Interviews

March/April 2021 - Interview with MoonlightHunter3

Hello everyone and welcome to our March/April Book of the Month interview! My name is Electra, elekrande , and today we have MoonlightHunter3, the writer of C-Suite. 

Electra: Hello and welcome Kyra, to the Adult Fiction Profile! Let's begin with some basics. Tell me a bit about yourself and your journey into writing.

Kyra: Hi everyone, thank you for having me. Well, I'm a recent business graduate just trying to find my way into the workforce. As for my writing journey, I'd like to say it's a bit different. Contrary to most people, I hated writing until eighth grade where I randomly picked up a marker one rainy day and began to write. I didn't think much of it but then in high school, I met someone who was writing on Wattpad and I offered to edit her work. I shared with her that I too, wrote and through her encouragement, I posted my first story on Wattpad. Eight years later, I'm still writing, and I love it.

Electra: I see in your bio that you are a Gryffindor, I myself am a Ravenclaw, what other fiction works like Harry Potter have you read and how do you think they affected your writing?

Kyra: Honestly, I read quite a bit and it's hard to stay how much they have affected my writing. I think it's definitely easy to draw inspiration from everything and reading helps in that matter. But one series I can say that did affect my writing was Sarah J Maas' ACOTAR series. For a writing course, I studied Maas' writing style and found that I loved the depth of her characters, and vivid descriptions that didn't feel like purple prose. I've adapted Maas' use of em-dashes into my own writing and found them to be quite the useful punctuation. Another writer who has affected my writing is Marianna Zapata, the queen of slow burns. I've learned a lot from reading her works on how to extend the tension between characters to the point where it might leave readers frustrated but wanting more and strive to do the same in mine—albeit less painfully.

Electra: While reading "C – Suite" it became apparent to me that you are interested in telling stories that are sadly not explored very often, with Nyla being a successful woman of colour. What influences do you believe lead you to this?

Kyra: Once again, it was what I was reading. I found many stories, especially in the traditional publishing industry, but also on Wattpad that featured mostly Caucasian character. Being a woman of colour myself, I wanted to tell the stories that didn't get told as much. Finding yourself in a story can truly be influential and reading the comments from individuals who felt seen or reflected in Nyla's story really warmed my heart and affirmed my purpose for writing. I'm a firm believer that it's up to us to carve and write our stories because nobody else will be able to do it in same way. I also believe it offers great learning opportunities for others who may not be as knowledgeable about a certain topic and provides a great way to build understanding amongst different people.

Q: What drove you to tell this story and how did it change from your first draft to the finished published story?

I would read all these billionaire or CEO stories where the CEOs would just be rich and not actually do work. Being a business student, it really irked me. Especially because I knew how tough it was to be in that position. Therefore, I wanted to show how ruthless the business world could truly be and the difficulties in having such a position. I wrote the first chapter a couple of year before I truly turned my focus onto the project. It was difficult to figure out the logistics of the plot sometimes. I initially had Nyla and Darius come together because of a merger but it seemed too confusing, and I finally landed on a reason for them to work together that made sense. I think throughout writing the story, things change but that is a normal occurrence for any writer. You come with new ideas and adjust accordingly.

Electra: The romance with Darius is one of my personal favourite tropes, rivals to friends to lovers, as it gives time for a true connection to form. What are some other tropes and relationships you would like to explore?

Kyra: Yes, friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and as an extension, I love best-friends to lovers as well. Additionally, I really like the brother's best friends and I've been planning to include it in an upcoming novel. Secret pen pals is also one of my favourites as I think it allows for a place to grow before judging physical appearances. Single parent tropes are also wonderful as it puts a greater stake on the relationship with the involvement of a child. As for relationships, I really want to explore interracial and as an extension, BIPOC relationships as I think they are really lacking in representations.

Electra: Finally tell me about your current works? Are you writing something right now and what can we expect from you as a writer in the future?

Kyra: Yes, I'm currently finishing up my historical romance novel "The Forgotten Duchess" set in the regency era. After that I have a couple of ideas storming in my head, but I do believe I'm going to be writing a contemporary sports novel. I really want to take a dive into the mental aspects of recovering from an injury as well as the significant pay gap between men and women in the industry. Ultimately, whatever I write, I hope that every single reader can take away a small tidbit. I will always strive to tell stories of underrepresented voices and potentially explore new genres as they appeal to me.

Electra: Thank you so much for answering my questions, it was a pleasure to talk to you!

Kyra: Thank you so much for having me! It was a pleasure answering these questions.