The Five Unique Questions:

Question One:

What inspired you to write your novel, If I Matter?

Largely, as I said above, the problems with Wattpad perceptions of student/teacher. But also, I had this amazing English teacher who really helped me out and believed in me, and he's definitely a part of the inspiration. I figured that, if ever there was a good guy, it was him, and I wanted Mr. Thatcher in If I Matter to be a good guy.

Question Two:

Did you have concerns about how If I Matter would be received by the Wattpad community?

Absolutely. I have always had issues with the content of If I Matter, and that will never change. Student/teacher is a touchy topic, and there are a lot of political implications in the story that I knew might not be loved by the majority of Wattpad readers (for example, abortion is given a very negative connotation in this story, which I've definitely received some criticism for). There are also, because sex is such a big part of this story, some slightly more-detailed sex scenes than I would like to be in my books, which makes me uncomfortable. But most of all, I worried that people wouldn't get it, that they'd stop reading once they realized Lola was a very complex and not-always-likeable character, and that I wasn't actually endorsing students and teachers hooking up.

Question Three:

Plans for publication? If so: do you lean more towards traditional or self-publishing?

Definitely publication, although that wasn't initially the plan. I'm going with traditional because I would like If I Matter to get the royal treatment: agents and query letters and rounds of editing and contract negotiations and maybe eventually book signings and display shelves and book awards. There are a lot of people who love and believe in this book, and I don't want to restrict it whatsoever. Perhaps it'll flop, maybe no one will buy it, or maybe it will get terrible reviews. But I'd like it to have a shot at the NYT bestseller list and a Simon Pulse or Harper Teen stamp on the spine.

Question Four:

When did you begin writing?

Oh, jeez. I don't know. Ages and ages and ages ago. I finished my first full-length novel when I was fifteen, and had spent about two years working on it. Before that I was writing shorter stories and half-finished books and poetry. Ever since, I've been writing more and more and more full-length books. It's something I couldn't imagine not being a part of me, so I assume I've been doing it forever and that I always will.

Question Five:

What do you think is the most powerful aspect of your writing?

Emotions and endings. I think I do a good job putting a lot of focus on the feelings of the story. I want the reader to care. I want the reader to cry and laugh and be so attached to my characters that they never forget my books. And, the best way to make a story stick is to hit the reader with a really powerful ending, whether it be the last sentence of a chapter or a section or the entire story. I like last sentences and last words. And I think that, out of everything I do, I do those best.

The Five Standard Questions:

Question One:

What inspired you to research and write the tough topic(s) that your novel centers around?

I actually was inspired here on Wattpad, where I noticed how incredibly popular student/teacher stories were. That was fine, except that the vast majority of the student/teachers I saw were completely and totally unrealistic. Senior girl – shy but nice and completely normal – meets and falls in love with her hot, young teacher. There are no problems, really. At the end of the year, the girl graduates and everyone goes "Awww, this is so cute, everyone totally already knew you guys were perfect for each other." But that's not even close to how I imagined a student/teacher relationship would go. I figured that it would be a big, life-changing thing for a girl to get involved with her teacher. And so that's how If I Matter came to be. It's all the horrible reality of being involved with your teacher that all the other student/teachers seemed to leave out.

Question Two:

Has writing said tough topic changed the way you view writing, or the world in general? How has it impacted your creative aesthetic?

Yes, absolutely. One of the major themes in If I Matter is that the public shouldn't be deciding Lola's fate. There's a lot of focus on the court system and the way the media is influencing the way the public sees Lola and Thatcher, and before I wrote this story, I gave very little to the public/media influence on court cases. But after writing this story, I feel very strongly about the way people get involved in things that they don't – can't – understand, and how easily the poorly-informed media and highly-biased reporters can ruin lives.

Question Three:

How do you hope to help people with your writing?

I've always said that I write because I want to change the world. My biggest focus when I write is on emotion, and on making people think through what they feel. I hope to make people more conscious of who they are, how complex the world is, and how badly mistaken they might be about the people and the things around them.

Question Four:

What does your writing process look like?

Confusing. Ha-ha. Actually, my writing process varies largely by which book I'm writing. I don't even know that you could call it a "process." It's more like sporadically putting words on pages and relentlessly editing and revising until they resemble stories.

Question Five:

What are your long-term goals with writing? What are your long-term goals outside of writing?

My long-term writing goals are to be the best that I can, and to really make a difference. I want to continue writing books that are going to make their readers think and cry and change for the better. And I'd absolutely like those books on shelves.

Outside of writing, I'm a political science and English student with plans to go to law school (probably UCLA or Stanford, because California weather sounds much better than what I'm used to). I'd like to end up being a political broadcast journalist on one of the major national networks, but that could always change.

4