Coffee Talks

With Aereth C Swinden

Hi, Aereth, congratulations on placing Third in Round 1 of the Open Novella Contest! We'd love to hear from you and get to know a little bit about what motivates you when writing works of fiction.

Hello, and thank you! Lots of things motivate me to write. Mostly I think ever since opening the floodgates to the insanity that is the creative mind, I need to write. I'm happier when I do, because I'm letting all the stories out that want to be told, and the emotions that go along with them.

As far as things that help me when I'm sitting down to write, my toolbox, per se, includes my trusty MacBook, my ever-growing iTunes library and earbuds, my favorite Yankee Candle, and whatever beverage suits me at the time, which is usually an ice cold Diet Pepsi OR a cup of hot tea in the cold months.

So, to begin, tell us a little bit about yourself as an author on Wattpad. For anyone who hasn't met you before, how would you describe your fiction?

I enjoy writing characters that are true to real-life. Life is messy. People are too. Being human means being flawed and our flaws are what make us beautiful. (Have I mentioned I don't mind cliches? Well... most of the time.)

Let's talk a bit about your entry for the Open Novella Contest, Fallout, can you tell us about the book and its premise?

Fallout started with the idea that a small group of people, Bexley, Wyn, and Callum in this case, are partly responsible for the way the world is shaped today. It is the fallout of something that they were involved in long ago. I wanted to explore how that would look to them. What are they doing to prevent the spread of the fallout, or not?

What drove you to use this particular prompt? And how did you shape the story with the prompt in mind?

I chose the prompt "You are the last bearer of a legendary weapon" because I wanted to play on the definition of a weapon. In this case, what many would see as an ingenious and life-saving invention Bex and Wyn see as a weapon because they know what could happen if it falls into the wrong hands and how easily it could be misused.

What were some of the challenges you faced when writing Fallout?

For me, the technical aspects of writing are always the hardest. I can plot and breed rabbits until I'm blue in the face. Actually getting it to come out the way I want is always the hardest part.

Tell us about your experience participating in the Open Novella Contest.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster! I never expected to move on to Round Two, let alone place in Round One, which was such an honor! Then not being chosen to continue after Round Two was a bummer. But hey, as writers we are used to ups and downs, right?

There were some amazing writers competing. I really enjoyed reading other participating stories. I loved that this was a multi-genre contest and I hope the Ambassadors organize some more like this one in the future!

If you had the opportunity to shout out one other book which is participating in the Open Novella Contest, which would it be?

I'd like to give a shout out to ACampbellAuthor and her book The Last Witch.

Her imagery alone is reason enough to check it out. I was intrigued by the story right off the bat. And I'm a sucker for badass female leads in the paranormal genre.

Lastly, because we're always curious... What was your first ever experience with the power of the written language?

The book I remember reading that really stuck with me as a teenager was A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. Reading his story; the horrible things that he went through as a child; and then having the courage to write about it as an adult so that others that have suffered abuse could know that they aren't alone.

It made me realize more than ever that books are important, fact or fiction. They touch people. They make us feel. They teach us things about ourselves and help us think about the world around us. About life.

It's been great hearing from you, Aereth. Best wishes in your future endeavours from our team.

Our goal is to bring you many more exclusive interviews with people who aren't just Wattpad Stars or Staff, but also some pretty awesome authors. In that quest, next we will be talking to TaniHanes, so stick around for more fun!