Welcome to our interview for this month! We are with this talented author, Exequinne, who penned the story, Scapegoat.

When did you start writing this story? How was your experience while writing it?

I started writing this story around September to October 2022. As for the experience...let's just say it's been an insane rollercoaster since its conception.

I know I probably sound like a broken record now, but it's story-time. The idea seed for Scapegoat came to me so, so long ago (2018 or 19, I think?) and I just stuck it into my ideas chute to rot, or at least until I manage to get around to writing such a scattered idea. Then, ONC 2022 rolled around and there are so many wonderful prompts! I figured I should mix and match the prompts and my old ideas, so I went to the said ideas chute. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how I ended up with 8 ideas to enter to the ONC. I had to chop it down to four, and unfortunately, the idea for Scapegoat was one to go.

But this story just didn't let go and has lived rent-free in my head for during that whole time. When I went back to it, I was like, "Oh, this wasn't so bad. It's actually a pretty decent story". And with that, I got to work.

Planning took place in September 2022, and I remember panicking at around July or August, because I can't still envision the cover. And without covers, I can't really function/write further. So when I finally got around to coughing out that beauty, guess what? I burst straight through the outline and everything. By the second half of September, I'm already crunching out words for this novel. Granted, the original plan was for this to be a novella, but I guess I loved the world and the MC so much that I ended up making it a novel.

And I did it all amidst major life changes, so amid juggling uni stuff and relocation, I was writing about demon ants and a hot-headed girl with nothing but a flimsy knife. Overall, the word I'll probably use to describe my experience is exhilarating.

What do you think are your story's strengths? Why should people read it?

This question was the bane of my existence since I don't exactly know why anyone would pick up my books.

In all honesty, this story doesn't have the best character/plot arcs in my litany of works. But, if you are game for some monster-hunting, messed-up, cottagecore vibes, sizzling hot romance, and some sword-swinging adventure about angels and demons, then this story is for you.

PS. It's marked mature for violence, language, and graphic sexual content for a reason. Stay away from this story, kids.

When you write, what comes first? The plot or the characters?

It's a little bit of both. Or perhaps a third option—vibes.

I get a ton of ideas from a bunch of various things. For a lot of my earlier works, the plot comes first, like what happened with The Chronicles of Fantasilia. For my newer works, (ca. 2022), the characters punch through figurative doors in my brain and live there rent-free for years.

Better yet, for stuff that I'm sure I won't be able to touch until I'm shriveled up, it's the vibes that come first. And most of them are dark, violent, and otherwise, poetic.

Tell us something about your protagonist/s. What do you love most about them?

For Scapegoat, the MC has to be one of the most complex characters I've ever created. Paris is outspoken, a potty-mouth, and has extreme FOMO. She has always felt like she doesn't belong in her little town, and her only reason for staying was her lover, Vivian. I've had the most fun writing in Paris' voice because she says things that one wouldn't be able to say in any social context in real life without breaking a bunch of cultural taboos.

Part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much is probably because I had to otherwise step out of my comfort zone when it comes to writing. Scapegoat is my first time in many things, and Paris' unapologetic character has been a breath of fresh air in my profanity-free [catalog] of works.

Lastly, Paris is strong, fierce, and loyal. She's the closest character to myself that I created in terms of drive, willingness to help, and, unfortunately, her inferiority complex and stubbornness.

What are some things that you find more interesting to write in dark fantasy than other genres?

I can go all out with all the violence, gore, and...well, darkness when it comes to dark fantasy, since it's actually expected. Dark fantasy also gives me the liberty to explore the darker sides of the human condition and psyche, as well as explore the dark truths about life, loss, and society. All in all, dark fantasy offers me some sort of permission to lower myself into the underlying void in my mind and bring it out to my writing.

What other genres interest you other than Dark Fantasy? Do you write in them too? If so, tell us more about those works.

Oh, almost all genres interest me and I aim to write something in them in the far, far future! But, the things I've touched as of this interview are romance, contemporary teen fiction, historical fiction, and poetry. My main genre is still Fantasy, and I have written a mountain of works under that genre.

My contemporary fiction novels are Forever the Same and my most fave trauma baby, Manila Sunsets With You. We don't talk about the former. It doesn't exist to me. As for MSWY, it's about a boy who could see the past interlaced with the present. It's a coming-of-age story set in my country and tackles themes like grief, loss, and moving on.

My one and only romance-heavy book is Libelle. It's a genre-bender work, mixing paranormal, steampunk, and fantasy elements in one adventure of star-crossed lovers having to cross past lives to save each other.

My one and only historical fiction book is currently unpublished because it's a bit political and I will be standing in a dangerous position in my country if I bring it back now. So...we also don't talk about that. xD

And finally, I have been writing poetry since I was, like, 9. I have a whole account dedicated to poetry, so I won't have to list all my collections from there. Visit accidentallysof for more info!

