We've got another amazing Fantasy author on our hot seat today. She's a Wattpad Creator and a Biologist! Please welcome Bdicocco, and let's hear from her.

What is your Wattpad username?

bdicocco

Is there a story to how you got your username? Tell us about it!

My username is based off my real name! My last name is "Di Cocco" and my first name starts with the letter "B" so it was an easy decision for me.

Do you think it's important to build your author personality? Why? How have you built yours?

I don't think I've necessarily done a great job of building up my author personality, but I'm not sure if it's that important to be honest. My author personality is the same as my actual personality--after all, I'm the same person--so I try to just be myself. I think I'd rather focus on writing my books than crafting a particular persona. I do try to update my writing Instagram with what I'm working on, so I guess that's part of my author personality!

What/who inspired you to start writing?

I think I was inspired to write because I just loved reading so much as a child. I devoured books--particularly fantasy! When I was really young, I liked writing poetry (I think there was something fun about rhyming words), but when I got a little older (probably around age 10), I started trying to write books. Most of the time I would write only one chapter because I didn't have a sense of what the plot was going to be and the book would never get completed. But once I had my first idea that ultimately turned into a completed book, I was hooked!

Please tell us about your story/ies on Wattpad so that readers could find them.

I have several stories on my profile, but I'll tell you about the major ones!

"Shift" was the first book I posted on Wattpad and currently has over 500,000 reads. It's an urban fantasy book set in New York City with a romantic subplot. It stars 16-year-old Kayden who is visiting the city when she runs into Blaze, a 17-year-old wizard. Their lives quickly become intertwined and they become magically bound to each other (yay forced proximity!) and have to try to find a way to undo their spell while fighting the feelings they are developing for each other (which may just be another side effect of their spell-gone-wrong...)

"Devil in the Details" leans a little more on the paranormal side, but is a mix of teen fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. It stars Jessa, a 17-year-old girl, who thinks she is going crazy when a new girl, Lana, shows up at her high school. You very quickly find out that Lana is actually the Devil, and has come up from the underworld to strike a deal with Jessa. The fun part is that instead of Jessa making a deal for herself, she actually agrees to play matchmaker to set up the Devil with a popular boy at school. This book is a wild genre-bending ride, with one of my favorite twists that I've ever written. It has LGBTQ characters, self-discovery, a focus on friendship (both the good and the toxic), and a lot of mid-2000s emo music.

"Dangerous Thoughts" is my new adult Victorian fantasy book set in a world inspired by 1860s England. I initially wrote it as a part of the Open Novella Contest in 2020, and it won a Fantasy Watty award in 2022. It stars 25-year-old Charles Abbot, a mage who has the ability to copy and sell memories. But when he is tricked by a thief into extracting a memory depicting a child-sacrificing cult, he finds himself in danger. Now he must work with a gay potion-maker and a lightning-wielding 10-year-old to uncover the secrets of this cult before he loses his life. This book has more of a mystery element to it, and my goal was to keep readers guessing throughout it. It also has some of my absolute favorite characters.

The other books on my profile are either novellas or works-in-progress, but feel free to check those out as well :)

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

I work a full time job that is quite busy, so most of the time I will either write in the evening, or on my day off. If it's my day off and I know I want to write, I'll bring my laptop to a local cafe. I love writing in cafes--I feel more inspired and more focused when I'm in a cool coffee shop. I'll typically order a cappuccino and some kind of snack and just go at it. And sometimes I won't ask for the wi-fi password--that way I can't get distracted by the internet!

What do you think of multiple POVs? What do you think is an effective way of keeping up with them?

I don't love multiple POVs when they are written in first person--to me, it feels a little jarring to jump into different people's heads all the time. However, I enjoy multiple POVs when the book is written in third person. I think in third-person, it makes it easier to keep track of who is speaking since their name is going to be written in the text a bunch (ex: "Kayden said"). That said, I think first person POV can be done well--The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud does an amazing job with this. Most of his characters' POV chapters are in third person, but whenever his character Bartimaeus is in charge, those chapters are in first person and they are *chef's kiss.* I think it works because Bartimaeus is a really quirky, fun, sarcastic character. His voice is so unique that it's very easy to remember who is speaking during that chapter. So I think if you want to write multiple first person POVs, it's important to make each character's voice really unique

Define Fantasy in your own words.

For me, fantasy is all about magic. Of course, you can definitely have fantasy that takes place in an alternative world without magic, but for me, magic is what makes fantasy my favorite genre.

What makes up an appealing storyline and conflict in Fantasy stories?

So many things! I love a good mystery or a twist in a fantasy book. I love high stakes and real consequences. Complex characters are important too. If you have those things, I'll be hooked.

Share some interesting facts about how you built and/or are building your worlds.

