Wattpad Author Interviews (Requests Taken)

INTERVIEW FIVE. SALLYSLATER, AUTHOR OF ''PALADIN''

Dear Readers,

Long time no update! Well, you’re gonna love this one, because guess who’s in the studio with me today?

It’s…drumroll…SallySlater!!!

SallySlater has written a lot of amazing books, including Paladin which is, since I’ve read it, one of my favourite books here on Wattpad. Read this interview to find out more about her and her book!

Me: Hey Sally! How are you doing?

Sally: I’m fine, thank you!

Me: Well, let’s start with the interview! I’m sure your readers can’t wait and truth to tell, neither can I! Okay, so, first question: What is your favourite book? In general, I mean.

Sally: This is an almost impossible question for me to answer, because I have read and loved so many books. I’m going to cheat and give you two answers: my CURRENT favourite is Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews in the Kate Daniels series. Curran, the main male character, is my #1 book boyfriend and the chemistry between all the characters jumps right off the page. Plus, the mythology in the book is genius. I could go on and on about why I love this book/series, but I would hate to give away spoilers. Just go read it if you haven’t – the first book is Magic Bites. My ALL-TIME favourite is probably Alanna: The First Adventure (Paladin is in some ways a more grown up version of a lot of the themes in this book). I’ve always been a fan of the girl-disguised-as-a-boy trope, and I love me a medieval setting.

Me: Ooh, yes. I agree with the medieval setting things. It always adds such a rustic touch to a book, I find. So, since we’re already on the subject of favourites, who is your favourite author, in general?

Sally: Again, I have so many (Ilona Andrews, who is actually a husband-wife duo, is certainly among them), but I’m going to say Tamora Pierce, who wrote Alanna: The First Adventure, as well as The Immortals, which I also loved. I read her books in elementary school and was absolutely obsessed. I sent her a handwritten letter to express how much I loved her writing (I didn’t have email back in those days!), and she actually wrote me a hand-written letter back! She recommended some other authors who write about powerful women- Patricia C. Wrede, Anne McCaffery, Robin McKinley- all authors who would become eventual favourites of mine.

Me: She seriously wrote you a letter back! That’s fantastic! I’ve actually never read any books by these authors, but I sure will now. They sound exciting! What was your inspiration upon writing Paladin?

Sally: There simply aren’t enough stories out there, particularly in the fantasy genre, with women heroes. I have always believed that women are and can be strong, and I think we need more women in literature to portray that image. I love romance as much as the next girl, but I hate the idea that a woman can either be strong and powerful OR in love. I wanted a story where romance was an integral part of the story but my character didn’t need to sacrifice her dreams or her personality to find her happily ever after.

Me: Well, from what I’ve read, you’ve totally succeeded in that. That’s actually one of the things that I loved about the story. Sam has a fierce, yet tender side to her. It’s excellently portrayed! When did you start writing?

Sally: I made a few really terrible attempts at fiction when I was very young… maybe 10 or 11 years old. I was obsessed with princesses, I think because I’d been inspired by the book The Ordinary Princess, and all of my characters were named after either jewels or flowers. One of these days I’ll have to find my old writing and publish the stories to Wattpad for everyone’s amusement.

Me: Please do!

Sally: Haha :D I didn’t get seriously writing creatively until I found Wattpad back in 2010. I had taken a fiction course in college and had found it somewhat discouraging. In other words, the professor wasn’t all the impressed with me :D. I didn’t attempt writing fiction again until I’d graduated and was working full-time. I didn’t have any inkling that what I wrote was any decent, but I started getting readers and followers who urged me to keep writing. And so here I am.

Me: I’m glad they did! Otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy Paladin! What are your other hobbies beside writing?

Sally: The hobby that takes up most of my time outside of writing is a sport called CrossFit. The basic premise of CrossFit is that it trains you to become the fittest version of yourself, and combines several different disciplines to do that: weight lifting, gymnastics, and various aerobic exercises (running, swimming, jumping robe, etc.) In the eyes of CrossFit, if you can lift 500 pounds, but you can’t run a mile or do a pull-up, you’re not all that fit. You should be able to lift 500 pounds AND run a mile (preferably under 6 minutes) and do a minimum of 10 pull-ups in a row. For the record, I train with people who can do this. I doubt I’ll ever be able to lift 500 lbs, but I’m aspiring for 300.

Me: Wow! So you’re athletic as well as a good writer! Way to go! I wish I could stick to exercises that long, but I tend to give up rather quickly. So, I (and I’m sure many others) enjoyed Paladin to the max. but it had a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, didn’t it? Are you working on a Paladin II?

Sally: Not yet, but hopefully will be soon! I expect to wrap up my rewrite around January or February and then I can devote all of next year to the sequel. The good news is that I already have an outline started.

Me: Excellent! I literally can’t wait! I’m longing to join Sam again on her journey of adventure! Speaking of Sam, would you choose Tristan or Braeden, were you in Sam’s place?

Sally: Oof, tough question! I think Tristan and Braeden are both wonderful mean (and they’re both seriously attractive in their own unique way). In my opinion, Sam chooses the right guy for her in the end. I’ve got my own real-world boyfriend and no offense to T or B, but I wouldn’t trade him for either one of them.

Me: I agree. I’m currently single, so I think I’d say Braeden. He’s a half- demon, which I personally think is totally cool! What is your advice on writing a better story?

Sally: I’m not sure every author will agree with me on this, but I think characters make the story. You need to know every aspect of your characters’ personalities, what makes them tick, what they dream of, what they desire, what their weaknesses are, in order to write them well. And you need to love all of them, even the evil guys, or at least love writing them. If you aren’t in love with your characters, you certainly won’t be able to make readers fall in love.

Me: That is very good advice. I think I’ve been lacking that in my past stories, which made me delete them and start with a new one. I like to think this one is going better, but only time will tell. Is there any author here of Wattpad you admire?

Sally: I think @DistantDreamer is incredibly talented. She has a very poetic style of writing that manages to be beautiful without losing the thread of the plot, which I really admire. @Lana_Skye is another author I follow (I don’t think she knows I do) and her works are a total guilty pleasure – great writing combined with really salacious topics and fun characters.

Me: I must remember to check out their stories. They sound amazing! Since your book is so good, and you love writing, are you planning on becoming an author?

Sally: I can tell you that yes, I am 100% planning to publish Paladin (with some major edits) in the next few months. Does that make me a real author? Haha. As for becoming a writer full-time, I don’t know about that. part of the reason I love writing so much is because I get to do it for me and for my readers, and not for a paycheck. But who knows what the future holds?

Me: You can never know. I can tell you one thing though, I would totally buy your books if they were published! Now for the last question: Do you have anything to say to your fans?

Sally: Yes, so much! Thank you for sticking with me through the good times and the bad – my long, frustrating periods of writer’s block are hopefully behind me and I so appreciate the tremendous support the Wattpad community has given me in the four years I’ve been here. Without my fans, there would be no Paladin, and I would never have discovered my passion for writing. I owe my fans a lot and am excited for what lies ahead.

Me: So are we Sally! So are we! Well, thank you for letting me do this interview with you and I wish you a lot of success and happy writing in the years to come! Readers, give a huge applause for SALLYSLATER!