Interview: Calista Lynne

Today we’re joined by Calista Lynne, a fantastic writer from London. Her first novel is going to be released on July 14th and is available for pre-order now. Aside from fiction, Calista is also a freelance writer and editor. She has such a wonderful enthusiasm for the art of writing and is definitely an artist to keep your eye on. My thanks to her for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I am an author, freelance writer, and editor whose first novel is being released on July 14 and is currently available for pre-order. It is a young-adult fantasy novel but reads a lot like a contemporary romance. Also the main characters are asexual females, which just sweetens the deal.

What inspires you?

At the moment I live in London. Spending time alone in this city- riding the tube, getting coffee, working, studying- is an inspiration machine.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

From a young age I’ve always been a pretty decent writer so it almost seemed silly not to go into that. I’ve definitely honed my skills a lot growing up, but it’s not like I ever needed to learn how to write. I was just able to.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Learn about the comma splice, then go and experience as much of life as you can manage.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

Not absolutely positive. At the moment I have three groups of people calling me three different sexualities, none of which are asexual, and they’re all wrong. I’m hoping it becomes clearer to me with time- my goal was that I’d figure it all out in London although that hasn’t happened yet- but I believe I’m somewhere along the lines of gray-Ace.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

That it isn’t real. I constantly feel the need to, shall we say, pull out my receipts that this is a legitimate sexuality. Whenever I see someone with more influence than I using the term it makes me so happy because they’re more likely to be listened to.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Same. If I can do it, so can you.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

Pre-order my book here:
https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/we-awaken-by-calista-lynne-399-b

Follow me on Tumblr at calista-lynne.tumblr.com
Twitter is (at) calistawrites
And feel free to email me at officialcalista@gmail.com

Thank you, Calista, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: R.J. Seeley

Today we’re joined by R.J. Seeley. R.J. is an amazingly prolific author who has a number of books available. They’ve written over twenty novels. R.J. writes mostly LGBTQ young adult fiction, although they have dabbled in some other genres. They have a real love of writing and show no signs of slowing down any time soon. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

My art is writing. I’ve been writing for years so, at this point my art ranges from full blown novels, to short stories, 10 page free e-books, and beyond. I write mostly LGBT young adult/new adult, although have ventured occasionally into the adult genre, and tend to write romantic relations, if any, between boys. At this moment I have 27 books available, but by the end of 2016 that could be a completely different story, as I am on a rebrand, edit and redesign year.

What inspires you?

Practically everything. Which I know sounds a bit like a cop out, but really. I will be walking down a street and will be hit with inspiration, my friends all find it humorous, and all try saying things to see if it strikes inspiration. I usually can write from anything, and that usually means I write ON everything.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I always think I became a writer by accident, but, when I look back on it, I really always have been, I’ve always created stories and wrote them. School actually made me think seriously about writing, when I was 15, and we did a creative writing module, the spark just lit, and I was off. Within a year I’d wrote my first full blown novel, coming in at 500+ pages, Choreography. From then on, they just continued to flow out of me.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

I do a few things, but I think I’ll share my most ‘noticeable’. I like to connect things, so, all my characters aged between 11-18 all attend the same school, a huge number of them are in the same class, I will have characters from other books popping up, just for cameo roles, because I never think of my characters as done. I also like to hide Easter eggs, so, having a character from a book not yet released pop up, to give my readers a hint at what’s coming.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Don’t let bad reviews stop you. This has been a big piece of advice, I think I’ve needed over the last year, as I suffer with dyslexia I get a lot of negative reviews, some not even on the story, but, I would definitely say it’s my best piece of advice. Don’t let the bad reviews stop you, you write/create for yourself, and you’re brave to share it, some people won’t like it, but that’s just how things work. Focus on the good reviews, the good comments, the ones that make you smile!

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I identify as aromantic. After a long hard few years of trying to figure out where I fell in the spectrum I finally feel being aromantic is right. Like a big comfortable jumper!

