Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #2 (2 of 3)

A showcase with @Channyb33, author of Imperfect

1 what inspired the idea of your story? 

I've always been fascinated by celebrity culture and especially since social media has become such a huge part of our every day lives. I really wanted to explore what would happen if a non celebrity started dating someone who was incredibly famous and what kind of struggles they would go through in their relationships and how a fan base would react. I've seen fanbases react negatively in the past to two celebrities dating, and I've always wondered what kind of stress that would put on someone who isn't a celebrity and has no desire to be one.

2 what was something you struggled with for your story?

I always struggle with animating my characters whilst they are talking. When you have a normal conversation you don't just stand perfectly still and do nothing until the conversation is over, it's always been a struggle of mine! I also really struggled with developing all the characters in the book and giving them enough time to show who they are. I still think a few characters probably deserved a bit more attention but I also don't want to take the focus away from the two protagonists.

 3 what has been the overall response to your story from your readers? 

It has been overwhelmingly positive. I'm always amazed at the feedback I get and how incredibly nice people are about my writing! I feel incredibly lucky that I've had such a good response.

4 what did you enjoy writing most of your story? 

I really enjoyed getting to know Finley and Claire. I enjoyed developing their characters and really exploring them as people and coming up with their back stories. I also enjoyed the small twists and turns that people don't necessarily expect. It was genuinely fun to write and I feel like it has turned out much better than I expected it to be.

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

Currently it is a stand alone. If people want more from any of the other characters though I would be willing to explore them more. I think they are all incredibly complex and as much as I've tried to explain, they all have their own stories and I didn't get to explore them fully.

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

I would like them to take away that there are healthy ways to deal with things. Claire has anxiety and you see it showing through in the book a lot but she also asks for help when she needs it. I also want people to recognise unhealthy situations and that it's ok to walk away from toxic situations. They might get better and they might not. But either way if something is toxic it's fine to leave it behind and move on.

 7 what's a piece of advice you would provide to another writer, when it comes to focusing on their story?

Edit, edit, and edit again. Honestly this book has taken lots of different directions that never even got published because I decided it didn't move the story in the right direction. Also if you're suffering from writers block it's ok to take a break and let your brain reset itself!  

 8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

I feel as though I definitely have shared traits with my two protagonists. I suffer from anxiety and I find myself second guessing things, but I also have those carefree moments and just do what makes me happy! I have definitely shared experiences with them. I think as a writer I always find I litter parts of myself throughout my writing. It's never intentional but it definitely makes my work more personal to me.

 9 what's something you believe would draw in new readers? 

I feel like this romance is different. I tried to make it a healthy relationship and the characters spend time getting to know each other, just as the reader is getting to know them. It isn't love at first sight, and they communicate openly and it's refreshing! I feel we have as a society started to idealize unhealthy relationships like they're a good thing and I wanted this piece of work to show the opposite.

10 do you have any future projects?

I'm currently working on a new series! I got inspired to write it because of Imperfect actually and I've started uploading chapters. It's a fantasy series and I'm really enjoying getting stuck into the storyline. I have so many ideas and I can't wait to share them with everyone!