Winner from PrettyInPunk Awards Action & adventure category
1st place
1 what inspired the idea of your story?
Karib's story originated almost two decades ago as a comic book series following him as an older mercenary who gets by completing sketchy contracts within the urban setup of Paris.I recently stumbled upon those projects and felt the creative push towards this character again — this time in the form of a book and taking the timeline years back, following a younger Karib.
With this in mind, narrative elements from other projects and my personal preferences as a reader came in: lock the action within a real-life setup with bridges to historical events and offer an entertaining, action-packed story.
2 what is something you struggled constructing with your story?
Rather than struggle, I would go with what has been the part where I needed to work the most on, through research and work. This is about writing characters from backgrounds that I need to familiarize myself with.
The team we follow is truly diverse. As a writer, I owe it to the characters (and the readers) to build them as genuine and layered. I am improving every day, and experts proofread early versions to avoid falling into clichés — unless it is justified by the story.
3 what did you enjoy writing most of your story?
I love the dynamic between build-ups and pay-offs — within the chapter, later in the story or from one book to another.
4 what's the overall response of your story from your readers?
Thanks to the Wattpad platform and its way of adding comments at the heart of the story, I thoroughly enjoy seeing the readers' reactions.An excellent illustration of the engagement is when readers start arguing about a scene and about characters' motivations: who is justified, who is a "bad guy".
Some people share their hatred for a character, while others support them — it is rewarding to see such intense reactions.
5 is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series ?
Due South is built as a stand-alone story in the Karib's Adventures series. As a reader, I want my story to begin and end with the book I hold, so I aim to provide this to my readers.
This being said, the series' next book will take off directly where Due South ends. The idea is for readers discovering Karib's Adventures with the second book will enjoy the whole experience, and the ones who read Due South will see theirs enhanced.
6 what would you like your readers to take away from your story?
I hope readers have a good time reading the story and feel entertained and recharged once they return to their everyday lives. It would be an incredible added bonus if I could spark an interest in different topics and trigger positive self-reflection.
7 what advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story?
My humble advice is to focus on this one story until it is completed and not write anything for future projects.
I read an interview with Stephen King where he explained that he does not write ideas that come to him because if it is a good idea, he will remember it somehow.
8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?
We share similarities from a few dimensions.
The situation at school is inspired by my experience as a pupil and student.
Karib's overall physical abilities mirror the training I enrolled in as a young adult.
9 what is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers?
One element not disclosed in the blurb is how much the reader will travel while following Karib on this mission. We will travel to six countries across four continents and learn a bit about each of them along the way.
10 do you have any future projects?
I keep a few projects out of focus to dedicate myself fully to Due South. We will see which one I will get to once I hit the "complete" button.
As a plotter, I already have the outline and events for the second novel in the series. The story concludes at the end of Due South, and the action will immediately follow within the second book — I want each of Karib's Adventures books to be stand-alone stories.
The third book will make a u-turn in how we approach Karib and his adventures.
Finally, I want to transpose another comic book project into a novel. For now, I envision a third-person narrator using the past tense.