Hello everyone and welcome to the December issue of our monthly writer interview. Author of the Month.
My name is Laura (@LauraT_98) and truthfully I have been a massive fan of our invited author for a while. Our Book of the month this December is Vanishing Acts, an adult fiction mystery novel. Please help me welcome @Minimoxx.
Laura: Hello Mini. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to interview you. This time of the year is a rush for most people, even worse for writers. Let's start with a simple question, tell us about yourself.
What are your current works in progress? How long have you been writing? What's your life like outside of writing?
Mini: I'm Alex! I'm in my late 20s, from the UK and a wife and mother! My current works in progress are The Royalty Games series (a dystopian urban fantasy/romance) and Orion's Constellation which is a mature adult romance with a slight twist ;). I've been writing since I was 8 years old, and I even have a degree in Creative Writing. I'm currently a full-time author, but hopefully going back to work in January, so I'm usually quite busy XD
Laura: Wow looking through your profile showed us just how busy at work you've been. I mean you started publishing on Wattpad in 2012 but you already have 2 works in progress, 12 completed novels, 1 traditionally published novel, 2 samples and 5 short stories/ others. That is quite an impressive lineup. What is the writing routine that helps you write so much?
Mini: Gosh when you put it like that, it's a lot! My writing routine is usually setting aside 3-4 hours when my son has gone to bed. My husband sometimes works nights so I get the evening to myself, otherwise, he plays on the PC while I write, and then we get time together after. My son recently started school so I'm trying to get into a good editing routine while he's there - and some drafting too! I struggled a bit the last couple of months but doing NaNoWriMo has helped me get back into writing every single day, even if it's just one paragraph. That way I can keep my brain flowing with ideas!
Laura: With all those books you must have a favourite story. We know picking a favourite is a little like picking a favourite child but which of your books do you feel most connected to? Which book brings you the most happiness every time you look at it?
Mini: I'm going to cheat on this one and pick 2! My Blossoming Redemption (MBR) and Beyond Reasonable Doubt (BRD) are my favourites. Mainly because 1. MBR was the one I came up with on the spot and just researched all day, and then it turned into something completely different than what I'd hoped. The characters are drawn from people and stories I know with my own twist. The whole plot just resonated with me, and the romance is so *pure* haha. I've also never really been able to let Nick, Aspen and Joel go. They bring smiles and also tears whenever I look at them XD
BRD is also my favourite because of my character, River. For some reason he just really stuck with me; his plight, his personality and writing him was so sad yet so fun to write, I've never let him go either. I don't usually write male leads until now, and he's really just changed my outlook on them!
Laura: We just read and finished the amazing novel Vanishing Acts and let's just say it does not pull back on the punches. The story is so filled with suspense and mystery not to mention shocking twists, how did you come up with the story? What inspired you to write this novel?
Mini: Oh gosh this book was both painful and fun for me! I actually came up with it scrolling Twitter one day. It started as a prompt (your friend has vanished, but you find them. How?) and I wanted to do a mother/child plot, and something I knew wasn't done much about was the adult industries, so I did a little research and just connected all these random, weird dots. I really did love it!
Laura: Looking through your profile and dabbling a bit into each book I see a theme in each book is romance. As a romance lover myself I love to see it but tell me why. Why is romance your favourite genre to write?
Mini: It took me a LONG time to just settle on romance. For the longest time, I wanted to write about crime but never really felt *right*. After I met my husband (cliche I know!) I started writing a little romance on the side, and then ironically, I chose to write The Burden of Us which is mainly just romance. It just flowed out of me, and then I thought "oh, this is where I need to be!" the range of emotions and plot devices you can use is so vast, so I can still write mystery and crime with it. I just love using love, I think! It can hurt, it can be amazing, and it can bring so much DRAMA XD
Laura: We see that you have two current works in progress during Nanowrimo can you tell us any of your writing plans for 2023? What does the future hold for you so far?
Mini: I have a LOT planned for 2023! I plan on starting book 2 of my Royalty Games duology! I'm also planning a whole rewrite for Perfectly Unexpected (on my profile) so that'll be a brand new book. I have around 13 different ideas planned - whether I get to all of them or not remains to be seen! But I do plan on working on my Tethered Series too which is an urban fantasy/soulmates book. A rewrite and expansion on book 2 (which I unpublished to rewrite!) will come back. Along with a lot of editing too!
Laura: With so many readers and potential new writers / existing writers in the Wattpad community, what would your advice be for writing and uploading on Wattpad?
Mini: My advice is to write every day! Routines can be so good for creativity. And never be afraid of awful first drafts. Never strive for perfection the first time - words can be edited, but empty pages can't be! Also, join communities and find other people. I joined @dreamlandcommunity last year, and honestly, I would not be where I am without their help and support. Being around other writers works wonders!
Thank you so much to @Minimoxx for taking the time to answer some of our questions today. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you and reading the amazing novel that is Vanishing Acts. A recommended read by all.
As part of our Author of the month, we also added a review of the amazing novel Vanishing Acts check it out over here.
I'm sure we can all agree that we wish MiniMoxx the best in your future endeavours.