Boot Camp Mentor and Mentee Spotlight Interviews

LJRae0328

The Bootcamp Mentors are proud to present a spotlight interview with LJRae0328 , author of The Billionaire's Pollyanna |2024 ONC|. Check out this writer's works and give them a shout out in the comments.

BCM: What prompted you to start writing on Wattpad and what is one thing you find valuable about the platform?

LJRae: Writing started offline for me. I was dealing with postpartum and started writing down thoughts, questions-pretty much anything that was going on in my head and it somehow all turned into a story. Admittedly, my first story/series is a hot mess and needs a major overhaul with editing, but I do like to look through it in sections when a comment comes through and read what I wrote before I knew what I was really doing, lol. Yes, there's a lot of cringing and 'what was I thinking when I wrote this?' moments.

As both a reader and a writer I love the ability the platform provides with being able to connect with amazing like-minded people from all over the world.

BCM: What motivated you to become a Bootcamp Mentor and what have you found most valuable about this Wattpad community program?

LJRae: I had the privilege of participating in the program as co-mentee in 2022 and worked with the talented and amazing mentor, Ashley Michelle TeaNHeartache . I've learned so much from Ashley and from my co-mentee still_just_me . The experience of being able to pick someone's brain and ask advice one on one is invaluable.

The opportunity to give back some of the knowledge, tips and experiences I've gained through this program is something I don't take lightly and am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with so many amazing talented writers and just genuinely awesome people.

I LOVE the BCM program and can't say enough about how amazing it is! It's hard to pinpoint what is the most valuable, but I'd say it comes down to the honest and helpful feedback you get from other writers who are always encouraging and supporting you on your writing journey, no matter where you are on that path, beginner, experienced or somewhere in between.

BCM: Tell us one thing about your writing process that you've incorporated into your mentoring?

LJRae: I'm a pantser but I'm trying to incorporate outlining with each new story I write. I'm still very basic at it because I still enjoy discovery writing more than anything. But while mentoring I try to look at each scene of my mentees as mini stories within the larger plot of their story. It helps me be able to see if there is a clear goal and ultimately if the scene drives the story forward. This helps in cutting out filler or unnecessary slice of life scenes/chapters.

BCM: What is the username of your 2024 mentee and the title of their story? If you had to describe your mentee's story in three words, what would they be?

LJRae: For this last session, I worked with two mentees: BlueStarrySky1 with her story Side Characters Curse and kikipee with her story, Unbreak My Heart. They write different genres and have different writing styles but are both incredibly creative and talented.

For Blue's story, I'd describe it with the following words: Fantasy, Funny, Slowburn.
For Kiki's story, I'd use the words: Second chance, Forbidden Romance, Self-discovery.

BCM: Can you share with us anything about the story you're currently working on?

LJRae: I have two WIP's that I'm working on offline. My Billionaire Romance, The Billionaire's Pollyanna, I started it this past ONC about a young woman who dreams of finding love and escaping her financial woes, but ends up falling in love with her grumpy boss and in the process becomes entangled in lies, secrets and office espionage. I'm hoping to make it a series.

And my Dark Mafia Romance, Yours to Break. I've been working on it for over three years now...I'm hoping to have it complete by the end of the year, fingers crossed! LOL

BCM: Share two Wattpad story recommendations.

LJRae: Besides the two stories of my amazing mentees mentioned above, I'm going to recommend: Brody's Girl by still_just_me . It's a sweet, angsty, fun teen romance. I'm dying for the sequel to come out!

And any book from the Forgotten Series by AMLKoski . You won't regret checking them out!

Thank you, LJRae. We wish you all the best in your writing endeavors.