So, now our bookclub book has graciously returned to us from the aether void of Wattpad, I can finally share the wonderful interview I did with @OctaviaLocke . Octavia is the author of 'Liars', a skillfully written and utterly engrossing dystopian with kick-arse female characters, and an exquisitely crafted world. It was so fun learning more about your writing and your motives, thank you for opening up, Octavia....
Going to start with one of the most basic questions... What inspired you to write 'Liars'?
Actually, I started writing it back in 2016 when I first joined Wattpad. I think the Sci-fi profile had a writing prompt contest and from there the first chapter of Liars was born. It was very, very bad, and I never ended up entering it in the contest, but had a good premise. I kept with it for a whopping six chapters before shelving it and turning to something else. The story never left me though and through the years it evolved into what it is now.
I found Ten to be an intriguing character. I have to say I love female leads with skill and sass. What was your favourite part of writing about her?
I love sassy, skilled female MCs! Throw them all my way. I really enjoyed writing Ten, but one thing I had a consistent issue with was how to make her more active in her story. At first, she began as a character who was constantly being pulled by the world around her, going where the story needed her to go. It was her journey, but in a lot of ways, wasn't. So, I wanted to give her character something that would make her go from letting the world around her decide what she needed to do to being the one making those choices for herself and shaping what the world around her was. So, she became a mix of skills and stubbornness, vulnerabilities and insecurities all wrapped up in a bundle of sass because, as you pointed out, who doesn't like sass? I think my favorite scenes to write of her are when she's interacting with Nol because they highlight how innately awkward she still is (hey, she's a teenager still, despite everything) and having her blush and fumble and toss around an insult to mask all of that? I just love it.
Were there any aspects of Ten's personality that were difficult to write about or fit into the story?
The fact that she's unsure of herself every step of the way. That's something that's always in the back of her mind. What if she messes up? There's real stakes in her world, someone she cares about could wind up dead, so she's always questioning her decisions and if they were right. I wanted to make sure that came across in her character and I'm not 100% confident it did.
Who is your favourite character to write?
As much as I love writing Ten, I really enjoy writing Della and Councilman Dove. Izzer, too, was great. I enjoy writing those characters who are walking personifications of danger. They all represent a cool, controlled malevolence which I find fascinating.
If you could apologise to one of your characters for a situation/backstory you wrote them into, who would it be and why?
Nol. For reasons I don't want to say.
If you could pick only one of your characters to take to a desert island, who would it be and why?
100% Sin. He's quiet and that's one of those things I look forward to the most when I take my vacations, desert island or no.
Were there any chapters that were particularly difficult to write? One, perhaps, that you had to revise way more than others?
Yes, and it's one that's not (right now) uploaded on Wattpad. After a pivotal moment in the story, Ten gets a chance to confront Councilman Dove. And it's a powerful and telling scene. In it, Ten grapples with her hatred for Dove and for everything he's done and represents, but also, in the moment, she sees him not just as a powerful leader, but as a man who has his fair share of regrets and who owns up to all the horrible things he's done, all the blood he's shed and he unabashedly tells her he will continue to do so in service of the country he loves. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, you know? So that's a scene I've been sitting on because I want it to hit the right emotional beats and I want readers to, as much as they might (and should) hate Dove, understand that he's a multi-faceted person and not just 'Antagonist A.'
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UNITE: IMAGINE (Book Club)
Non-FictionUNITE: IMAGINE is a book club for all the dreamers, thinkers, and hypothesizers. It is a place for all of those who have woven tales with threads of imagination and unreality. Come in and join us if you are looking for a group of thoughtful, like-mi...
