Did everyone enjoy the Secret Author contest? I certainly did, both writing and reading. But now that it's the first Wednesday of the month, it should be no secret what's coming up. Time for another edition of Ask An Author! 

This month, we have @Salander! Let's see what questions we got for 'em...

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Salander

1 Story / 121,143 Words

What brought you to GA?

I honestly don’t remember…I started following GA as a lurker back in high school (10-ish years ago). I’ve been big into reading and writing since I was a preteen and knew I was LGBT pretty early on, so just wandered here eventually. I only made an account last year and posted my first story shortly after, per my partner’s encouragement. I’ve always been really self-conscious about sharing my fictive writing, so the amount of support I’ve gotten here has been overwhelming, but also so heartwarming and valuable as a new author.

How did you come up with the concept for You Complete Me?

Hm. Being bored but luckily still employed during the pandemic, mostly. All of my stories start out as half-baked ideas that I can’t get out of my head until I eventually put something down on paper, even if it’s just a scene. In the case of YCM, it was a sex scene, but then I found myself intrigued with who was involved. I kept adding more and more until two people in a sex scene became friends with benefits, who also needed other friends, family, and lives outside of each other, and those people had their own dilemmas to tie back to the original story. In other words, I just came up with Jake and Nic, and the concept sort of wrote itself around them, though there were a lot of themes I weaved into the story because they were prominent in my own life in some way: i.e., ADHD, anxiety, addiction, trauma…and playing rugby.

All of your characters are extremely unique, complex, and realistic. What is the inspiration behind them? What is it about a character that makes you want to tell their stories?

Lots of gay romance stories (particularly those set in high school) pair the cute, twink-like character with the tall, dark, and handsome “straight”-acting jock, which is great, but I wanted to do something a little different with Jake and Nic. So, I ended up with a troubled and snarky twink-like character and a well-meaning, attractive-yet-insecure jock unwillingly falling for each other. I think those personas felt more natural for a couple of older teens just trying to make it through the final years of high school.

I got there by asking why they acted in certain ways and also taking some inspiration from my own life, as mentioned in the previous question. For example, why is Jake so unsure of himself, despite appearing to have it all from the outside? I’ve never been a popular jock in high school, but I do know the toll ADHD can take on your self-esteem. Why is Nic so prickly? My past isn’t as traumatic as Nic’s is, but I do know what it’s like to crave affection while also being afraid to accept it.

As narcissistic as it may sound, I’m more inclined to tell their stories if I see myself in them. That’s not to say that either Jake or Nic are self-inserts (if anyone, maybe Shiv is), but they were extensions of my own mindset at different points in time, in different situations. Putting a bit of yourself into your work (just a bit!) has been the most effective way of writing more realistic characters that you care about as an author in my experience.

What inspired you to become a writer?

That’s a good question – I had to think on it for a while.

I was an only child, and since I’m pretty introverted, I also had trouble making friends. Needless to say, I was bored and lonely quite a bit, which eventually turned into depression, and writing was a great way of escaping the parts of myself that I didn’t like very much. I could create fun situations and imagine myself in the shoes of characters that didn’t have my issues – and if they did, I could write a better ending for them, or have them handle those issues in ways I couldn’t. I wrote less and less as I got older, had less time, and found other coping mechanisms, but it’s always something I go back to when I need that escape. I didn’t really consider myself a “writer” until I started posting on GA. My fiancée inspired me to share in the first place, but my readers are why I continue to when I can. I like being able to provide that same escape to someone else that might need it.

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Thanks for the interview, Salander! For those who enjoyed these responses, head on over to "You Complete Me." It's an ongoing story, so there's still time to get caught up. 

Catch y'all next month!