As part of our Wicked Whispers Competition, we will be conducting a series of interviews with our finalists. In these interviews, we discuss the finalist's work, inspiration, as well as background.

Q: Tell us about yourself?

A: I’m a former librarian turned first-generation physician and a neurodivergent author. My work has been featured on the Thriller 101 and The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcasts, and I was a 2024 Authored Rising Talent finalist and a 2023 RevPit finalist. After attending a writing workshop series, I created my own writing critique group, and I’ve been an active member of the #5amwritersclub, #momswritersclub, and #thrillsandchills groups on Twitter/X. When I’m not chasing after my kindergartener or beta reading for my critique group, you can find me hard at work on my next speculative suspense/thriller starring rebellious women.

Q: Tell us a bit about your book?

A: Nia (28) visits her hometown with her boyfriend Eric. Within hours of her arrival, the town’s population—including Eric—vanishes. Nia discovers her twin Jake sold his social simulation game to a tech company which has now kidnapped the citizens inside the game for beta testing until it goes live. When the company discovers Nia evaded the kidnapping and Jake refuses to work for them, they threaten to kill the twins. Nia volunteers to enter the game in exchange for their lives, hoping her sacrifice gives Jake time to break the game from the outside.

Now, Nia’s locked in a virtual reality that resets daily where citizens grow increasingly violent. She’s the only one with her true memory, and her sole guidance comes from secret messages Jake delivers via a falcon inside the game. Communications which stop suddenly. Nia despairs until she discovers their mother’s watch which Jake planted for her. If she doesn’t follow Jake’s clues before the watch strikes midnight and the game goes live, all citizens will be killed, and the gaming technology could be released to the world.

Q: Why does someone HAVE to read your book? What sets your book apart?

A: The Falcon Code is unique in that it’s a wild concept which I’m striving to keep grounded, in hopes of offering the reader a fast-paced speculative thriller with lots of heart and a bit of quirk.

Q: What works inspired your book?

A: It’s a mashup of so many things because my fatal flaw is lacking simplicity lol. If I were to boil it down to the shortest version, it’s as if Gabrielle Zevin wrote a faster-paced thriller inspired by Jumanji (for adults) meets Westworld (with humans).

Q: What do you believe are comparable titles? Who are comparable authors?

A:

Comp titles: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Westworld - TV Series, Free Guy – Film, Jumanji - Film

Comp authors: Gabrielle Zevin, Matt Haig, TJ Klune, Christopher Nolan (directorial style of films like Inception, Memento, Interstellar)

Q: What is your favorite line from your book?

A: What a funny thing, to be erased.

Q: How long have you been writing? Is this your first book? At what point did you decide to become an author?

A: My writing occurred in waves. The first was when I was in elementary school in the 1980s and made a poor attempt at rap beats for the D.A.R.E. campaign (yes, this dates me). The second was in my twenties after a significant event in my life, and I wrote through the emotion in a fiction/non-fiction hybrid hot mess. The third was after my grandma died in 2015. She was my kindred spirit. I haven’t stopped writing since. I’ve penned 10 fiction and 1 non-fiction project since that time. My literary influences are vast, as I read broadly. However, I would argue that my fiction is mostly inspired by multimedia. I often comp my books to movies, TV shows, and songs. This work is actually my 12th book.

Q: Do you write full-time? How do you find time to write?

A: I work during the week, and with a young child it’s certainly a balancing act finding time to write. With regards to my writing practice … I’ve been dubbed a vampire by several of my closer writing friends as most of the messages they’ll get from me are at an absurd hour at night. However, I’m not a night owl! I wake at 3am every day to write until my child wakes up. I also take advantage of when they are in school, and I’m off work. I keep my writing on an app I can access anywhere (Scrivener), and I will add words when I’m inspired.

Q: How long have you been querying this book?

A: This is a complete rewrite of a book I queried in 2023 with some success in the form of multiple full requests. However, it took me time (over a year) and space to have a clear vision for it. I’m in the home stretch of the revise now and hope to query by the end of the year.

Q: Rejection is a part of querying. Do you have any advice for other authors to combat self-doubt and fear of rejection?

A: Oof this is hard. To give some perspective here, in the past seven years, I’ve queried 9 of my books and received full manuscript requests on 7 of them. I had an offer of rep in December 2023 that I ultimately declined as it wasn’t the best fit for me at the time. That was one of the toughest decisions I’ve made after struggling as a querying writer for years. Needless to say, it’s been a roller coaster.

Some things that have helped me:

Realizing that rejection isn’t personal. Rejection can be so tough and can feel very personal, but it isn’t. An agent could be rejecting a manuscript because: it doesn’t fit their list, they have an author with a similar project, there’s something that triggers them, they prefer a different writing tense, they don’t know editors/publishers taking on this kind of project. In the end, we bookish types want the same thing—we want awesome books to get out in the world. Any feedback (especially personalized) is an agent doing their best in a demanding climate.

Focusing on what I can control. I worked on my craft. I wrote the next book (hence, why I have a ridiculous number of books written). But with each book, I learned something. Either from the act of trying something new in a manuscript, or from beta feedback I received.

Remembering why I started writing in the first place. I write what I love and what inspires me. It’s easy to get caught up in querying and racking up rejections, comparing myself to others. And when I find myself doing that, I try to turn off my computer, get off social media, don’t visit querytracker for a day or so. I try to return to my writing roots. Then it becomes about writing again and less about the rejection spiral.

Q: Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give your younger self?

A: Don’t be afraid to share your work. Be open and gracious to feedback, but don’t change your vision (unless you believe in the change).

Make author friends! Find a writing cohort. Find your people! We are going through similar things so don’t travel the road solo—it can be lonely and demoralizing.

Learn how to give (and receive) beta feedback. I learned just as much (if not more) beta reading for others as I did receiving beta feedback on my own work.

Don’t be afraid of revisions. Recognize how much space you might need as an author to see how a story will best take shape.

Read! Read in your genre (of course), but read broadly, too. You never know what’s going to inspire you. And in that vein, don’t limit yourself to books. If nature inspires you, go for walks. Art—go to a museum. Same thing for traveling, cooking, dancing, playing music … whatever inspires your creative mind, seek it out when you can. Don’t limit your imagination.

Allow yourself a break. This one is hard for me. But a “break” can mean a day, a week, a month, a year. Take what you need to mentally withstand the rigors that come along with improving your craft while continuing to query.

Finally, don’t be afraid to fall down.

About Authored's Wicked Whispers Competition

Authored’s Wicked Whispers Competition identifies promising horror, thriller, suspense, and mystery manuscripts through a comprehensive review process, which includes an evaluation of the manuscript’s query letter, synopsis, and first ten pages. Our focus is on securing representation for authors, supporting diverse voices, and championing ambitious storytelling. All reviewers are literary agents or published authors.