How do you balance life and trying to write stories at the same time?

Ah, this question. I've lost count of how many people have asked me this whenever I ramble about writing 8k+ words a day.

The only answer I can give y'all is two words—time management. I know that most of us are too busy to even think about managing their time, but hear me out. I'm a student in uni with fairly little responsibilities and mental clutter. A lot of my writing time comes from sacrificing my weekends, holidays, uni breaks, and every hour of the weekdays where I'm not obligated to go to class, do my homework, and even see my family. If you have bigger responsibilities (ie. job, kids, further studies, etc.), then finding the time to write will admittedly be more difficult.

I guess it all boils down to how much you really value writing. For me, I have managed to turn it into a non-negotiable activity. The world may end and everything might shut down, but I'm always going to be found doing one thing that gives me value and purpose. And for me, that's writing. You don't have to be like me when it comes to your craft, but the only reason I was able to make it work for me because I can't live without writing. At all. So...you know, I kinda have to balance life and writing, even if it's hard. xD

Tell us a few things about your journey on Wattpad. What do you love the most about it?

My journey on Wattpad has been underwhelming, to say the least. I've posted my first "story" in the same profile that I'm using now in, like, 2014. I ended up crawling towards the finish line of that book, before taking it down in 2017-ish to make way for an improved version. And that book, my friends, is The Fairy Legacy, my first-ever serious novel in Wattpad.

Since then, around 2018, I've been working on COF nonstop. During the course of that time, I've received scathing feedback about my shifting tenses and flat characters, endured my apparent undiscovered state, and lamented about the fact that I'll probably not make it as a writer anywhere.

The Fairy Legacy lost the Wattys twice, before the published date finally made it uneligible. Manila Sunsets With You didn't make it either. And then, I won third place in the Open Novella Contest 2022 for Kolibrie and I was like, "Huh, it wasn't so bad".

And the thing I love most about my journey in Wattpad is that I get to hone my craft in both prose and graphic designing [on] the site, all the while engaging the community of readers and other writers that I've found and still yet to find. Without those lot, I would have never gotten this far as I did.

What are some books that influenced your writing and maybe yourself as a writer?

Hands down, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson universe. Other honorable mentions are Ransom Rigg's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities series, and Soman Chainani's School for Good and Evil series.

What are the challenges in writing dark fantasy? How do you overcome them?

The only challenge I faced is writing chilling environments and incorporating the horror element into my works. I'm a beeg scaredy-cat and can't sit through an entire horror film, no matter how mild it is. My only reasoning is that real life is horrifying enough, so why would I need to scare myself further? And that, my friends, is why my works are often so realistically bleak. xD

Is there going to be any further series of this book? If yes, give a little teaser about it.

Nope. Scapegoat is meant to be a standalone with an open ending where the "villain" is the one who won. But the question it begs you to ponder is whether she really won or not. I don't see any other installments [on] the horizon and I would actually prefer it to be that way. This question is challenging me to make another series based on the world of Scapegoat, and I better stop entertaining the idea now before I end up with another 13 novellas to write. (Not kidding. I did actually write 13 spin-off novellas for a huge, huge universe that expanded out of control.)

Is there another story in the works that you would like to share with the readers?

Oh, there is a lot. There is my magnum opus for this year—a genre-bender, experimental work in terms of format, plot, and character arcs. My main project for this year is the 14-novella spin-off series of The Chronicles of Fantasilia (told you I'm not kidding. lol). Shoutout to dayisdemigod for enduring all those covers when I requested them. Thank you for giving them to me even though I'm not going to be able to write 'em just yet! ;-;

Beyond that, I'll leave y'all to imagine what else I've got lined up in my sleeves. All of them are going to be exciting. uwu.

What are the goals you'd like to accomplish in the future whether in Wattpad or outside it?

I don't know if they're supposed to be goals or something that should stay in my fantasies, but I would like to reach 1K followers someday. That, and to be able to write everything I ever planned to write, and release them in the proper channels, whether be it Wattpad or somewhere else. Getting traditionally published is certainly the dream and something I'd like to try my hands on someday. Other than that, I guess it's not healthy for me to set getting 100k reads for my books as a goal. xD

Thank you so much, Exequinne, for being with us and agreeing to our interview. Check out their works below to support them.

The Chronicles of Fantasilia Series
The Fairy Legacy
The Soul Spells
The Fallen Dynasty
The Abject Throne
The Secret Race
The Last Oracle

The Piper of Mirchaek Trilogy
Piper: The Gods of Dansarun
Piper: The Spirits of Shaoryeong
(third book to be written this year, still)

Standalones
Forever the Same
Manila Sunsets With You
Scapegoat
Libelle
The White Thorns of Fire
Kolibrie

To see the rest of the works in my profile, see A Guide to the Arcane Universes, because apparently, all these here are not the complete list. lol.

That's it for this session. Have a fantastic week ahead and see you for our next interview!