Selfless (Sequel to "Left and Right in The Dark") - A Julian Casablancas Fanfic

Q&A 1 - My Answers!

I was incredibly eager to see all of your answers! I have similar answers to you guys, but there are some slight differences here and there.

Answers to your questions:

Q1: If you could move to any country/city with all expenses paid right now, where would you choose?

A1: In the US, I would probably say either New York or San Francisco (or some other good city in Cali). Internationally, I would say maybe Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, or Prague. 

Q2: If you were a flower, what flower would you be?

A2:  Aww, I would probably be a rose, which I know is pretty basic lol😑. But apart from that, maybe an almond or cherry blossom.🌸

Q3: Is there any part of a character/moment in the story that you borrowed from maybe personal experiences?

A3: I wouldn't necessarily say that Sophie is basically me in book form, though there are qualities in her that are similar to my personality. She is very adventurous and outgoing, like me, and very much on the extroverted side when chatting with people. As for Julian, it's kinda funny because I keep joking around to people about how my "book Julian" is basically a sappy, romantic, super charming guy, and that just doesn't portray the "real-life" Julian Casablancas lol. So, my "book Julian" is kind of my fantasy of how I would like Julian to be. Phrazes Julian seems so magical to me and is my favorite era, which is why I decided on setting this book in 2009. 

Q4: What's been your favorite chapter to write?

A4: I really loved writing Chapter 10! Between the romantic tension and the different emotions between Sophie and Julian, I think it played out really well. I really liked exploring the "silent" intimacy between the two of them and getting to write introspectively about how they secretly feel about their friendship and the situation that they are stuck in. I also had multiple drafts and ideas for that chapter, so it was kind of hard for me to pick which idea I should go with, but I'm definitely proud of the final published version.

I also really liked the two-part reunion chapters (3A and 3B), because you get to see both of their individual perspectives on their reunion and how it feels for each of them.

Q5: What were your biggest challenges writing this story?

A5: I think one of them is the fact that I have so many ideas, and I want to try to fit them all into the story in some way, but in the end, some of them just have to be discarded. I also want to make sure that each chapter flows cohesively and makes sense.

Answers to my questions:

Strokes-related questions:

Q1: Favorite album/era?

A1: The New Abnormal has been creeping up there, but I still think Room On Fire is #1 for me. 

Q2: Favorite member?

A2: Jules❤️, (specifically ROF and Phrazes era Jules), though I must say I love all of the guys!

Q3: Favorite song (right now or of all time)? Demos and B-sides count!

A3: This changes on a weekly/bi-weekly basis for me, but I've been giving Welcome to Japan quite a lot of listens recently! My favorite demo/B-side is definitely "I'll Try Anything Once." 

Q4: First song you heard by them?

A4: Reptilia!

Q5: A song you wish they play live (for the first time or more often)?

A5: For the first time, I would really like to hear Chances live! I don't believe they've ever played it before. Hopefully, Jules could pull it off! For songs I think they should play more often: definitely Vision Of Division, and really any of the songs from Angles and Comedown Machine. I'm glad Under Cover is making it's way back to the setlists!

Q6: Do you listen to any of their side projects?

A6: I mostly listen to Julian's solo work. But, I have heard work from all of their side projects. Machinegum is pretty cool! Don't have a lot to say about Nikolai's solo album... sorry Niko.

Q7: Favorite song from Phrazes For The Young?

A7: "Glass" is definitely my favorite. It is such a sweet and beautiful song.

Non-Strokes-related questions: (A lot of these questions were repeated from the first book, so I'll only repeat the questions where my answers have changed.)

Q1: Favorite food?

A1: I like so many different types of cuisine, but my favorite food is probably Garlic/Chili Naan with Chili Paneer!

Q2: What are some other bands or genres you enjoy?

A2: I can listen to almost any genre; there are only a few out there that I won't be able to handle. I'll listen to a lot of indie and alternative pop/rock, some jazz when I'm studying, older pop music, emo/pop punk, and of course, Indian Classical. You can check out some of my favorite bands at the moment on my bio if you click on my profile!

As for live performances, so far, I've seen The Smashing Pumpkins and HAIM live! The HAIM concert happened pretty recently, so it was incredibly amazing and almost surreal to be in that kind of an atmosphere again, post-covid. I would love to see The Strokes, The Voidz, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, BABYMETAL, Tame Impala, Phoenix, and Florence + The Machine live someday! And I can't believe I didn't include Catfish and the Bottlemen in my last list (in the first book), but now it's too late since they aren't a band anymore.😭😭😭

Q3: #1 item on your bucket list?

A3: Skydiving from an airplane! 

Q4: #1 Travel Destination you would like to go to?

A4: This kind of goes back to the very first question in this Q&A, so basically all of the places mentioned up above are on my list (for travel, at least). But the one travel destination I would love to go to the most is Santorini, Greece!