Don't Tell My Brother

Extra: Q and A

Hey guys, thank you so much for all the questions, not to mention the support (over a quarter of a million????? holy shit!!!!).

What are Mona, Alex and Lucas' sexualities?

Mona is a lesbian, Alex doesn't know and doesn't really care at the moment, and Lucas is gay.

More information on Mona?

Mona is black and on the autism spectrum, she has ASD, as some of you already picked up on. It wasn't my original intention, but as I kept writing her I realised it fit really well, and at the request of a lovely reader (thank you @moons_0611) I did a lot more research into autism and Asperger's, and have decided to make her canonically so. She's been friends with Lucas and Alex since freshman year (Lucas and Alex met in elementary school). She absolutely adores all things space, and hopes to study astrophysics after high school and work at NASA or on a program like SpaceX. Mona also has a little white spaniel called Boo, who she and her family spoil rotten, and a younger sister, Kiara, who has just started her freshman year at Sunnyview and wants to be an professional esports player or a successful streamer.

Is Mona single?

Yes. Ladies, hit her up.

What are each character's zodiac signs?

Lucas and Mark are Tauruses, Mona is a Virgo, Damien is an Aries and Alex is a Cancer.

How tall are Lucas and Damien?

Lucas is 5'10, Damien is 6'3 and a half (he tells people he's 6'4)

How old is Cameron?

He's 18, almost 19, a year older than Damien and Lucas.

What do Lucas and Damien like about each other?

Well, not to spoil too much, but Damien likes that he's smart, and that he's got a very strong sense of who he is and what he wants to do (something Damien doesn't really have, and envies a little). Lucas also continually puts him in his place, which doesn't happen to Damien often and even though it's annoying to not always have his way, it's something Damien needs.

Lucas likes that Damien is a lot braver than him, and takes risks and does and says things Lucas would never be able to do (at least not without a push). Although Lucas hates to admit it, he's also funny, and he makes Lucas laugh and can get him to lighten up, which is useful whenever Lucas is freaking out or overthinking something (as he often does). Also, Lucas doesn't entirely hate the flirting.

What did Damien think about Lucas when he met him?

He thought he was pretty annoying and uptight, to be honest, but the more they spoke he had to admit that arguing with him was fun enough that he'd go out of his way to start shit, just to watch Lucas lose his cool.

What are the characters' favourite foods?

Damien likes almost everything his mom makes (a lot of traditional Argentinian food), but his favourite is empanadas. Either that or takeaway pizza (which he puts as many toppings on as humanly possible). Anything spicy is also good, the hotter the better.

Lucas, on the other hand, has trouble handling even a little bit of spice. His favourite food is chocolate cake, preferably a layered one.

Do you already have the whole story planned out?

More or less, yes. There are some finer details I'm not too clear on, and things change as I start to write and realise I want to add something or something doesn't work, but I do have an overall plot in mind, and scenes I know I want to have, it's usually the getting from scene to scene that's tricky.

What's your writing schedule like?

Currently I'm on summer break, so I'm trying to get out a chapter (1500-3000 words) every two days, which often means a lot of midnight writing.

How long do you think the book will be?

Not entirely sure to be honest, I'd say we're a little over halfway done.

How long have you been writing?

I go through periods of months and months where I don't write anything, especially with school getting so busy, but I've loved reading and writing ever since I was seven or eight, so just under a decade.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I really love creating characters and relationships people care about. It's amazing to me that just by typing I can have people on the page who walk and talk and love and fight and all that stuff, and even more incredible that you guys (all you wonderful readers) seem to care about them. I think I also like being able to include the things I wish I saw more in the books I read. For example, Lucas isn't hot. And no, not in a 'he's hot but he doesn't know it way', he's just an average looking high school guy, as are most of the people in the story. The people who love them think they look great, just like we all think our friends are the most beautiful people ever (or at least, I do), but it's really important to me to have characters who look just like normal teenagers, because growing up one of the biggest things that helped my self confidence was seeing characters who were plain or ugly, and having it not matter because they were smart and funny and kind. It's also why I gave Lucas a strong sense of self, and have him not put up with bad treatment and put his friends first, because I'm tired of seeing doormat protagonists. Also why I try to have lots of diversity, it's so important to me.

Do you have plans for any other novels?

Yes! The frankly shocking success of this one (thank you all again, so so much) has made me think about doing more, and currently I have two new ideas I'm playing around with. One involves a teen delinquent's new beginning at a creepy old-fashioned boarding school, with secrets and impossible roommates and something decidedly mysterious afoot, and the other has a runaway nobleman, stowing away on a pirate ship and hating everything about life at sea (well, almost everything ;) ). I'm also a huge superhero nerd, so might always be about that too. They're all going to be enemies to lovers, though, because I am trash and it's my favourite trope.

Bonus scenes? (Damien's POV, how Lucas discovered he was gay, etc.)

I'm thinking of starting another book at some point, to hold little side scenes and stories about the characters, have things from Damien's POV, etc, because a lot of the time when I'm writing Lucas I picture how things are from Damien's POV (for example, when writing Chapter 30 I was listening to Glass Animals' 'Heat Waves', which may or may not have fit Damien's mood at the time. I'm also just obsessed with the song).

Smut?

Hm. Undecided. A handful of friends know this account and if other people ever find it and read it the embarrassment might kill me. But a wise friend said that I can't go through this entire story without any spice and she might have a point, so I'm seriously considering it. ;)