Hello everyone!

Today we have @Shimaira the writer of They call him Lucius, My Lord, Millennium, and various short stories with us.

Warm regards Shimaira. Welcome to an official interview from @TheCRYPTIC_ . It's our honor to interact with an inspiring writer like you. We hope that you'll have a great time.

First of all, tell us how you stumbled upon Wattpad and when.

I joined Wattpad back in May, 2014. A good friend of mine basically poked me and told me about this awesome site she had been using to read stories on. She knew I was writing (back then on Deviantart) and thought it might be a good place for me to try out. I am so glad she told me about Wattpad, as I doubt I would be where I am today if I had stuck with Deviantart.

Wow! So what do you think about THE CRYPTIC's theme? What are your views regarding dark fiction?

Dark fiction is the best ♥ I love it. I have always enjoyed dark fiction (and movies) and never took a liking to romance or chicklit. The only way a romance story can be interesting to me is if it's a dark romance xD Horror, thriller, paranormal... Those are my genres ♥

What do you like to read? Do you have a favourite genre or any specific likes?

I prefer to read horror and thrillers, but also paranormal and dark fantasy :) I love a good dark mystery too, but I guess good horror will always be my favourite. It's just that good horror--something that's actually scary--is so hard to come by. Most stories are not scary or they overuse death, movies just tend to be too predictable, have dumb characters that make you scream at the screen, and let's not even talk about how the music tends to give away anything frightening before it even happened :(

What compels you to pick up a pen and scribble down your thoughts? Do you have any inspiration or motivation?

My dreams and nightmares are my inspiration. At first I started writing them down as a therapeutic thing, but after writing Lucius I wanted to convert more of them from a mere journal entry to an actual story. Have my fears scare others :) I love when I read people's responses to my writing and I do grin a little sadistically when someone says they can't sleep or lost their appetite :x So I guess the responses of my dear readers are my motivation ♥

Being a writer, what's the easiest part of writing and which aspect do you consider the most challenging?

The easy part to me is once I get going, I keep going, or when a book starts writing itself. The challenging part is actually to get going xD I have a lot of trouble to start myself up and get writing. (And it gets harder the longer I don't write :( )

What kind of environment do you prefer to write in?

One where I am alone. So either in bed, in the spare room, or in the bathtub with my laptop (and don't worry: I have a little table next to the tub so there's no danger ;) ) I tend to write with music on, but the type of music varies with what I'm writing. My favourite type of music is instrumental though, as it helps keep focus.

What's your first piece of writing, if you can remember? What thoughts does it bring to you when you look back at it?

My first piece of writing (actual fiction writing that is) would be version 0 of Millennium... It was horrible .__. I did not have a spellchecking option at the time, did not know how paragraphs worked, and it was written in 2nd person (you-format). It's filled with so many mistakes and overuse of capital letters... And I was 15 ^_^;; Still, we all start somewhere :)

If we talk about the first story I ever did, I think it would be my own little mini comic-books. I had made my own "Goosebumps" series about "The Flesh Eating Girl" (Lucius version 0 anyone?) Basically, it was just me making lots of little drawings that formed a storyline in my head, but back then I barely wrote any actual words (just squiggly lines). I hope to find those booklets again one day, they should be somewhere in my parents' house.

Tell us about your growth as an author.

Considering how I started out and where I am now a decade later, I think it's safe to say I grew *a lot*. My spelling and grammar have improved tremendously, though I'm still trying to improve my punctuation. Character development is something I want to work on too, but it seems my characters often come alive in longer works and just... go their own way. I'm not sure how to control them properly, let alone ensure their development is better. Still, I am editing Millennium and there's plenty of room for character improvement there, but I think just rewriting chapters will "automatically" fix a large part of that.

Growth as an author is something that, for me, was only possible because people gave me feedback. Even now I crave feedback as I never had any courses on writing and am basically fully self-taught. (And English is a second language for me.) I will still make mistakes that a native speaker wouldn't make, but I hope that the more I write (and read) I will continue to grow ♥

Do you have a favorite author or book?

I love Stephen Kind and H.P. Lovecraft, but my all-time favourite book is "I never promised you a rose garden" by Joanne Greenberg (aka Hannah Green). That novel gives such a great insight into mental health and (in)sanity, and it was a great read back when I was struggling. I recently reread it now that I'm better and I just recognised so many things for myself. I can connect with that book in many ways despite that I had different mental issues. I highly suggest it to anyone who struggles with themselves one way or another.

Besides writing, do you have any hidden talents?

Good question xD Eh... Well, I used to make fractal art :) I would make a fractal and write a poem along with it (I actually have the entire collection on my wattpad profile). When I came out of my depression however I only made a few more and then just stopped. I was "done" making them--I had said all that I needed to say.

You're sitting in front of a brand new aspiring writer, what do you say?

Never give up. Keep writing, keep improving yourself, and don't be afraid to ask for feedback.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Don't be afraid to tell us something funny, we won't tell.

I am a gamer and tend to binge on new games when I get them. I can seriously spend an entire day gaming, multiple days at a time :x I game a lot less now I try to write more (and have a job and need to adult) but those binge sessions... they still happen.

As for fun stuff... I recently started an ant farm with my husband :3 They're only a few days in now and tunnelling like mad. The queen keeps checking out the hole impatiently, wanting to move out of the tube she got delivered in and into the sandy ground.

Now, the most awaited question of every young reader, do you have any childish habits? Do you like cartoons or chocolates?

I love anime, but I doubt the ones I watch are considered childish xD (all the blood and gore O:-) ) I like chocolate, but not a lot--I prefer jerky and fruit :3

I have stuffed animals and will sleep with them when feeling sick. (When I was in the hospital last year for my gallstones I slept with a giant fluffy monkey and couldn't care less what people thought.) Also, pretty things will distract me. I collect gemstones. You can make me happy with bubbles. ♥

Do you prefer sweet or salty?

Sweet, though I'm not big on candy.

It was nice talking to you. Thanks for your precious time. We really appreciate it and hope you'll prosper leaps and bounds.

Thank you for having me ♥ This was a lot of fun :D

STORIES-

They call him Lucius

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BLURB-

She didn't want to remember, ever. She just wanted to forget, forget the past ten years ever happened. 

 An undercover operation to catch a very dangerous man goes terribly wrong. Instead of catching and locking him up, special agent Amy Jensen is the one who loses her freedom. Will she ever be able to escape the horrible nightmare that her life has become?

COVER-

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My Lord

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  BLURB-  

A young woman fleeing from tragedy travels east in the hopes of finding a better life. Instead, she is captured by a slave trader. Sold to the Lord of the local lands, Meya now has to work as his chambermaid. Lord Deminas is known to be cruel--and not just to his enemies. On top of that, Meya discovers he is no ordinary man. As the Lord entangles her in a web of fear and passion, will she be able to keep her sanity?

COVER-

Millennium

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  BLURB-  

Aislinn is plagued by nightmares of demons who are after her life. The boundary between dreams and reality seems to fade a little bit more with each nightmare she has. Strangely, one of her friends turns out to know more about what's going on and he tries to help her. However, her problems aren't that easily solved, and it seems things will only get worse--especially when her friend turns out to be more than just an ordinary friend.

As the story goes on, more becomes clear about the demons that hunt her, and why...

  COVER-