Q&A Part 1

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Q: Where are you from? What do you do?

I am from Australia! Currently studying at university in the field of Arts/Education. As a majority of my readers are from the US that's why you may find discrepancies in spelling/slang/names, because in Australia we use British English as opposed to American English. That's why I spell words with a 'u' or 's' like 'colour' as opposed to 'color', or, 'realise' vs 'realize'. Had a few people try to correct my spelling, but even if I was American, since this book takes place in the UK I would have used the British English rather than American English.

Just cause I want to, fellow Australians, you know what to do:

Aussie Aussie Aussie!!

Q: Where did you get the inspiration to write the book?

It was such a long time ago - I was sixteen when I first started writing this and from memory, I was on holiday in Queensland staying in our apartment when I had a revelation of the storyline. By then it was all about Mason and Ashley and then it's just sort of grown. I was meant to finish the book ages ago but I just kept having so many ideas that I continued, and when it took off I was really enjoying myself so I introduced characters like Lucas and Ross etc.

Q: How did you find it in yourself (how difficult was it) to create a plot so complex with little to no plot-holes?

Well, as for the plotholes I'm sure there are many haha! I suppose the trick is coming up with the baseline for the story – in this case, girl moves to city to study, has an intrusive roommate and they fall for each other – and then you think of what distractions, circumstances and reasons why they shouldn't/can't be together, for example, Mason not wanting to get attached to anyone but he can't help it with Ashley, Ashley is a bit pushy to help him, Lucas etc. From my perspective, you want to keep each plotline linked but not so linked that it's in your face. It's good to make your readers sort of work to make the connections cause when you make that connection your mind just goes BOOM!

Plot twists and cliffhangers are always good too because it keeps everyone wanting more of the book. They need to find out what happens next, sort of like marketing strategy, you always want to make the next chapter, or product, better than the other.

*sorry for all the cliffhangers guys haha!

Q: Why did you choose the names Mason, Ashley etc?

I thought it was a bit of fun having names with matching initials and, for those of you who noticed, the characters who were sort of 'outcasts' (and I use this term very loosely) or the source of a problem didn't have alliterated names. Lucas being the villainous character was 'Lucas Harvey', Claire who is essentially the center point of Mason's life and one of the reason's he had to grow up so quickly to take care of her, her name is 'Claire Murphey'. It's also foreshadowing the characters who end up together Ashley Anderson and Mason Murphey, Melissa Morgan and Cameron Callaway.

Q: How did you become a writer/what aspired you to become a writer?

Not long before starting this book I entered a writing competition in high school and I was placed second to a senior when I was a junior. That sort of made me realise that I wasn't too bad at it and I've been writing ever since. I love it so much and I've always been creative and a diehard reader so I thought I may as well give it a crack and here we are!

Q: Do you want to do be an author as your career/Do you have any big dreams or goals for your writing?

It's crossed my mind more than several times and I suppose the short answer is yes. In saying that, it's very difficult to be an author and pay the bills – that is unless you are successful like J.K. Rowling, Diana Gaboldon, Suzanne Collins etc. I would love to do nothing but write for the rest of my life, however, unless a miracle occurs I don't see how I would make it my lifetime career.

In terms of goals, I'm not sure. I'd love for my NEW BOOKS (next chapter) to take off as much as this one has and I would love it immensely if this book is continued to be loved by everyone.

Q: What process do you go through when writing a story?

I let my ideas free, even if I don't like it that much, I'll write it down figure out where I can make the idea better. For example, I wasn't actually going to have Ashley realise she was pregnant this early, however, sometimes you need to let the timeline of your story play you rather than you play it.

I'm not a big fan of pre-plotting, I think it can ruin the story because then you have to work your new ideas into preplanned events, so letting everything take its own course is good.

Also, keep going. Don't stop at an idea, you need to follow it through until it's finished ie. Lucas couldn't have just disappeared from the story after the accident. Something needed to happen, you need to tie up loose ends. If you do leave a loose end you need to make it intentional like if you're going to make a sequel.

Q: Were any of the characters or events based off a person or event in your life?

Interestingly enough, no. None of the characters or events were based off someone or something that has happened in the time of my life, however, as time went on there were some people I began to envision as a character. For example, for about a month and I have no idea why but I kept picturing my best friend as Ashley, it was weird haha!

Q: have you experienced any major setbacks in writing Apartment No.4? If so what were they?

In terms of writer's block, not really. The biggest setback was probably the massive almost year-long gap between chapters a few years back because of I kind of lost the groove but then I picked it up again and have been posting ever since. I think it's always good to take a step back for a few days, weeks or even months if you need it to come back with some raw material. Your readers can tell when you hate writing a book so it's always good to take a step back for a while if you're starting to get frustrated or really hate your book. As for me, there was a point where I really wanted to stop completely but I persisted, took some time off and thought of some good material that I could tweak to make entertaining.

Q: Did you ever imagine your work would become so popular? What is your stance on the feedback and support you're receiving?

Honestly, when I first started writing my book it didn't even cross my mind that my book would end up like this. I was surprised when I hit 1k and I remember thinking 'What the hell?' because I didn't expect people to enjoy it. Though in saying that, I'm really glad people do. In terms of feedback, I really enjoy the positive feedback but sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the negative feedback and forget all the good things people are saying about your work. As I posted on my board recently, I was in a bit of a situation where I was attacked by a a reader for not giving out my personal information and that was pretty annoying but I moved on because I knew I did nothing wrong. I think it's always good to remember how many people are enjoying your work in comparison to the two or three people who don't. As humans, we tend to focus on the negative but it's important to remember that you are supported, you are loved and you're having a good time. At the end of the day, none of the feedback really matters as long as you're having fun.

Q: Did you ever find yourself imagining yourself as Ashley?

Yes and no, because she's a first person protagonist it's hard to not portray what you think, as the author, into the character so there're a lot of things that I feel or my values are that are shared with Ashley but she's also so different from me in the same way.

I know a lot of you find her an annoying character but I actually really like her.

A: Would you go back and change anything about your book if you could?
I don't think so, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I didn't feel obliged to put anything in or leave anything out so I'm really pleased with the way it happened.

I did have multiple endings in mind, maybe I'll post them one day, but I liked this one the most I thought it was really sweet :)

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