Live Q&A
Written Author 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’m a parent to a neurodivergent five-year-old and a full-time licensed mental health counselor, so daily life can be busy! The average day looks a lot like most working parents: get your kid on the bus, do your 9-5, cook dinner, get your kid to bed, clean up the house, prep for the next day, fall into bed. But I have the added honor that I get to spend my “9-5” serving people of all ages in their healing journeys. And parenting is a joy because I’m rediscovering the world through fresh eyes every day.
2. What inspired your first novel? What was the thing that got you into writing in the first place?
My inspiration for “Getting to Know You” is like a three-act play. In Act 1, I was the president of my high school creative writing club, and one of my friends asked me to write a lesbian love story “where no one dies at the end.” This was 2010, the “bury your gays” trope was strong, and the height of LGBT+ representation was “Glee.” I started trying to write a story (that didn’t really turn into this one) and quickly learned I didn’t know anything about writing romance, so I shelved it.
In Act 2, I went to college. I realized I wasn’t straight myself and came out as pansexual. I was in a three-and-a-half-ish year relationship with a woman. I learned and unlearned a lot about what healthy and unhealthy love means.
Lastly in Act 3, it was 2019, and I spent a lot of time listening to video essays as I was moving, starting a new job, having a baby… This was when there was a lot of active discourse around book series like “Fifty Shades” and “After,” with people discussing the romanticization of domestic violence. It was so frustrating watching these kinds of stories dominate the genre when there are so many talented authors writing stories with healthier themes. I had this spiteful epiphany where I thought, “You know what? If EL James can get a publishing deal, what’s stopping me?” And I started typing the first draft on Google Docs on my phone while breastfeeding my kid.
3. How do you come up with characters? Are they spontaneous or meticulously planned?
My characters are spontaneous! When I get the idea for a story, it often feels like I’m a detective or explorer. The story already has its cast and plot, and it’s my job to discover it, archive it, and share it. As a therapist I often see this in clients who are doing therapeutic expressive writing activities with me. The stories we create are often how our hearts are processing and healing our experiences, and in writing them out we rediscover strengths or truths about ourselves without planning it.
4. 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 have always been a fantasy lover, that makes up maybe 80% or more of my personal library. If you’re looking for an urban fantasy that has wit akin to “The Good Place,” one of my favorite authors ever, Henry Neff, just released “The Witchstone.” I’m also doing more of a dive into magic realism, a genre I learned to respect and cherish when I was studying Spanish in college. I’m currently reading “Witch of Wild Things” by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland and its emotional power is riveting.
5. What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer?
For me, it’s balancing writing with the rest of my life. Writing is incredibly important to me, but it doesn’t demand time urgency the same way parenting, homekeeping, and my work as a therapist do. So it’s easy for it to fall to the wayside, especially when I’ve had so many sudden roadbumps in recent years. It almost took five years for me to get “Getting to Know You” published. It’s hard to not compare myself to the talented writers who can churn out a book a year (or more)!
6. What is your process to completing a novel from outline to final product?
Funnily enough, that keeps changing. When I was an adolescent (I’ve been writing since I was five) I was a total pantser, often with vague ideas of future scenes I wanted but just having fun on the way to getting there. With “Getting to Know You” I didn’t need a clear outline that was chapter-by-chapter, but I did have a “checklist” of things I knew happened in the story and a more clear understanding of the exact timeline of events. And with my next work in progress, “On Arcane Shores,” I actually do have a chapter-by-chapter outline, because I’m trying a new writing style of matching specific story events to specific themes. But I’m developing the outline out of order, and I’ve never written out of order before!
7. What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve written in your novel? Don’t worry, we don’t judge here.
I’ll give two answers: a serious one and a lighthearted one. The most unhinged thing in “Getting to Know You” is the behavior of Gwen’s abusive ex and stalker, Val. Val’s behavior is built from real domestic violence behavior, and being deliberately unhinged is a tactic for keeping their victims feeling unsafe and unable to get their feet under them. But! On a more lighthearted note, I think the most unhinged thing in my book is Coral perfecting the moonwalk so she can audition for a car commercial. It’s just… so unnecessary.
8. What’s one thing about being a writer that absolutely drives you up the wall?
Repeat words. Like, when I use the word “step” three times in one page. “She stepped into the room… She stepped closer to her… They stepped away.” AUGH! And I’ll go through my self-edits, think I caught them all, congratulate myself… and then my amazing editor, bless her soul, finds a gazillion more.
9. What does being a successful writer look like for you? What type of life do you want to live as a writer?
My pipe dream for my writing is that it will pay for my end-of-life care. I know it sounds dark. But let’s be frank, I’m a millennial in America working for a nonprofit, retirement is not looking great right now.
10. Describe your writing journey. If you had to write a story centered around it, do you think you could pull it off?
I don’t think I could pull it off now, because it’s not done yet! My writing journey started as a child learning the power of stories to connect, excite, and teach, and wanting to do those things too. Then writing served as a form of escapism as I struggled with mental health. Then writing was a form of celebration as I came into my own as an adolescent and young adult… And now it’s a form of processing, healing, and advocacy. Who knows where it will go from here! Perhaps that will be the theme of my last book, in my twilight years. A reflection on my relationship with storytelling. I look forward to it!
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