing fancy about them.

3. Tell us about the story you're working on right now. What has you especially excited to write it?

As of right now, I have a few projects I've been working on in my free time, but my main focus has been the rewrite of The World Outside as well as a story called Lavender Light Inn. What's gotten me excited about The World Outside is how long I've had the idea. I had originally written the story when I was twelve. Since then, I decided to go back in and rewrite the story to flesh out characters and their interactions and it's just been amazing to see how much the story has grown over the years. With Lavender Light Inn, it's been an idea I've been messing around with for a little while, but it's been rewarding to write it as it focuses on LGBTQ+ representation as well as mental health aspects, which is what I often brush on in my work.

4. If you had to write a spin off story about any of your characters, who would you choose and why?

Writing as many stories as I have, I've had a lot of memorable side characters, many of which I wanted to give spin-offs in the past. I have, in fact, written spin-off stories for some. The stories I've been the most excited to work on is a spin-off for a character from The World Outside named L, who's been one of my favorite characters I've created for years because there was always so much mystery surrounding his character in the original story and I thought it would be fun to flesh out his backstory. Another spin-off story that's been exciting to write has been for my character Athanasia, who was originally featured in my dark fantasy story Son of Perseus. Writing a spin-off story for Athanasia has probably been one of the best ideas I've ever had, as creating her backstory has allowed me to create an even more connected dark fantasy world that would've been incomplete without it.

5. You've written over 70 stories ranging from short stories to novels, specializing in the fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, historical, and horror genres. If you had to pick one of your stories to recommend to a new reader, which one would it be and why?

When it comes to where to start with my books, it really depends on what sort of genre draws the reader in. Usually my horror or historical stories are one-off stories, but my fantasy and paranormal ones are usually part of a larger series, as are my dystopian stories. I'd definitely recommend The World Outside to people who enjoy more dystopian worlds as that one's been a passion project for so long and has undergone enough changes to help flesh out the world to keep readers engaged. Though if paranormal and fantasy stories pique someone's interest more, I'd recommend Bewitching the Demon as it really sets the foundations of how all things magic work in that universe—-or even possibly The Dead May Rise for those who like dark fantasy or historical genres, as that one focuses on an actual historical event, but with a dark twist.

Huge thanks to GraveyardSiren for the amazing interview! We hope it will encourage more people to check out his wide variety of awesome stories.