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➽ QUESTION 1. ❝What is your name (or nickname/pen-name if preferred)?❞ — My preferred name is Mai.
➽ QUESTION 2. ❝What started you on the path to writing?❞ — I started writing short stories and books in the seventh grade in different journals, but I never really took it seriously. In the eighth grade, I started typing out the stories and realized how much I enjoyed coming up with plot twists, character traits, and backstories. The only reader that I had was my mom, because I would cringe at the thought of telling my friends that I write books for fun.
➽ QUESTION 3. ❝When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, and specifically in the genre of urban fiction?❞ — I first realized that I wanted to be a writer during my first year in middle school. At the time, I read books constantly. I read them in all of my classes, at home, late at night, and even during public events. You could never catch me without a book. Eventually, I got tired of reading about white kids living lavish lives, so I started writing my own books with people like me. I wanted other people to enjoy reading more books with different types of black kids.
➽ QUESTION 4. ❝When did you write your first book and how old were you?❞ — I wrote my first book in the seventh grade when I was twelve years old. I had a lot of free time on my hands considering the fact that I never really wanted to hang out with people outside of school.
➽ QUESTION 5. ❝Who are some of your favorite authors on and off Wattpad?❞ — Some of my favorite authors are Richard Wright, Maya Angelou, Shakespeare, and Shel Silverstein. On Wattpad, my absolute favorite authors are rubyruinsspite-artsyheauxellechanel
➽ QUESTION 6. ❝How long have you been writing?❞ — I have been writing poetry for almost eight years, and I've been writing stories for four years.
➽ QUESTION 7. ❝How do you think you've evolved creatively?❞ — I would say that my creativity for book plots has definitely evolved, because I used to stick to common plots read in books. I always used the same cliché lines, and I never really tried to experiment with different types of literary themes. After reading books more critically, I've added more metaphors, similes, and allusions to my stories. I never really wanted to make my books anything more than what someone saw, but now I try to push myself and my readers to think more deeply when reading my books.
➽ QUESTION 8. ❝Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?❞ — I originally began writing in fantasy because about 95% of the books that I read in middle school were in that same genre. It was easy for me to come up with mythical beings and worlds. I dropped fantasy for a while and solely stuck to general fiction because I liked the realities of the books. I liked writing characters that could walk right next to me in grocery stories or in libraries. Because I now write both, I find it difficult turning on and off certain switches, like for languages, slang, and customs. Writing two different genres that contrast is like living on two different planets, so I only write fantasy one week and general fiction the next.
➽ QUESTION 9. ❝What are the upsides and downsides to being an author?❞ — The upsides to being a writer is that you have a plethora of words and can understand simple prefixes and suffixes. It helps when learing new languages because you have a firm grasp of cognates and sentence building. One downside to being a writer is despite the fact that you love writing, it's still difficult to actually write chapters. I suffer from extreme writer's block, so one minute my mind is brewing with ideas and the next my mind is completely blank. Another disadvantage is the realization that not everyone shares the same view that you do. Your book might seem absolutely amazing to you, but to someone else it might be worse than trash.
➽ QUESTION 10. ❝Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?❞ — I try to outline a basic plot diagram for how the book is going to progress throughout the chapters, and by that, I try to figure out how I want the ending of my stories to go. I never come up with chapter outlines because most of my ideas surface when I'm actually typing the chapter. I'm never motivated to write a full on plot outline, so I would definitely consider myself a "by-the-seat-of-my-pants" writer.
➽ QUESTION 11. ❝Out of all the books you've written, do you have a favorite?❞ — Out of all of the books that I have ever written, "Hawthorne Heights" has to be my favorite one. I somehow managed to develop emotional attachments to all of the characters in the book, and even cried when I ended it. I wrote that book during a time in my life when all of my character's emotions were my own. At first, "Hawthorne Heights" was meant to be a book for black kids that wanted characters that they could relate to, but then it became my own therapy in a way. After people started reading the book and commenting how they could relate to Khari, Milo, and Warren, it became a safe haven for all of us. "Hawthorne Heights" will always be my favorite book.
➽ QUESTION 12. ❝What do your fans mean to you?❞ — My fans mean absolutely everything to me! I love reading their comments and having lengthy conversations with them. The first time someone told me that they related to my book and loved "Hawthorne Heights", I cried. And I cried the second time...and the third time. Knowing that others experienced what I felt and wanted help, I was motivated even more to keep writing. If it weren't for my readers, I never would have won The Wattys and I probably would have stopped writing a long time ago.
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Thank you so much for accepting to do this interview madandbougie glad to hear of your journey and of your writing. Please take the time to check out her works; she's a beautiful writer.
