Written Interview
Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do outside of writing. What is a day in the life like for you?
I was born and raised on Long Island to a normal family that did normal things. I was the youngest so I learned a lot of what I should not do from my older sisters. Growing up, I was terrible at school. I was a creative person who learned creatively, and it showed in my grades. I loved making movies, drawing comic books, writing screenplays, singing and things of that nature. Needless to say, I barely passed high school but flourished in college, where I focused on radio and television.
I never considered myself a writer until way into my adult years. I married my college metalhead in 2010 and we have been together ever since. We have two boys and a little slice of land up in New England now, a far cry from the suburban life we grew up in.
I have a day job as a coordinator for Early Supports & Services and I also have my own business editing and producing youtube videos and podcasts. I recently started my own indie press and am working on an anthology with a handful of talented authors.
When I am not elbow deep in words and work, I like to be home. In my little nature paradise with my boys and my animals (2 cats and a flock of feathered hens). We love to play games (board games and video games) read, watch tv (cooking shows, anime, and anything about weird and unusual things). I also volunteer with my oldest son at the animal shelter and we love to take shelter dogs on nature walks.
What inspired your first novel? What was the thing that got you into writing in the first place?
I’ve always been a writer but never considered myself serious until I graduated college. I started writing a fantasy story after my hubs (boyfriend at the time) got me a book about dragons and, once I finished it in 2012, thought it would be cool to keep writing more of it. It wasn’t until 2017 that I actually wanted to become a published author.
Growing up in the 90s was full of ‘movies that were sort of meant for kids but not really’. But I loved those films; The Last Unicorn, The Dark Crystal, Secret of Nimh, Watership Down. All those really dark animated films that either scared you or made you cry. Those were the films that shaped my love for writing. They were a huge cornerstone for my fantasy novel, The Dragon Favorite.
How do you come up with characters? Are they spontaneous or meticulously planned?
I pulled a lot of my initial characters from childhood inspirations. Amalya, my main, was deeply reflective of Amalthea from The Last Unicorn. Wesley, though vastly different, was inspired by The Princess Bride, and Tristan was inspired by the film, Tristan and Isolde. The others just kind of happened. I don’t usually research characters unless I want them to be something I have no clue how to make them (a serial killer for example). Fane, I will say, is heavily influenced from King Haggard and Denethor (Last Unicorn and LOTR). I love me a good, mean, selfish villain.
What are some of your favorite genres to read? Are there any books you’d recommend to first time readers or people looking for something new?
I love reading fantasy BUT I cannot read slow buildup fantasy (The Wheel of Time, for example). I’ve tried and I just can’t get through those long establishing books. I do love darker stories that really stir something up inside. I also love a good plot twist or mystery, something I am trying to debunk whilst I am reading. Stewart Turton’s novel ‘The 7 ½ deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle’ was a novel I could not put down. Another great blend of contemporary and dark fantasy was ‘Winterset Hollow’ by Jonathan Edward Durham. That book will not be for everyone (it is very dark) but it gave me that nostalgic feeling of being little again and watching rabbits tear eachother apart (Watership Down).
What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer?
Marketing. Marketing. And Marketing.
What is your process to completing a novel from outline to final product?
I don’t normally outline, depending on the story. Sometimes I wing it. So, once I complete a draft, I let it sit for a bit. Then read it over again to take notes on what I want to change. Then i find readers willing to deal with my words (2 is a good number). Once I get feedback from them, I compare their notes with mine and start editing. Then I let it sit again and go back again to edit for a 3rd round. I don’t usually hire a developmental editor until draft 4 or 5. What I have started doing in having an editor evaluate my manuscript. Then edit again by myself. I find that evaluations, while not as in depth as a developmental edit, are an easy way to get editor feedback without paying hundreds of dollars.
By then, I usually look for cover designers and character artists bc I love me a good visual of my story. Then it’s formatting, copy and proofreading and boom. Publishing.
What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve written in your novel? Don’t worry, we don’t judge here.
In the Dragon Favorite? I don’t think anything is really unhinged. I mean, there’s infidelity and childbirth, which some people don’t like. And Fane is pretty terrible. But for me, nothing that’s really unhinged. I would say book 2 has WAY MORE unhinged moments. Like… considerably more unhinged.
What’s one thing about being a writer that absolutely drives you up the wall?
People soliciting their services. I can’t stand messages from people promising reviews or promotions or ‘hey, I want to draw your characters’. I am able to find my own people that I want to work with so please, stop messaging me.
What does being a successful writer look like for you? What type of life do you want to live as a writer?
As much as any author would want to live off their writing, it really isnt something that most of us will attain. So, success for me, is just getting my stories out there and having 1 person really fall in love with my words. Success is selling books on my website and getting giddy every time someone purchases a book. Success is meeting and working with incredible people who all write just for the love of it.
Describe your writing journey. If you had to write a story centered around it, do you think you could pull it off?
A story about my journey, hell yeah I could. I must say, even with all these courses and hacks and tips on how to become a better writer, I have found one thing that money can’t buy that will make you a successful one. And that is living your life. Just live it. Do things. Experience things. Feel joy and pain. That is the golden ticket to becoming an author people can connect with and relate to.
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About
Onika is a Long Island native living in the NH countryside. She is happily married with two rambunctious boys, two very frisky felines, and a flock of feathered raptors. Her love of dark tales and world-building can be attributed to her favorite childhood films, like The Dark Crystal, The Last Unicorn, and Watership Down. When she is not typing up a story on her phone or laptop, she can be found communing with nature, volunteering at her local animal shelter with her boys, or sitting on the couch binge watching anime.
Social Media
Links: https://lnk.bio/oahowdyn
Substack: hendragonpress.substack.com
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