1. Your poem was widely appreciated, what inspired you to write that?
As a lot of my work is, this poem was inspired by nature, specifically that nature that I find around me, and love. I find it beautiful to meld the romantic with the natural and to take two worlds, that of human love and animal beauty, and blend them together. It is very similar to many of the works in my last collection, Our Paused World, with the focus on birds stemming from a deep respect for the creatures which I am currently expressing in my next collection, On Gentle Wings. I think we are privileged to be able to write down and record what we see around us, especially when it is often so harmonious and tender.
2. Whose work has influenced you most?
This is a difficult question. Many of the poets who I have studied have formed part of my poetic voice, such as Carol Ann Duffy and Philip Larkin. My favourite authors, such as Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, George R.R. Martin, Wendy Moore and many, many others, colour my writing, although they have contrasting styles and genres. Perhaps that's why I write in so many different ways. I love to read almost everything, so I suppose it is natural that I like to keep a lot of variety in my written work as well.
3. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?
Another tough question. My answer used to be Lighter Fluid, because that novella is a bittersweet love letter to my high school experience and encapsulates my life as a teenager so perfectly that I can't help but love it--it's a little piece of my heart, written in ink and printed for others to see and read. However, my recent short story collection Everything Under The Rainbow has to be my current favourite work, since it has had such an impact on both the people around me and those who I don't know as well. Many have told me that the advice in there and the representation helped them out enormously and various schools and colleges have copies of it in order to aid their LGBT+ students, so I'm glad that I have done what little I can with Everything Under The Rainbow to aid the British LGBT+ community.
4. What is your favorite genre to write in?
As may be evident by now, I dabble in a little bit of everything. My favourite poetry 'genre' is observational poetry that captures moments of natural beauty or interest, mixed with that human emotion that we all universally feel in different situations. My longer works are usually but not always Young Adult, generally Contemporary and always, I hope, thoughtful. I would say that I'm not a particular fan of writing romance in longer works, although I'm not sure why.
5. Anything you would like to say to the readers?
Please, take inspiration from the world you see around you. There is a wealth of material that you can find just beyond your doorstep. Write everything down so that you can show people the most beautiful moments in your life later on, and so that you yourself can look back and remember how everything was. Detail is an incredible tool with almost terrifying power. Read and write what you love and what makes your heart happy, and know that there is beauty in everything.
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