The Author Behind The Story

Interview with @ShreyaSolaris (The Cripple and The King)

Introducing... ShreyaSolaris !

What is your Wattpad username?

ShreyaSolaris

What is the title of your winning book(s)?

The Cripple and The King

When did you get the idea to write your winning book?

I got the idea to write my book when I was reading some romance books and realized that I couldn't relate to any of the characters because I had a physical disability and they didn't, I guess.

What are your inspirations for writing this book?

My inspirations are my friends from PT (Physical Therapy). They love reading romance as much as I do, but we can never connect with any of the female protagonists because they don't have a disability, yet we do.

Are there any inspirations behind your main character(s)? Are there any stories for their personality, name, backstory, ETC?

Many of the names I got I picked randomly. A few I thought of, though. For example, Lucien was the name of my virtual crush in a game I play: Lovestruck. Raleigh I named just because I liked the 'g' in her name. Cindy was named after a girl in my LA class this year who was pretty shy with me (ironically) and Conner was named after CatBoy from PJ Masks, a name my little brother insisted on. Dhoom was named after a Hindi movie, Dhoom Machale, and Olivia after my aid's daughter. Ananya and Avery were after my favorite actor and actress. Hm...Greg was named after my 7th-grade science teacher and Tania after my cousin. Lucinda was after a girl in a show I used to watch, and Wren from my younger brother's 6th-grade science teacher. Raleigh was inspired by my own feelings about love, and her characteristics and looks match mine exactly. Lucien was based on my dream guy (in a way) and I tried to make my other characters diverse as well.

Are there any special dedications for your book?

I'm not really sure, but probably to my aid, who was based on Olivia, and to my brother, who, despite only partly paying attention to him whenever I spoke about my book, still gave me his suggestions and ideas.

How old were you when you began writing this book?

I was 13 when I began to write my book and I'm 14 now.

What do you believe the strongest and weakest part of your writing is, in general?

In general, my strongest points or intimate moments and/or dialogue, and my weakest points are showing and not telling and description.

How many drafts of this story do you have? If applicable, will you continue to rewrite? If applicable, do you think you will do a rewrite if you haven't already?

It took me four tries to actually publish a copy of The Cripple and The King that I was proud of. I'm not sure if I'll rewrite it, as I have already too many other ideas to work on.

The spotlight is yours. In 100 words or less, why should everyone read your book?

Everyone should read The Cripple and The King because it isn't some cliche werewolf romance. My book has the parts nobody tells you about, such as how hard it is to learn to love when you've never been loved before, and how two souls that are lost come together in the name of love to fight for their rights!

If someone were to offer you a publishing deal tomorrow, would you take it? Would you still leave your work for us to admire on Wattpad?

If someone were to offer me a publishing deal tomorrow, I would most definitely take it, yet I would continue to keep my books on Wattpad, should they allow me to.

When writing, do you have a plot in mind, or do you write it on the fly, as you come up with it?

When writing, I always have a plot in mind. If not, I get easily anxious and stressed.

What, if anything, do you do to help yourself concentrate when writing?

To help myself concentrate when I'm writing, oddly enough, I like to listen to music, be it pop or Bollywood.

What is the best piece of advice that you can give other writers?

The best piece of advice I can give to other writers is to keep writing! Keep entering contests! It may end up poorly or wonderfully, but that doesn't matter. You don't write for anyone else except for yourself, so enjoy it!

This could get very weird very fast, be honest, what, exactly, were you doing when you learned you won first place?

When I learned that I had won, I had been drowning myself in stress and anxiety, as well as watching a movie with my six-year-old brother.

What was your reaction when you read that you won?

When I won, I couldn't believe it at first, but when I checked multiple times, it was as if my heart was going to leap out from my chest!

Do you have anything to say to your fellow genre competitors?

To my other genre competitors, all of your books were amazing! I made sure to look at them!

For someone wanting to write their first novel, what is the best piece of starting advice that you can give them?

The best piece of advice that I can give them is to just start writing. Let the words flow out on the paper and then organize everything! Enjoy it! Writing isn't meant to give you stress!