I actually write a lot of fantasy stories where the world isn't very different from our own. My book "Shift" takes place in New York City, but in a version of NYC where wizards are present. Another book of mine, "Dangerous Thoughts," takes place in a world that is inspired by 1860s Victorian England. I love to ground my fantasy in reality, because I think it makes it accessible to people who wouldn't typically reach for a high fantasy book.

What subgenre of fantasy do you like to write now or would write in the future? Why?

I write mostly low fantasy, including urban fantasy and Victorian fantasy. I just really love taking something from our own world and adding magic to it.

Do you have other hobbies besides writing? How do you think they help with your writing process or writing in general?

I studied biology in college, so some of my scientific interests find their way into my books. For example, in one book I created my own hereditary system for magic, and I made Punnet squares to figure out how it would be inherited. For another book, I had a patient wake up from a coma in an ICU, and I used knowledge from my real life to make it as realistic as possible. I love finding that intersection between science and fantasy.

My other big hobby is singing at karaoke, but that typically doesn't help the writing process out as much!

Did anything in your book happen to you in real life?

Every once in a while, I will incorporate some small bit of my life into my books. I think my book "Shift" has a few examples of that. There is one chapter where a character is just wishing he has the chance to cuddle with another character, and that was definitely pulled from my own experience with my first boyfriend. I also have a character make a joke that he had a kindergarten girlfriend who broke up with him for a guy at a pizza place--that is a true story that happened to me when I was 4! I was very upset haha.

Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

Half-full, definitely!

What makes you laugh the most?

My friends! Although a good YouTube video can also give me a good chuckle.

Favorite social media?

Instagram! I have one for my writing, @bdicoccowrites, that I have so much fun updating! And I love interacting with other writers on insta in general.

Share some tips on writing fantasy (and its numerous subgenres) for new and old fantasy writers alike or to those who are looking to try the genre out.

If you're just starting to write fantasy, I highly recommend giving low fantasy a try! In low fantasy, the world is basically our own (aka Earth), so you don't have to focus on creating a brand new world, which can be super overwhelming. Instead, you can focus on your characters and the fantasy elements you are creating (like a magic system) and place them in a setting you know well.

My other recommendation is to make sure your magic system has limitations. If magic can do anything, then it's really hard to create a conflict in your story (because characters can just magick their problems away!) So it's important to set limitations--whether that means there are certain things magic cannot do, or it requires your characters to make a big sacrifice, or something else. Magic is awesome, but unlimited magic--not so much.

What projects and stories are in the works as you do this interview? Share some interesting sneak peek.

I have two books in progress currently! One is called "Soul Sucker," which is a mature book staring a succubus and a human without a soul. I typically don't write sexy scenes so it's definitely putting me outside of my comfort zone, but I love that I get to write about vampires, werewolves, demons, and more! My other book in progress is called "The Witching Hour." It stars a 30-year-old witch who returns to her hometown for a magical auction. I'm still plotting this one out, but expect family secrets, a love triangle, flashbacks to the past, and more!

What are your hopes and wishes for your journey as a writer?

I just hope that I continue to write books. Of course I would love to be a traditionally published author one day with my book on the shelf at a bookstore, but as long as I am able to continue to write stories that resonate with myself, I'll be happy.

Would you rather read your earliest first drafts or write only the first page of your favorite book to write?

Read my earliest first drafts! I get a kick out of my old writing, so I don't mind re-reading them.

Would you rather choose love or chase your dreams?

Chase your dreams!

Would you rather write one book for a year and remember everything or write 10 books and remember nothing?

Write one book for a year and remember everything.

Would you rather have your book turned into an animated movie or a real-life movie?

Real-life movie--although I think a TV series would be even better!

Would you rather be in the world of your books or in the world of your favorite book?

Probably in the world of my favorite book :)

Would you rather write in a noisy coffee shop or a solitary cabin filled with pests?

Noisy coffee shop--I actually can tune out stuff around me quite well when I'm writing.

Would you rather read a book that transports you to the future or the past?

The future! I love seeing how writers interpret the future (as long as it's not a dystopian book...)

Would you rather read physical books or digital books?

Physical books! Nothing beats the feeling of a book in your hand and that perfect book smell.

Would you rather meet your favorite author who is still alive or revive a dead author to write more books?

I would probably want to meet an author who is currently alive. That poor dead author should be allowed to rest!

Would you rather write a book that nobody will care about but is meaningful to you or write a book that will become a sensation but is not important to you?

Ooh I'm not sure if I can choose! Currently, most of the books I write are meaningful to me and are only appreciated by a few people. I love that. But it wouldn't be awful to be a sensation for one book...

Would you rather write a book based on the story of someone you know very well or write a book with you in it as a character?

Probably me because I know myself best---but I don't know how exciting I would be as a character!

And there you have it, Bdicocco has spoken. Catch us next time as we bring on another amazing Fantasy author. Till then, have a magical week ahead.