Good morning everyone!
Elveloy here from AdultFiction. Today I'm meeting up with Reffster, author of the Watty Award winning book, The Four Baristas of the Apocalypse. Rather unsurprisingly, he's chosen to meet me in a cosy little coffee shop, tucked away in the back streets of....
As I enter the shop, I confess my eyes go first to the young man standing behind the counter operating the coffee machine, but then I remember that Reffster is not actually a barista himself, he just enjoys their output. I look around the shop and see a slightly older man waving hesitantly from the other side of a small table. We introduce ourselves then pause reverently as the waiter brings our coffees across. We take a sip, then begin.
Elveloy: Firstly, can you tell us a little about your non-wattpad life?
Reffster: There's a non-Wattpad life? Actually, there's a whole lot of non-Wattpad life; sometimes more than I really have time for. I have a lovely family, consisting of my wife and two daughters, and I run my own business, in which I also happen to be the only male. This relative lack of Y chromosomes in my life (along with a healthy sense of self-preservation) may go some way towards explaining the preponderance of strong female characters in my stories.
Elveloy: So what drew you to Wattpad?
Reffster finishes his coffee and orders a second before answering: Mainly the convenience of being able to write wherever I might find myself. I didn't really grasp the whole social/community side when I joined up, but now that's probably the main attraction. I have met a bunch of awesome people on Wattpad.
Elveloy: And talking about your writing, do you consider yourself a 'plotser' or a 'pantser'?
Reffster: I doubt whether they come any more panster-y than me. I rarely have any more than the vaguest idea of where a story is going, when I start writing it. This can be a challenge, but does tend to foster creativity (of the how-the-hell-am-I-going-to-dig-myself-out-this-hole kind).
Elveloy: Well, I can identify with that! I'm a bit of a 'pantser' myself.
*Watches in awe as Reffster drains the second cup of coffee and waves in the direction of the waiter.
Elveloy: And I hear congratulations are in order! Your story, The Four Baristas of The Apocalypse, won a Watty in 2018! What has been the impact of that (if any)?
*Reffster smiles as the waiter brings his third coffee. I can't help noticing that instead of the usual wavy tree decorating the froth, this time it's a PacMan.
Reffster: Certainly more reads and votes, which has been really nice. But I think the biggest impact has been the sense of validation it has given me, realising that people who actually know stuff about this writing caper think there is something worthwhile in my scribblings.
Elveloy: Sweet! And what's next in the pipeline for you?
Reffster: I've actually been approached by a small independent publisher who are interested in taking on The Four Baristas, so I'm currently working my way through that unexpected and somewhat bizarre scenario.
Elveloy: Congratulations, that sounds exciting! Though lots of decisions to be made there, I'm guessing.
Reffster: Beyond that, I need to finish my entry for the 2019 Open Novella Contest (cue shameless plug for The F-Files) and then get back to the baristas' sequel (cue even more shameless plug for The Four Baristas: Double Shot). After that, I should probably work on my shamelessness.
*I notice Reffster is starting to look a little twitchy, his eyes are darting around the shop (all that caffeine must be having some effect). Either that or he's worried about an alien invasion...
Time to go.
Elveloy: Thank you so much for the interview! I'll just see myself out...
And if you'd like to read our April Book of the Month entry about The Four Baristas of the Apocalypse, click here