Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #1 (1 of 3)

A showcase with @LittleCinnamon, author of Wastelands

1 what inspired the idea of your story?

I've always been hugely invested in alien stories. I grew up on E.T and Close Encounters and graduated to more horror-based sci-fi such as the Alien franchise, which counts as some of my all-time favourite movies. I'm constantly fascinated by alien abduction stories and the idea that we're not alone out here, and I think this is where Wastelands probably originated from. I'd always wanted to write an end of the world story based in London and tying in this idea of aliens living among us, assuming the identities of their human victims in order to bring about the end of humanity just became a premise that I really wanted to write.

 2 what is something you struggled constructing with your story? 

think I initially struggled with the whole sci-fi tag. I'm massively in awe of sci-fi writers and their brilliant minds. It always seemed like a genre I couldn't touch as the sci-fi writers I know construct these infinitely technical worlds where it's important to understand the science behind things like the complexities of a spacecraft or the chemical construction of an alien atmosphere. Things like that felt out of my reach (they still do) and I just thought I should maybe avoid the genre completely. Then I realized that I was getting myself too bogged down in what I thought I knew about the genre and that ultimately, what I really wanted to write was a post-invasion survival story about one woman's fight to overcome her grief and ultimately learn to love again. It's a story about friendship and love and desire and hope. Once I figured that out, I learned not to be scared so much of the whole sci-fi thing. Yes, it's sci-fi because it features aliens, but the aliens aren't actually the story. They're just a means to an end.

3 what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

Wastelands is still very much a work in progress and I'm finding that I'm enjoying different aspects of it with each chapter I write. I love researching London and transforming places and buildings that would be familiar to many into this post-invasion apocalyptic world. I love pulling together a group of survivors, none of whom would have probably crossed paths before the world was destroyed and who have formed these incredible bonds despite humanity having effectively torn itself apart through suspicion and distrust of their fellow man. I think what I love most, however, is Tom and Evie's relationship. The whole enemies to lovers thing might be a huge writing cliché, but I've always enjoyed writing about relationships that on paper, shouldn't work, but somehow the characters manage to overcome everything in order to be together.

 4 what's the overall response of your story from your readers? 

I'll be honest: the reaction to this one has definitely been the slowest of all my full-length works on Wattpad, but I went into this project totally expecting that to be the case. Sci-fi doesn't always get the greatest reaction on Wattpad and it's definitely not what my readers know me for. However, I do like to think that it's not wholly dissimilar to what I usually write – it's still the same gritty, dark romance that I'm known for, just with aliens instead of demons or vampires! Having said all this, the feedback from my readers has been amazing. I'm fortunate to have some very dedicated, passionate readers who leave amazing comments and it's been a total joy and blessing to have them all along for the ride.

5 is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series ? 

Hmm, good question and I should probably know the answer to this as I usually go into a project knowing exactly whether or not it's going to be a series or a standalone. My gut feeling is it will probably be a standalone as there's a few other projects I want to start working on after this, but I do know how the story ends and there's a distinct possibility it could warrant a second book.

6 what would you like your readers to take away from your story? 

Ironically, it's to perhaps not spend so much time staring down into a device, which could seem counter-active considering this story is posted on Wattpad, however there is one pertinent point that my main character Evie makes when she is telling the story of how the hostile Greys came to take over the world – she says 'we all spent so much time looking down at our phones, that we never looked up enough to realize what was falling from the skies until it was too late.' Of course, I'm not suggesting that aliens are about to descend on us, but it IS important to maintain more of a balance between real life and what happens online. We're now very much a social media invested culture and it's made us desensitized to much of what goes on around us every day, hence why we have this move politically to the right in the UK, US, Brazil etc. I think at some point, we need to look up more and see what's really important

7 what advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story?

Ah, the advice question. I'm never wholly comfortable with answering the advice questions as I don't feel completely qualified to offer any kind of advice. I'm struggling along just as much as anyone else is, however, if you're a newbie Wattpad writer, two things I have found has helped me is learning how to form stronger character profiles and writing chapter outlines, no matter how brief. I used to just wing it with everything I wrote and my first series (no longer on Wattpad) was a mess because of it. I didn't have a good grasp of all the characters and if you don't, then you can't expect your readers to either. These days, I write character profiles most of which are just random notes about their appearance, their accent, a little bit about their history and motivation, certain gestures or facial expressions specific to them. I find it really helps to give them a foundation on which to build so that they become more 'real.' Likewise, with chapter outlines, I used to just pants my way through everything, but the plot would go all over the place and quite often I'd make foolish errors. Now, I map my way through a story, ensuring I know where I want to go with the next chapter.

 8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

She's paranoid, often cold, keeps people at arm's length and is afraid to love again, so um... no! At least, I'd like to think not! She's much tougher than I am, and I don't think I'd have survived 5 minutes in post-invasion London, whereas she's learned to adapt in ways she never thought she would. Grief has molded her into someone that can survive practically anything, however it's also the one thing that holds her back from getting close to people again. While I might not be like her, I think she has some admirable qualities that I hope I do possess – she's loyal and would risk everything for those she cares for.

 9 what is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers? 

A post-apocalyptic London where the remnants of humanity live in the Tube tunnels, creepy aliens that can climb walls like spiders and can take the form of humans effortlessly through genetic cloning, and a love strong enough that it transcends even death. Technically, that's three things, but never mind ;-)

10 do you have any future projects?

I do! Wastelands was actually picked from a whole bunch of ideas I had whirling around in my head at the time. Originally, I was going to go for a psych thriller or a domestic noir as I was desperate to try something new, but in the end, Wastelands felt like the natural choice. I do still want to try my hand at something psychological though, so I think that will be next on my list.