Hey guys! Welcome back to our Interview book. I am your host and interviewer for today,  I Appledip_14 here with one of our amazing winners, Lorabooknerd to sip some tea. She is the writer of the book, The Celestials. Pick up your cups and get ready!!

Hey Lora! I'm Appledip and I will be taking your interview today. First of all, congratulations on coming first in the Constellations Awards! Ahh. . .how do you feel? Did you see that coming?

Honestly, I was really surprised by it since this is the first time I've come first in any award. Mostly its third place or runner up so I was pleasantly surprised.

Haha okay, so before we proceed any further, tell us a bit about yourself!

Well...I've been writing since I was really young (although most of my childhood writing was terrible) It's always been a dream of mine to traditionally publish a book when I grow up!

So do you classify yourself as an ambivert then? Haha!

Yes!

I see! So are you planning to make writing your career?

No, I don't think I'll have writing as my full-time career. I actually have my eye on being a psychiatrist so I might pursue that and do writing part-time. Either way, whatever career path I chose, I'll always have writing as a side!

That's good to know! So how did you get to know about Wattpad and when did you join it?

I joined wattpad back in August 2018 when I googled up fanfics for my favourite book and most of them were from Wattpad. I started writing more around December of that year.

Okay...so you joined Wattpad as a reader first and then started posting your own content?

Yes, I started out reading Keeper of The Lost Cities fanfics and then started with a short story soon after.

How would you describe your writing style as?

My writing style isn't too flowery, it's straightforward but still descriptive (working on it) It's more on the thriller/mystery style too.

Uhun...and what are your go to genres as a reader? Any favourite book or writer, on or off wattpad...?

My go-to genres are definitely Fantasy and Mystery/Thrillers. My favourite author off Wattpad has to be Shannon Messenger. I don't read much on Wattpad anymore so I don't have a favourite.

Wow...she's an amazing writer! Well, let's talk about your winning book, 'The Celestials', now. How did you get the idea of writing such a captivating and striking book? What was the inspiration behind the whole plot/story-line?

So the idea of the basic plot actually came from this old story that I tried to write called 'Quadruple Trouble' *cringe* So that story had a few good plotlines and I really liked those and wanted to work with those. So I started a new book with the plot lines that I liked, new plotlines and new characters and that ended up being 'The Celestials'.

After reading your blurb, I just couldn't stop myself from adding it to my Library! How did you manage make the blurb and the characters so captivating? Any advice for the fellow writers reading your interview?

So this is actually the third or fourth attempt at the blurb and this is the best out of the four. So it's honestly trial and error almost. I had my book reviewed with all of the other blurbs as well and took the advice that I got from there. Some advice I would give is that the two important things in the blurb are the the hook as in the first line and the last line which should make the reader want to read your book. The hook should be intriguing and the last line could likely be a question or setting of the stakes.

That's a really good advice! Did you plan your book beforehand and write it or did you plan and write it along the way while posting it on wattpad?

I had a basic plotline, I knew the beginning and the end, I knew the tone of what I wanted in the middle and I just went along with it. I don't like to plan everything out cause that bores me.

What do you personally prefer though, as a writer? Planning and writing the book beforehand or doing that along the way while posting it?

So I personally am not a plotter so I don't plot everything out. I like to figure out my story, chapter by chapter as it goes because that makes it fun for me! I do know a couple of basic things though.

I'm sure many writers could relate to that. So you have written your book, The Celestials, in first person, Do you plan to write a book in third person in future? Venture out to the unknowns. . .? Haha! 

I think I might in the future but not as of now because I'm working on the second book of The Celestials which is "The Conquerors" And the second book follows several different povs and is still in first person! I'm also working on this other story which is also in first person! I think I just like writing first person lol!

Haha! So which character of yours do you relate to the most and why? 

I think I relate to Elliot or Katherine most because in school, I'm also the introverted nerd person but at the same time, the one that steps up to leadership positions like school council. So I'm a mix of both of them I think.

And are any of your characters inspired by someone in real life or are they just figments of your imagination?

Many of my characters are inspired by people in my life mostly my two best friends and myself!

That's cool! So now for a juicy question! If you get a chance to spend an hour with any one of your characters, then which one would it be and why? What will you talk about or do. . .anything specific that you might have in mind?

It would probably be Leo cause he is really fun! I think we would try to prank someone! He is also such a supportive friend in general.

Haha! That sounds like such a fun outing!

Okay, so we all know that 'The Celestials' is a complete action packed book. So I assume there must be a couple deaths in the book too. Anyone you would like to bring back to life? Give a different ending? Tell us without giving out too much, wouldn't want to kill the suspense here, would we? Haha!

You assumed right! I don't think I want to bring anyone back to life cause that would make everything a lot more complicated for my characters and their relationships. If I hadn't had the plan of 'The Conquerors' (the second book) then I might have wanted to give the book a good ending...

Oh...well we can't wait for the next book!!

Okay, so would you like to tell us a bit about your current works. Any future ideas we might see popping up on your profile in the near future?

So as I mentioned earlier, I am working on the second book in The Celestials since it's a duology. The Conquerors is going to follow the OG characters as well as a couple of new characters (characters that were in the background of book 1) with some complicated pasts. I'm also working on this sci-fi right now which is titled as "The Runaways' Guide to Saving the World" but I don't know if it's going to be on Wattpad for quite a while.

Okay, wait, wow! Haha...I love that title! It sounds so interesting!

But how do you deal with a writer's block? I mean, they are so stubborn! Literal nightmares for every writer!

So, I luckily don't fall into Writer's Block often. But when I do, I don't really force it. I take a break from writing for a day and when I come back to it later, I'm usually in the mood to write!

You are truly lucky, dude.

Are there any social media accounts of yours, you would like to promote via this interview?

Yes! So I have this account that I made to support plus size and curvy people! The account is @_.pluslove._ on Instagram!

That's so sweet of you! Well, it was such a joy getting to know you, Lora! Thanks for being such a good sport! Any parting words you would like to say to your fellow readers and supporters?

Honestly to all the small writers put there that have started their stories and still have 100 views, don't be disheartened. I was there too, all you have to do is keep going and one day, your hard work will pay off and you'll get where you want to be! So don't give up and keep writing!

How would you rate this interview?

1   2    3    4    ⑤

And with that, we end the interview here, guys! Huge shout-out to Lorabooknerd on coming 1st in the Constellations Awards and for taking part in this interview! Thanks a lot guys, for joining us today! We will be back with some more exciting interviews with some more amazing writers!

Till then, goodbye and take care!