1. Which is your favorite literary work read so far?
That’s a tough question, so many different works come to mind, but I think I’d have to go back to the first books I fell in love with- A Series of Unfortunate Events. I used to finish those books in a day or two then read them over again. I’ve always loved reading, but have never loved any piece of literature as much as I loved, and still love that series.
2. Whose work has influenced you most?
My work is influenced by so many different writers, poets, and people in general that it's very hard to pinpoint one influence. I also try not to study my work too much, because then I just start picking at it, so it’s hard to say whose influenced me the most. I really like Daphne du Maurier though and have been reading lots of her work in the past two years or so, and definitely think in terms of writing fiction at least,
she’s been the most influential on me. It was after reading a collection of her short stories did I really want to start pursuing fiction. I really love how attentive to detail she was and how her writing was never afraid to push the boundaries of fiction and how a woman writes it.
3. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?
In 2018 I was writing for a publication called Guided Mag, we were preparing our fifth issue, the theme was “lost”. I had really bad writers block during that period and didn’t think I’d have something ready in time. Then during that process I learned my grandma had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and dementia, and that news tore me to pieces. I eventually channeled all that pain into a poem, I didn’t really
write it for publishing, though it ended up being published in that issue. It was a poem navigating the heartbreak I was feeling knowing that sooner or later she would not be with me, and potentially forget who I was. It also just expressed how much I love her and how much she means to me. It was the first piece I’d ever published in a magazine and I sent my family a copy, the page even had a big picture of her as the poem's background. She loved seeing herself within a magazine and got to read it. Shortly after that her illnesses really began to progress and her memory became more hazy, so I always love that piece because it really gave me the ability to express to her how much she means to me one last time, and I feel I did that well. I also love it for the fact that it was a piece we both share no matter what.
4. What is your favorite genre to write in?
It’s between poetry and fiction, but I definitely could not tell you which. When I was in elementary school I used to get journals and fill them up with stories, like little books, and it made me so happy writing those. But when I became an adolescent I sort of fell out of writing in general for a bit, it was then that I found poetry at about 13 and that really got me through my teenage years, as well as solidified my love
for writing. I’ve mainly been a poet these past 7 or so years, but since getting back into writing fiction recently I’ve remembered how much I love writing it, and the art of storytelling. I think both serve different purposes for me, poetry is how I deal with reality, fiction is how I escape it. I couldn’t exist without either and love them both for many different reasons.
5. Anything you would like to say to the readers?
I’d say never be afraid to take risks in your art, or in anything you do, usually the craziest ideas are the
ones which pay off. Believe in yourself and what you can do, no matter what you come from, and keep
pushing the limits of what you think you can do!
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