Scrolling through the countless suggestions provided by another reading app, Radish. I came across May-December. Due to the lengthy time you gotta wait for the chapters to be free I found out the writer is also on wattpad and so I added the story, but quickly realize I'm far ahead and being impulsive once I'm invested into something that intrigues me I decided to purchase the chapters instead over on radish because I wanna know what happens next.
Truthfully, it's not like my twisted collection of Romance stories(for those familiar with me you know what I mean 😏) but I loved the innocence of it and the ending was satisfying too. Scrolling through the author's work I recognized two other stories I've already read lol.
Curiously, I find myself reading the author's bio and wondered if they'd be interested in doing a feature. It's not that the author's success is intimidating or anything, it's just that past experiences for someone's work you admire turns out the person behind the words and story you love is nothing but a prick.
I'm rambling but you know me *smirks* I remember posting on the person's message board and they replied so I thought that was a good sign and waltzed into their pm literally *feeling like a badass* and I squealed in delight when I received that important YES I'M INTERESTED!
Ladies and gentlemen, she's a wattpad star, and what I like to call a wattpad veteran 😉 who has written countless stories most of you may know and love. Kickstarting things for the May Edition of Solace Magazine is saintc. We had the pleasure of talking with her and it went down like this.
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Hi saintc how are you doing? Let's begin!
Q. saintc, what's the inspiration behind your current ONC novel Vampirism?
I've always wanted to write a vampire novel. I grew up catholic and have a solid understanding of Christian mythos. In vampirism, vampires are demons representing gluttony and descendants of Lilith. They're cursed with evaluating hunger. I also wanted a story where there's a complication of the main character's very existence. Wern is a victim of his circumstances of birth and he expresses empathy for his kills/predations. I want to see how readers judge him and his complications as a good person.
Q. You've been on wattpad since 2014, what are some of the features you miss between then and now?
I miss the activity feed! It was how I used to check what people were reading. Also, at a point Wattpad allowed us to add sound cloud links in books. They are no longer supported now. I would have loved to put together an audiobook. I also miss the section of your profile that showed what books were dedicated to you. Dedications used to mean a lot then, and not a lot now.
Q. saintc as an lgbtq writer, how do you handle homophobic comments?
I'll start off by saying things are a LOT better than they were in 2014. In 2014/2015 I would have a random person wander into my comments to tell me that I would die and go to hell for committing a sin every few days. Right now, the only real pushback I get is from other Nigerians. Nigeria is an extremely religious country, and some Nigerians feel it's their God-given duty to preach to me in my private messages. It's okay, I experience a lot more of this in real life than on the internet, so it doesn't bother me too much.
Within my own audience, I try to discourage other phobic comments. Right now, homophobia is something not in vogue. A lot of people have come around, however, transphobia, biphobia, aphobia, etc are things other LGBTQ people propagate so a few readers like this find my way to my work and I have to spend the time talking to them. If the only thing you can understand in LGBTQ is the L and G you shouldn't be reading LGBTQ+ fiction.
Q. Is there any particular meaning to your name?
Saint Caliendo is a pen name I put together. Saint, because as someone who grew up catholic I'm still obsessed with sainthood and a lot of them are pioneers of theology I read viciously, and Caliendo because I was looking for a surname for my character in Symphony, didn't end up using it and then took it for myself.
Q. saintc, between Wattpad, Inkitt, and Radish which platform do you enjoy writing on more, and for what reason?
I really enjoy Radish because at the moment it's paying me for my work. I work fulltime and use the money I make from writing to cut hours out of my work. A lot of writers on Wattpad get more responsibilities in life and they have to put writing to the side. I still write and share my work because sites like Radish make it possible for me to do so. Inkitt has features I adore like it's review system, and Wattpad has a place in my heart because I've been on it for so long. Another site I use is Tapas. I like their scheduling feature and the fact that I can get tipped and make Ad revenue on there.
Q. How best do you balance your writing and personal life?
I write when I'm in public transport! About 80% of my writing is done on my phone when I'm on the bus, train, standing in line, or having my lunch break. I generally don't have a lot of time as someone who works full time, so I make use of the time we normally negate.
