INTO THE PAGES.

The pen is the tongue of the mind.
-Miguel de Cervantes -

Want to know more about the amazing author? Below is the interview.

Q1. What is inspired you to write this story?

In February of 2018, I was feeling down in the dumps. My personal life and work were hell. I remember sitting down at the feet of my bed wondering what to do with my life. The answer immediately dawned on me. I wanted to write fiction to escape from real life. That's why I chose a futuristic setting and timeline, and a dystopian environment.

Q2. What does the title of your book mean?

"Amanita" is the name of a family of mushrooms - and also the name and the shape of the club where most of the action takes place. Some specimens of this family of mushrooms are poisonous, some aren't. This idea is directly linked to how people in the book (and in real life) are: there are both good and bad people out there. "Poison Shot" is the name of the terrorist operation which takes place throughout the book.

Q3. What was your favourite part to write and why?

My favourite part of the story to write is anytime the characters try to see the bottle half full, not half empty. Those little moments are full of hope and light despite the current dark circumstances. It reminds me of the reason I started writing this book.

Q4. Your story has unique names. How do you come up with them?

I try to use names that are relevant to the characterisation and which have got powerful connotations. Like Daphne, the laurel nymph from Greek mythology who got caught in a dispute between two prideful men. Agape, the Greek concept to define an all-encompassing kind of love (not sexual attraction or likes/dislikes). The characters' names need to be a powerful reminiscence in terms of concepts and emotions linked to the real world.

Q 5. Does writing energise you or exhaust you?

It depends. Light-hearted scenes tend to leave me energised. Arguments or fights tend to make me feel exhausted.

Q 6. What are some words you despise that have been used to describe your writing by readers and / reviewers?

Some reviewers or judges have accused my text of being "juvenile". The thing is, the story is a 1st person POV of a 19-year-old, not a fully mature woman... so that was done on purpose. I feel that some 抖阴社区 readers have got personal peeves that blind them. My main character doesn't change and mature until the last few chapters of the book, for plot-wise reasons.

Another example is how my character called Sigi is easily tagged as a "bad boy". While he does give the impression that he is one in the first encounter he's got with the main character, he isn't. He's just burdened by a troublesome and dark past, but that doesn't make him a 抖阴社区 bad boy. He behaves like a gentleman to the main character all the time after that as a regular good guy would.

Q 7. What is your writing kryptonite?

My kryptonite is something really stupid: I feel writer's block and can't write a single thing (not even look at the file on my computer screen) if I tell a friend I'm writing. Embarrassment eats me whole and I can't bear the thought of writing again.

Q 8. Do you get creative block?

Yes, when I want a specific result or mood to an event or a discussion, but I missed a key element while I had been planning the whole thing. And I find myself writing the actual thing and DAMN, I fucking missed this! I'm an idiot! And then, I have to stop and I need to rewrite important parts of the plot - after getting blocked because I feel too angry at myself.

Q9. Who is your favourite author on 抖阴社区 and internationally?

I love Neil Gaiman and Hayao Miyazaki. They're both literary geniuses. On 抖阴社区, I haven't got a favourite one, but I do love The_Book_Smuggler07

Q 10. What advice would you tell new upcoming writers who are planning to venture into the Sci-fi genre?

I'd advise not to rush into anything, to plan your entire story before you start writing, to use any digital or physical tools to help you keep track of the characters, the world-building and the chronology, and most importantly, to hold on to a deeper meaning or prime hypothesis of your work of fiction. Sci-Fi usually needs a premise (an ethically-related one most of the time) at the centre of the story like the solar system needs the sun.

One last question, to the fun part. 😃
If you could pick one of your characters to marry, who would it be? And why?

I'd like to marry Sigi. No secret there. He's a nice guy who is willing to fight for what and who he loves and also to give second chances despite the dark times he's been forced to live and his peeves. His growing ability to empathise is something I'd like to see in real people out there, and that would be an amazing personality trait in a lover.

I guess we will all be fighting for Sigi. Thank you so much for taking part in the interview!

Thanks for this interview! It's been a blast! :) <3