Good morning, everyone! Elveloy here on behalf of Adultfiction. This morning we have Sam (its_artemis_actually) in the studio. Welcome, Sam!
Sam: Thank you, it's lovely to be here.
Elveloy: Firstly, can you tell us a little about your non-Wattpad life?
Sam: I'm a pretty boring person in real life. If I'm not at work, I'm probably taking care of my horse or wandering the city.
Elveloy: I have two cats, lol - Tell us a bit about your horse :)
Sam: Cats are awesome! My horse's Name is Sydney, and I've had him for about 16 years. He's retired now, so he mostly just chills and eats grass, but he's really good company lol
Elveloy: Cool! What drew you to Wattpad?
Sam: I've always loved to write but lost interest during college due to personal issues. When I came out of that I needed something to do, and I was a reader on Wattpad for years. Now as an author, I love the possibility of creating something that is for somebody else what those stories were for me.
Elveloy: Talking about your writing, do you consider yourself a 'plotser' or a 'pantser'?
Sam: I think somewhere in between, but leaning towards a pantser. I sometimes write endings or middles first, but find that following an outline can be too rigid if things need to change halfway through.
Elveloy: Who would you say is the author who inspires you the most, as an adult writer? What is it about them that inspires you?
Sam: Maybe not that unique, but I've always enjoyed John Grisham. He knows his subjects (or researches them extensively) and there's something to be said for his simplicity.
Elveloy: Do you have a favourite story (or author) on Wattpad, that you'd like to share with us? What is so engaging about them / it?
Sam: Hm, as far as stories aimed more toward an older crowd, I'd have to say my current favorite is Card Painter by ereehu It's full of raw and real topics set against a complex, mysterious, and engaging world.
Elveloy: I see your story, The Turing Test, made it to the Open Novella Contest Short List. How was that experience for you?
Sam: It was amazing! The community around the contest was so supportive and encouraging. I never expected the story to be shortlisted, so that was really exciting for me.
Elveloy: What made you choose the particular prompt you used for your story? Do you have a particular interest in Turing?
Sam: The general premise for the story was something I'd been wanting to write for a while. I write software for a living in real life, so it was something I knew about already. When the Open Novella Contest came back, I read through the prompts to see if any of them could tie into the story, which is how Ronnie's dreams were born. If not for the contest prompts, the story never would have had that thriller element. (Or existed at all, potentially....)
Elveloy: And what's next in the pipeline for you?
Sam: That's a good question! The sequel to The Turing Test is my current WIP, but I'm also editing and rewriting some other projects that have been gathering dust. I'm hoping to have something new ready for the end of the year!
Elveloy: I'm looking forward to that already! Thank you so much for joining us today.
Sam: My pleasure.