What is your book(s) about? It’s a young adult LGBT romance! Here’s the blurb from the book: Nick is gay, and he'd do anything to hide it. That's why his best friend, Jordan, sets him up on a date with a girl. But things are never as simple as they seem, and dating Aria turns out to be an eye opening experience. With an emerging love interest conflicting with his plans, Nick has a big decision to make: has to decide whether he wants to live a lie or be true to himself. What has been the best compliment as a writer? I had a fan once who told me they had dressed up as one of my characters for Halloween. It was when I first started posting my work on Wattpad and the joy it gave me was unreal. I’ll never forget that day. What do you love most about the writing process? The best part is when things finally start to come together. Since I don’t tend to plan much, I tend to get stuck around the middle of the novel. But once I push through and get closer to the finish line, everything seems to move quicker. That’s the moment that I realise I will actually finish a draft, rather than abandoning another work in progress. Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why? In Double Bluff, I really love Jordan. She’s a bit of a Marmite character – she’s gutsy, sometime rude, always blunt and always honest. She is who she is and she doesn’t hide from that. I see myself in her a little – the self I would be if I didn’t have a filter, and said everything on my mind. We’re all like her, secretly – she just voices her thoughts a little more freely. Any website or resources that have been helpful to you as a writer? Wattpad has been the home of my writing for almost five years. Before that, I used some other great websites like Figment and abctales, but Wattpad was where I found true friends and fans. It’s centred around teenagers reading teen fiction, which is exactly what I needed at the time. I may be growing out of it a little bit, but Wattpad will always have a special place in my heart. Have you thought about joining with another author to write a book? My friend and I write an apocalypse type series on Wattpad which has attracted thousands of readers over the years. It’s free to read, and we write under the name @HayleyandLaura Do you write alone or in public? A bit of both. If I had the time and money, I would probably spend all of my days writing in indie cafes where I feel most at home, but for now, my bedroom is my writing hub. Goals of certain # of words a week or when inspiration strikes? I have terrible droughts when it comes to writing. I work as a freelance writer, so when my work day is up, it’s hard to find the energy to pen a novel. When inspiration strikes, though, I have glorious days where my head is filled with ideas, and my fingers barely leave my keyboard – eat, sleep, type, repeat. Have you written any other books that are not published? I’ve written a lot over the past few years. All of my early drafts are posted on Wattpad under the username @Hazzer123. If you could spend time a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day? I’d love to spend a day with Aria from Double Bluff, because I feel like we’d have the most wonderfully stimulating conversations. I think she could teach me a thing or two about feminism, and I would love to see the side to her lesser explored in Double Bluff – the creative mastermind who isn’t necessarily an artist or a writer, but creates fascination through her actions. In some ways, she’s a performer, except everything she says and does is true to herself. Music or silence? Music, always. Silence is okay for dreaming, but for writing, I need something to set the tone. Pen or type writer or computer? I romanticise the idea of writing on paper in beautiful notebooks with a fountain pen, but my reality is I always write on my computer. A pen can’t keep up with my thoughts. What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author? My tutor at university spent a whole hour ripping one of my short stories apart in front of my entire class, while I tried to sink through the floor. I don’t regret it, though – tough love is a blessing, even if it doesn’t feel that way at the time! What is your favorite part of the book? There’s a scene where my main character and his love interest go for a bike ride together. I love the idea of going on a date to the countryside on a bike (even though I can’t ride one…) and it gives me a fuzzy feeling when I read the scene back. Million dollar question, are you working on another book? I’m always working on something, even if it’s slow progress. I’m hoping to have another novel finished by the end of the summer, and it’ll be posted on my Wattpad account. Follow Hayley on Twitter @handerton96 You can get Hayley's book by clicking the link below!
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