FAQs
Do you really write and illustrate your books?
1
Yes, I do. I’ve been writing and drawing for a lot longer than AI has been around and will continue to do so without the support of AI because my creative work is nourishment for my soul.
So, you don’t use AI, at all?
2
I use AI to check my spelling and grammar on short pieces of writing and to ensure I’ve written a common phrase down correctly, because I usually get them wrong. I have also used AI to help prompt me to get the best version of a story's blurb out of me and to fill in the metadata for my work on publishing platforms. The only reason I use it for that stuff is because I find filling in those details a headache, and it doesn’t come as naturally to me. However, because I am an independently published author, I am expected to wear many hats and ‘know’ all this stuff, so to unburden myself so I can get back to my creative work all the sooner, I use AI for those pesky behind-the-scenes details and marketing lingo, which makes absolutely no sense to me but apparently makes these platforms work.
Will you ever use AI to write your stories?
3
No, because I’m a channeller to my stories. For me, the stories are already out there in the ‘ether’ and I’m simply attuned to their frequency like a radio broadcast, and so, I don’t need a robot to help me write a story.
I just need time and space and to trust myself and the flow of the story.
Every story lands on the page when it’s ready to.
Why do your pieces of work cost so much?
4
I make between $2 and $10 for every piece of work I sell. All the rest of the cost is being absorbed by printing fees, delivery fees, or the platforms taking their share. I don’t have control over the printing fees or what the platforms take; I only have control over what quality I can set the print paper at and the overall price of the product.
I choose the best printing settings available, especially for something like, The Princess of Salvaniah, because it has illustrations and I want the product to feel solid in readers' hands after I’ve spent so much time putting the story together.
Also, these stories aren’t content, they’re art.
Art, historically, costs money.
However, we live in a day and age where people seem to think creative work should come at a low cost, even though we reach for it every single day to help us get through our day. We don’t have an issue paying for a gym membership we never use, a cocktail that disappears in fifteen minutes, or a piece of clothing that’ll fall apart after a few wears. And yet, as a society, we baulk at the cost of entertainment, even though it's the very thing that feeds our soul.
We’ve created this ‘starving artist’ mentality like it’s something to be proud of, but it’s not. Creatives should be supported and appreciated, as creatives will never create their best work when they’re fighting to make ends meet. So, yes, my creative work costs money, perhaps more so than what it would from a story with industry backing, but you know what? Those industries aren’t revolutionary; they’re pumping out the same old stories over and over again and frankly, it’s boring and unmoving.
At the end of the day, it’s your choice whether you spend your hard-earned money on something that is a bit more expensive and is classified as ‘art’ or something that’s more affordable and is nothing more than ‘content.’
I can’t find you on social media.
5
I am not on social media because I don’t align with how these companies operate and use people and their information as the product and/or for data harvesting. I have tried all of them over the years and they feel so fake, I can’t stand it.
Also, being a millennial, it is exhausting having to rebuild yourself on every new platform that comes along, watch it burn down or change into something unrecognisable, and then have to move onto another. It’s also equally exhausting to have to keep learning how best to ‘beat’ the algorithm to ensure you and your content remains seen.
I’ve got better things to do with my time than play these games, and as they say, ‘You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.'
Why do your stories focus on trauma so much?
6
Because after being on this planet for thirty-something years, it’s the only thing that really interests me: how much the human soul can take and how it can heal.
I have always been fascinated by the motivations of why people do what they do and the psychology behind it all, and it’s a subject that isn’t a shallow piece of water.
I’ve been on a very long journey myself to heal and discover who I am, and it never ceases to amaze me how the journey is never really over. I think at some point you get bored with the world, and realise that the only interesting thing at hand is yourself, so why not get to know yourself?
It’s painful alright. My gosh, it’s a painful process, but the payoff is so profound.
How did you become a cross-genre writer?
7
I didn’t become anything; I just did what the stories required me to do.
Characters and their worlds don’t care about genres and labels, they just show up as is. I adapt to each story’s needs so when they’re delivered on the page they are in their truest form.
There is no point in me bloating out a romance story from a novella to a novel or setting it in a fantasy setting just for the sake of it, it’ll ruin the essence of the story.
Whilst some might do it for the money, I can’t.
If I turn my back on these stories and deliver them in any way other than how they’re meant to be, it’ll be like giving them the middle finger.
When you’re a creative, you don’t show your middle finger to the work, otherwise you risk losing it.
You speak as if the story’s have souls of their own.
8
That’s because I believe they do.
Creative energy is an incredible invisible force.
But no one dares speak of it as such because we live in a rigid society, very focused on the dollar value of everything.
Historically, humans have been creative as far back as the first people in Africa. We had no need to be creative back then, not in a time when hunting and gathering were so important for our survival, but still, even then we were. Why? To express ourselves, of course.
Creativity is the expression of the soul.
And we, as a species, are losing our humanity because we’re more obsessed with the dollar value and material pleasure of our environment rather than daring to connect with our own inner selves and lean into these ‘invisible’ forces, which can provide some of the deepest and long-lasting connections.
I mean, that’s really what creativity is all about: connection.
Expression and connection.
If there is an invisible force we’re going to believe in and dedicate our lives to, why not make it a force that helps us uncover who we are, empowers us, and helps us connect and grow?
It boggles my mind how humanity chooses time and time again to believe in the forces that want to disempower us and make us feel wrong and/or small.
Will you always be a writer?
9
I’ll write so long as I have stories to tell.
I have a pretty solid catalogue in me, which I’m working hard to get through. I don’t know what will happen once I’m done with that. I’m not too worried.
It takes a lot of dedication to be a writer and enforces a certain lifestyle.
I remember watching a documentary on a famous female writer, and how she said she no longer wants to be ‘in there’ writing but ‘out there’ in the world. Even at this point, I can relate to that.
At some point, it might be nice to experience life without feeling this enormous amount of servitude to these stories.
What formal training do you have?
10
I don’t.
I’m the writer I am today, because I spent ten years trying to work out my first novel, A Royal Life -Rozalie.
That story was such a pain in the butt to write that for years it was like the black sheep in my family of literature once it was published. Today, I still don’t even know whether it’s any good, but every time I’ve gone back to it, it has always held the information I need to keep building this massive series further.
At the end of the day, you can chase all the courses and degrees you want, but the only thing that will give you the skill to write is to practice.
You know, the biggest artists in history, like Monet, went to school, but it wouldn’t have meant anything if he didn’t practice and practice.
Creativity doesn’t have rules.
Everything is just a kind of guideline.
And what might be a guideline for one person isn’t necessarily the same guideline for another person. The guidelines change and adapt according to the creator. But the only way you figure out what guidelines work for you is if you do the work.
No one can teach you how to uncover your biggest asset when it comes to the written word, which is fundamentally your style.
You have to work for it like a sculptor does with a huge piece of marble; you have to be the one to invest the time to chip away at it and discover what version of your creative expression is underneath.
You can’t buy that.
That has to come from you.
But the only way that ever gets uncovered is if you show up for yourself and your creative work.
If you’re interested in more thoughts about writing and creativity, please feel free to check out my podcast, Diary of a Writer. I’ve made an effort to cover all aspects of creative writing on that show.