Being spotlighted today is SmokeAndOranges, a prolific speculative fiction writer and cat-owner. While their works are mostly horror and dark fantasy, there is plenty of paranormal to be found!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
What draws you to the paranormal genre?
The spook factor. I'm typically a horror writer, so the overlap is strong!
What was the first paranormal story you read or watched, and has it inspired any of your works?
I don't remember their names, but way back when I first started reading Webtoons, I wandered into a couple ghost-related stories that stuck out to me at the time. They inspired me to think about how paranormal elements can be used to capture the intersection between horror and belief systems, religious or otherwise.
What paranormal trope do you secretly love—even if readers roll their eyes?
Ghosts. I don't care if anyone thinks they're overdone. I'll forever find new spins to put on them.
What's your process for worldbuilding in the paranormal realm? Where does logic meet lore in your work?
Logic is less important to me than internal consistency. I'll often steal bits and pieces from real-world mythology for paranormal stories. If those myths come from other cultures, I'll try to preserve them as best I can. If they come from mine, I'll fit them together with new or altered explanations to help serve the story I'm trying to tell. So long as everything plays by consistent internal rules, suspension of disbelief takes care of the rest.
What's the most "serious" research rabbit hole you fell into while writing?
TW up front... cultural beliefs about spiritual passage (or lack thereof) after a genocide.
Ever finished a draft and thought, "This is either genius or a disaster. I'll let the readers decide"?
Absolutely, lol! And that book turned out to be the most fascinating of my entire library, reader-reaction-wise. People either didn't get it, or they said it was their favourite of all.
What's your writing process like? Plotter, pantser, somewhere in between?
It varies depending on the book. I don't usually pants things, but sometimes the discovery-writing bug strikes me. Most of my work is lightly to heavily plotted.
Do you believe in real-life paranormal experiences?
Unsure.
Which supernatural creature would you most want to meet in real life – and why?
A guardian angel. I'd love to ask what ridiculous nonsense they've had to intervene on.
What's the biggest challenge when writing supernatural elements?
Vague and/or overwhelming powers. Paranormal has a lot of overlap with Fantasy, but I find Fantasy (as a genre) has a better sense of what makes a well-bounded magic system. You still need to balance powers and limitations in Paranormal, but with the number of super-powerful creatures present in the genre, it's easy to fall into the trap of going too far.
Many of your stories feature queer main characters. Do you find that queer stories thrive in more fringe genres like paranormal and horror?
Absolutely. Queer people in real life experience (and witness) a lot of horrifying things, with how the world treats us. When we read, I find we tend to fall into two main camps: those who want to escape into fluffy genres like Romance or Slice of Life, and those who want to see queer characters given dark but *different* problems to grapple with. However, we also like to see our people make it out alive... so paranormal often offers the best of both worlds.
How conscious are you of stereotypes and tropes when you are writing?
As a writer, I've been studying representation for over a decade.
What's one fun or random fact about you that might surprise readers?
I don't watch movies. ESPECIALLY horror movies.
What other Wattpad authors or books in the genre do you admire?
I'm self-publishing my best-loved Wattpad book in early 2027. Other than that, I've got a couple massive projects ticking along behind the scenes... those will hit my Patreon within a year's time! You can find me across platforms as A.B. Channing if you want to stay in the loop.
Thank you again to SmokeAndOranges for sharing your story and insight 🐈⬛
