ACE AWARD SUPREME - INTERVIEWS

Second Place in Science Fiction, B1

1. What do you, as the writer of your works, like about your book (placed) the most?

What I like the most is that Rory is able to embrace autism as something that is not only intrinsic to her identity but preferable to the neurotypical alternative.

2. What inspired you to write your book (placed)?

The cliche would be that I dreamed about the book. Truthfully, I struggled for years with thinking I couldn't write because of the things I kept reading and hearing about how autistic people don't have empathy or insight into the human condition. One day I woke up and realized that was bullshit.

3. How many books have you written, including the ones you have not completed?

I know I should be writing more, but it's just been this one book. As well as being a single mom and a graduate student, I work full time, so I have a hard time fitting everything in.

4. What inspired/inspires you to write?

I can feel the creative energy coming on when my dreams start getting particularly strange. That is when I carve out time to write in spurts. I know most people say you have to write every day. I find that kind of advice can turn people off from trying.

5. What was the first thing that drove you to start writing?

I think the need to fill blank space when I was unemployed was my initial motivator. However, I have been writing most of my life so that isn't exactly accurate.

6. Are there any Wattpad authors who inspired you to write? If so, list their pseudonyms.

I am new to Wattpad, so I can't say there are. However, I will give my daughters a shoutout for revealing the Wattpad world to me.

7. Do you get writer's block frequently? If so, what do you do to combat it?

Oh yeah, I have a lot of writer's block. There are two things I do to combat this. First, if I can't write then I read. Second, I will write for a different purpose. I have an educational blog, and I teach English Language Arts.

8. How long have you been writing?

I have been writing in one form or another for as long as I could write.

9. Does your writing reflect your own thoughts intimately, or are you detached to some extent?

It absolutely represents my own thoughts intimately. In fact, a lot of the editing comes in the form of taking myself out so it can have a bit of distance.

10. What was the name of your first work?

Since this is the first book I've written, it's Second Self. I've written short stories, but I haven't published them.

11. Do you have any thoughts, any comments you wish to say upon winning in the Ace Awards?

I am pleased that among the many participants, my work was given this kind of recognition. Thank you to the judges and organizer for your time and effort.

12. What dynamic advice would you give to other authors?

I would like to tell all writers struggling with guilt about not being "productive" during this pandemic that they don't have to be. They are going through a crisis. All they need to worry about is staying alive and healthy.

13. At what time are you usually more productive? Why so?

I am generally more productive early in the morning, or when there isn't a global pandemic happening.

14. What would you like to say to your readers as a token of appreciation for reading your book?

I am blown away that with all the option on Wattpad, you have taken time to read my work. It's humbling. Thank you.

15. What is your take on the genres that you have written in (e.g romance, sci-fi, mystery)?

I prefer to call my work Speculative Fiction rather than science fiction. Whereas science fiction has traditionally been a bit of a white boy's club, speculative fiction writers have always been diverse. If you are looking for an awesome speculative fiction read, try Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. She's amazing.

16. What do you like the most about writing? Why do you like it?

To answer a question with a question: Would it sound odd if I said that I like editing the most?

17. Are there any books that you've read, that have impacted your writing? If so, how have they influenced your writing?

I think that Meg's voice in A Wrinkle in Time impacted how I wrote Rory's voice.

18. What, according to you, are the disadvantages of writing (if, according to you, there are any)?

Our neoliberal society demands constant productivity and growth and the measure of a person's worth, so writing leaves another opening for devaluation of a person's value in society.

19. Do you have anything to say to motivate your readers who wish to become an author like you?

Don't become an author like me. The world already has one of me. Become an author like yourself.

20. What are your hobbies, besides writing? Why are they so?

Twitter. Seriously though, I spend too much time on that platform.

21. What is the inspiration behind the title of your (placed) book?

I wanted it to have multiple meanings. It represents the obvious central plot meaning, but it also represents Rory's journey of accepting autism as intrinsic to her identity.

22. Do you find writing to be something you would pursue as a career, or only as a hobby?

At this stage, probably only a hobby. I don't have a talent for self-promotion. There is a chance I might get into academic writing as a second career, if I pursue a Doctorate.

23. Do the protagonists in your book reflect upon you to some extent, or are they the protagonists you would like to be?

Both.

24. What would you call good writing, and bad writing? Any examples?

Most of you will be familiar with The Princess Bride as a movie. The book pretends to be a very old text that was edited and published in the modern era. As part of that illusion, there is a spot in the middle of the book where the "editor" discusses a section of several hundred pages that had to be removed. This would be my example of bad writing. My first draft has at least 75 pages at the start that were useful to focus my thought process in the early stages of writing, but had no business being in a finished product since they were most exposition. Start within a scene already in action.

25. Give us a small description of yourself!

I am a middle aged autistic single mother of two teenage daughters. I work full time as a high school teacher. I am also a graduate student. Right now, I am weighing the possibility of pursuing a Doctorate in Critical Disability Studies.

Interviewing LimbicNoodle.