Q. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
A lot of people in my writing streams have mentioned that they think it's weird that I can talk and write at the same time. Hahaha. Like I mentioned in the previous question, I don't do my writing by a fancy desk with silence 80% of the time. I'm mostly on noisy buses/trains and doing something else like eating or listening to the driver for my stop. I can write in the middle of complete chaos.
Q. How important is having a social media platform along with a website to an author?
I think a website is super important if a writer wants to have a neat little place that answers all their questions. Before I set up my website a lot of people would message me asking about updates and what order they should read my book in. All that information is on my website now, so I get those questions less regularly now.
For social media, I think it's as important as you make it. I'm using it to advertise and expand my brand as a writer. Social media has also helped me to build connections with other writers.
Q. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
When I was a child I actually wanted to be a scientist, hahaha. Now I'm an economist that works in marketing. I also minored in creative writing.
Q. How many books have you written in total and which is your favorite?
I've finished writing twenty-two books, and I've started about sixty. Choosing a favorite is hard because it's often what I am currently working on. Right now, I think my book love is May-December since it captures where my writing is at now (adult characters, family dynamics, small-town setting.)
Q. What is your writing Kryptonite?
The light from my computer/phone screen! No, seriously. I could write all day if eye-strain was not a thing. I try to counter this by setting my brightness down and using the "cool color effect" to turn down the blue hues.
Q. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Please look at the three arc structure. Hahaha. I didn't start off as a writer. I used to make comics, and when I transitioned to writing I took things that worked in storytelling in comics to novels, and that didn't turn out well. Endless stories, filler, dialogue, and white room syndrome were things I struggled with until late in 2016.
Q. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal and why?
I think I would choose a bird. I love birds. I took care of one too many when they fell out of their nest as a kid. There are also Christian connotations of birds being pure and confirmer of direction, and I think that goes well with my penname.
Q. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I often do research into background stories for my characters. For Kissing Wounds, I had to talk to Mormon missionaries to understand a bit more about Mormons in general so that I could write Mathew. For Siberian Wolf, I had to learn a bit about the lore. For Vampirism, I dived in headfirst into Catholic mythos. And there are stories like Acceptance, where I had to research an eating disorder. I often take about a month to plan and research for a story, and then I announce it. Like now, I have a new draft called "Renaissance man" and will probably take a month to outline and research for it before I officially start working on it.
Q. If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?
I think I would have joined the writing group at my high school at the time, or maybe even taken the extra essay/formal writing classes or joined the literature club. I learned a lot as a creative writing minor at university, but I could have started sooner.
Q. Do you believe in writer's block?
I believe that there are times in our writing where we find it difficult to push through. The reasons for this vary, for me, it's often because I have reached the mid-mark for a story, or that I am having transition issues with a scene. What works for me is skipping and coming back, or retouching/rewriting my outline to make writing the middle of the story easier for me.
Q. What can saintc be found doing for fun when you're not writing?
I play an unhealthy amount of sims. Haha. One of my stories (Decisions and Mayhem) is actually inspired by a sims household of mine.
Q. How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It can take me anywhere from thirty days to four years. If I had to create an average I would say about a year.
Q. What does your dream vacation look like?
I would like to travel to some central Asian countries someday. My girlfriend is from Kazakhstan. We would probably do a lot of hiking and horse riding. I also don't like places that are too cold, so we'll probably stay away from the northern states.
Q. Are your characters related to anyone you know personally?
No, I don't think I've ever based a character off anyone I know in real life, but I have looked at people (mostly strangers) and described people that look like them in my books.
Finally, tell us, who is saintc what does she stand for and what sort of advice would you give a writer who's a beginner?
As an LGBT+ person that found it hard to find fiction about myself and people like me, I write first and foremost for LGBT+ people who want light-hearted feel-good stories. Also, as an LGBT+ person that grew up as a Christian, I use my work to touch on that intersection that is rarely explored.
I want my work to make people happy. I want my work to make people think about themselves and reevaluate.
For any new writers, keep writing! At the millionth word, you would have found your voice.
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saintc, I wanna thank you for sharing your experiences with us and for taking the time to indulge my curiosity about you as a writer. Wishing you all the very best in your future endeavors.