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

I tend to counter ignorance with fact. I tend to try and make someone understand. I’ve also had a lot of ace ignorance from friends to do with my field, unfortunately, as some decide that if I write a sex scene occasionally there is no way I could be ace. Some of their comments I ignore, others I challenge.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

I think it has to be ‘You make sex jokes, I thought you were asexual’
A lot of people believing that because I can laugh and joke about sex, I must want it, it can range from downright amusing to frustrating depending on the comment.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

Asexuality is valid. It took me until I was 17 to figure out I was asexual. Once I did, I felt ten times better, don’t worry that you don’t have the same urges as your friends, don’t worry about anything. You are normal. You are valid.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

I have a website, which is www.rjseeley.wix.com/writer, and I also have my blog www.rjseeley.wordpress.com. You can follow me on Twitter RJseeley or find me on Facebook, R.J. Seeley and keep up to date there. 🙂

Thank you, R.J., for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.

Interview: Tah the Trickster

Today we’re joined by the Tah the Trickster. They’re a fantastic and versatile writer who writes poetry and prose. Their prose tends to be LGBTQ themed YA fiction. Tah is also a fanfiction writer and they have an awesome love of werewolves. It’s quite apparent that they’re passionate about their work, which is always wonderful to see. My thanks to them for taking the time to participate in this interview.

WORK

Please, tell us about your art.

I’m an author of both poetry and prose! My prose consists mostly of LGBT-themed Young Adult fiction, though I also write a great deal of fanfiction, particularly in the RWBY and Skyrim fandoms (still heavily queer, though!). My poetry is an ugly sort of visceral writing, leaning heavily on themes of depression and rage, which seems to resonate with a lot of people. I write in a lot of different genres, but I have a heavy leaning towards urban/low fantasy, particularly with regards to werewolves. (I’m a big fan of ‘em.)

I currently have written one YA queer romance novel, a book of poetry, and have had some of my work featured in the zine Werewolves Versus! I’m also working off-and-on on an encyclopedia of werewolfery!

What inspires you?

Music is a big one; I love listening to hard rock and heavy metal and drawing words from the lyric material and feelings of the songs, and trying to capture those feelings.

I also take inspiration for fanworks from other fanartists. I have several friends within the fandoms I’m a part of, and we frequently swap ideas for material to work with.

What got you interested in your field?  Have you always wanted to be an artist?

I’m not sure that I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I’ve been writing for many years now. I was big on reading as a kid and young teenager, and most of my formative years were spent reading J. K. Rowling and Tamora Pierce and the like. I found pretty early on that reading so much at a young age made me prime writer material, and since the surprising success of my first novel Singer, I’ve been writing daily (or nearly) since then.

Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?

I don’t really have any special secret to my work, but I suppose I’m unique in that I write almost exclusively in the first person. This does turn some people off, I’m afraid, but more often than not I get comments saying that I’ve made a handful of people change their minds about first person narratives. Which is, you know, a huge confidence booster for me.

What advice would you give young aspiring artists?

Writers don’t just write; they read. If you can, try to read lots of things in the genre you want to write in. Learn the ins and outs of the genre. See which parts of those books work, and see what doesn’t work. Figure out why you like the parts you like. Learn to use them in your own work.

ASEXUALITY

Where on the spectrum do you identify?

I’m an asexual enby (non-binary)! More often than not I’m agender as well, but sometimes I feel more masculine or feminine than I do other times.

Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field?  If so, how do you handle it?

The most prejudice and ignorance I see is on the internet in general, not just in my specific field. I see a lot of people arguing that the A in LGBT is for asexuals, not allies, (which is true) but then see the same people labeling heteroromantic asexuals as “not really being queer,” which is kind of bizarre to me. More often than not I can ignore it (I’m not heteroromantic) but it does tend to rub me the wrong way.

What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?

The most common is probably that whole “just because you’re asexual doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy sex” spiel. That’s great for sex-positive asexuals, but for sex-repulsed asexuals, it can be a frightening and overwhelming experience that you’re still expected to go through with sex if you’re with an allosexual.

What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?

It’s okay to be asexual. It’s okay to be asexual as a result of a religious upbringing. It’s okay to be asexual as a result of trauma. It’s okay to be asexual for no readily-apparent reason. Being asexual is not a bad thing.

Finally, where can people find out more about your work?

You can find out about my various projects and order my books on my website at http://tahthetrickster.com/!

If you want to read my original works, you can check them out on my FictionPress here: https://www.fictionpress.com/u/640126/

If you want to read my fanworks, you can read those on my AO3 account: http://archiveofourown.org/users/TahTheTrickster

And of course you can always follow me on Tumblr or Twitter: tahthetrickster

Thank you, Tah the Trickster, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.