Client: JoelleSC

Interviewer: -AmiNotFound

Congrats on winning for historical fiction! How does it feel to get this spot?

"Damn, I won?" Lol but really, I've only entered into about a small handful of contests. It's pretty nice to know that the effort paid off and encourages me to keep writing.

Was there any reason for historical fiction specifically? Why not fantasy or something similar?

I simply like historical events, or just anything set in the past really! It's my most preferred genre (beside Sci-Fi). It gets me learning, fixated and binge reading new things. Especially when writing my story, it gave me plenty of opportunities to read articles for that "historical accuracy" or new inventions. Human ingenuity have and always will be phenomenal to me.

When writing, I also think there was some certainty about it, to make it all the more real with what was already created before - if at least in terms of real inventions like the steam train. Yeah, in all, I just like learning. Keeps my brain going. Even if what I'm going to write next isn't going to be historical fiction, the habit to keep researching is ingrained into me.

What exactly about your work made you want to use it as an entry? What spoke out to you?

It's honestly the only full novel I have lol so really, I don't have much else to offer during the time of entering my story. So far, it's the only completed novel, with one more on the way and another in planning.

Cowboys and dinosaurs sounds like a really interesting plot, how did you come up with it?

It isn't original, I'll give you that. It's been done before, but surprisingly rarely. There were other medias like Dinotopia and ARK: Survival Evolved, to name a couple. Jurassic Park is also a great franchise, and I loved watching old Western movies.

But I believe it all started when I was a kid and played this game called Dino Storm. The game UI and exploration is different now, but back then it was kind of a 3D isometric compared to the new, ground camera views. It had lazer guns, cowboys, and dinosaurs. That was pretty much also the slogan of the game! And that had set me on the course of interest of dinosaurs, practically solidifying my other macabre interests as well.

Just like that, my love for dinosaurs and deep relation with rural and country experiences had been combined into making Dinosaurs Don't Dance!

What's your writing process? Do you just sit down whenever an idea comes to mind? Or do you have scheduled writing time or something similar?

Dinosaurs Don't Dance was... premature. It doesn't have the best planning (or any planning at all) - which was a big mistake on my part. I really believed I should have gone into worldbuilding and planning the environment, and that would have gotten me a broader opportunity to explore it with my characters. Having read compliments sent my way about the story, the chapters given, the elaborate thoughts start to finish, it kinda amazed me that it still managed to create an impact to those who were invested in reading this on their own free time.

The story itself was over a year in development, pansting my way on the keyboard. In a way, the characters speak for themselves. It was a helluva lot more organic this way in getting into the mindset of these characters without any pre-amble. They just came to life whenever I sit down to churn out the chapters. Like a movie being played out through the dynamics. It was awesome.

Who's your favorite character to write in ' Dinosaurs Don't Dance ' and why are they your favorite to write?

Tanner Graves! All three main characters were expanded extensions of me, and Tanner was obviously the more adventerous, reckless side. He was just this manifestation of somebody I wanted to be; to have so much freedom, go where the wind takes you, ride horses for god's sake! I've imagined so much of scenarios and backstories in my head that I couldn't fit into the book. He's just wonderful, really. He was the most fleshed out character I made, his dialogue was especially fun to write, and I'd love to experiment more with him!

What inspired you to get into writing and story creation?

It likely started years ago in secondary school, when I was 12 or 13, when we were encouraged to write creative stories and emulate authors like J.K. Rowling or Tolkein.

Before that, probably even roleplaying. Not like those brief, bullet point texts "I do this", no. They were full paragraphs upon paragraphs of storymaking I exchanged with a friend who also loved typing out stories. If I brought out the groupchats (yes, plural) of all these roeplays from way back when, it'd have made full novels! That, I believe, was how my literary creativity started, and all that continued on to years, maybe a decade of literary practice and passion.

If not your winning book, then what story of yours was your favorite to create? Could be any book at all.

None? I didn't have any other book besides Dinosaurs Don't Dance. I have a one-shot which I would love to explore, but it isn't my current favourite. I also had a ChickLit novella, which I didn't really resonate with and would soon be unpublished. And now an Erotica, which I'm kinda having fun with. But nothing really beats Historical Fiction for me.

Once you're done with your current book, what are your next writing plans? Perhaps another historical fiction? Something totally different? Please share if you can.

Oof, I got plenty. I have this big goal of writing a novel for every genre.

Right now, I have an Erotica that's being released weekly called Mr. Big Banana.

After that Erotica, I'm continuing to plan and write an untitled story that would be more of a brutal, gritty take of Bram Stoker's Dracula set in just days after the Great War (WWI) ended.

Following that would be the expansion of another Historical Fiction / paranormal of my one-shot: Jade Fire, Origins of The Great Wall.

Then after that? We'll see where it goes from there!

If you could give any advice for new writers, what would you say?

Never stop trying to improve. Writing is just like any artistic outlet, and it's a skill to always keep developing. Amateur authors or those who fantasize writing will often say they're not good enough. You won't be until you START writing and KEEP writing.