Vintage | Phoenix Interviews (𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃)

mkmac23

Xérès Éveillé had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful author, mkmac23. She is the author of How to Solve a Riddle.

Hello mkmac23, I'm Xérès Éveillé, an interviewer from the Crazy Late Nighters Community. You have been nominated for an interview by FirstNailInTheCoffin! I hope you're as excited about this as we are and that you're willing to give me some of your time! Let me know if you're okay with this and when you're free if you are.

Hiya and yes! I'm free for the next 2 hours.

Wonderful! First, what name would you like me to call you and what are your preferred pronouns?

You can call me Maddie and I use she/her.

Hello Maddie! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I am the Head Editor at CLN which means I'm a grammar nerd. I write mysteries and I am a huge fangirl.

Interesting description, I must admit! It's the first time I've heard (read) someone voluntarily describe themself as a nerd! What got you into writing in the first place?

I think it really started when I heard my grandpa tell stories when I was a kid. He used to use a bunch of noises to tell us these random stories about his childhood.

That sounds so lovely! What was your very first project?

My first project - and don't laugh because I know my nominator will - was a story about a hamster named Hammy. He literally got sucked through a portal into another world and had to go on this epic quest. His love interest was a blue hamster named Jaclyn. (I was like 7 when I wrote this)

A hamster ... named Hammy. Well, that is a very ... unique storyline, Maddie. What was the inspiration behind this unusual project?

I think it was my obsession with these mouse toys called Zhu Zhu Pets. I need to find them now - they made a movie with them. They made the most annoying sounds and were so loud.

Even your inspiration is quite unique! Moving on, would you say you have a specific writing style? What are three words you would use to describe it?

I do not have a specific writing style but I would describe it as: improvised, half-plotted, spontaneous

A pantser and a plotter then?

Yes, like a weird mixture of both

I think we're all a bit like that, depending on the situation! Where do you get your ideas and information from?

Well, I write mainly based off of movies like Silence of the Lambs. I love all of the hidden meanings in the title and in the cover, that I wanted to replicate that in my own book. I also like the Alienist, and based one of my characters off of John Moore.

Never heard of the Alienist, I'll have to check it out! How long do you take to draft your ideas?

Like 5 minutes. It's more like me scribbling frantically on a piece of paper than me drafting them out.

Wow, that sounds both liberating and terrifying! What does your family think of your writing?

My dad keeps pushing me to write screenplays. My parents think that it is the way I can express myself creatively, and I agree with them. I enjoy writing and I hope to do it for a long time in the future.