𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Author Interviews

Alex | @Nicoismysenpai

Interviewee: Nicoismysenpai
Author of Wattys 2021 Shortlister and Featured Story, The Soulmate Paradox.

Hi there! Thank you for letting us take this opportunity to interview you. Let's get started with a few questions about your writing journey.

How long have you been writing?

I've been writing since I was about...6, I think? It was mainly short stories and stuff, but I've always had an interest in writing ever since I was able to write haha.

What inspired you to start writing?

What inspired me to start writing was a book of princess stories! I read this book when I was 6, and I was so inspired by one story about a red daffodil that I pretty much wrote my own 6-year-old version of it (nearly completely plagiarised, of course---I was 6 T_T), and that was how it all started!

Do you remember the first LGBTQ+ book you ever read? If so, what was it?

If we're talking about the first book I read with an LGBTQ+ character in it, I think it was 'The Wedding Girl' by Madeleine Wickham! I read that before I even knew what being gay was, and well...let's just say that I genuinely thought Rupert and Allan were just Very Good Friends. If we're talking about the first LGBTQ+ centered book I read, I really can't remember exactly, but I think it was 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' by John Green and David Levithan, if I'm not mistaken!

What, to you, is the most difficult part about writing a book?

Completing it, actually! (Also, trying to keep from accidentally switching to my Chinese keyboard halfway because we write on our phones in this house /jk) As my readers would know, I tend to publish and then unpublish a lot of books, mainly because I really struggle with finishing the books I write. Most of the time, I run out of inspiration halfway, or I write myself into a corner by mistake, or life gets too busy and I forget about it, or (which is the most common), I...well, lose interest in the project entirely because I started a new one. So, yeah! Actually completing the book is definitely the hardest part of writing one for me.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Ooh, I do a ton of research nowadays. A lot of it is firsthand research, because I'm a firm believer in method writing, haha. I also google (or ask my friends) a lot of things such as: certain disorders, taxi fares, alcohol brands, and certain locations. Also, seasons. My research is...messy. I can spend anywhere between a day to a month researching, depending on the type of research! For example, searching up taxi fares in Seoul takes about 5 minutes at most, while researching on dyslexia could take a month or more.

Next, we will move on to some looser questions to get to know you a little better.

How would you design your perfect creative space?

My perfect creative space? That's a haaard one. Um, I'd probably have the AC running at full blast in my bedroom and my warmest blanket wrapped around myself, because we love ✨logic✨ I'd also probably have a lot of pillows and my trusty gamer chair because I have the back problems of a 70-year-old man and therefore need constant back support. I'd also put my usual cup of water on my desk and have an OnlyOneOf playlist running in the background, because they are literally the only artist I can write to that doesn't distract my nonexistent attention span or completely derail my thoughts. (Highly recommend them, by the way! Their soft, sensual music is GREAT for writing and they have a nearly flawless discography!) And then have a unicorn or something next to me, because hey, a man can dream.