With the suggestion from my mom to write still on my mind, I decided to begin a story.
Sometimes, you meet people you instantly like. Marissa Danielle, a long time member of the Slack Group I founded as a place for writers to connect, is one of those people. Not only is she a lovely person, she is also an extraordinary boy-love novelist who operates under the pseudonym @HiddenHeartPrincess on Wattpad,
I am exceedingly happy to have her under the Author Spotlight where I have plans to grill her about her most popular book Breed Me— which has reached #5 on the Science Fiction What's Hot List, —her longtime writing goals and whatever else I can think of.
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AB : Marissa, before we jump into the hard questions, how about we start with something fairly easy? Can you tell me a little about yourself?
MD : Of course, I am from Texas but moved around a lot as a kid. Around the time I was about ten, I discovered that I liked to read. I became more interested as I got older but it wasn't until high school that I begun to expand into art and creative writing. Art contests were the one events I enjoyed in high school and after graduating in '15, it's one thing I would like to go back to. Now, even after school, I still practice art but my main focused has been writing for the last two years.'
AB : I don't have an artistic bone in my body, much to my mother's eternal disappointment, but I am always impressed when I meet a fellow author who does. You mentioned though, that writing has been your main focus for the last two years now. What made you turn your attention to this hobby for the standard introvert?
MD : Well, two years ago I found myself in a rut of sorts— doing the same mediums and styles. No matter what I tried, nothing seemed to come out like I wanted it, much like most artists feel but to me this was different.
I happened to be moving to a new city with my family at the time and came across a book that I had written in middle school about mainly animals and their habitats among some of my possessions. I ended up showing it to my mom to reminisce about old times and she asked me why don't I try writing stories. At first I laughed and said maybe one day. Though the more I thought about it the more I pushed myself to give it a try.
AB : And thus, you eventually found yourself on Wattpad. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with Wattpad so far?
MD : My experience so far on Wattpad had been unlike anything that I have gone through before. I've made friends and connected with people from different places around the world it still amazes me. Everyone tends to be very friendly and willing to give you feedback on your work.
AB : Wattpad is an amazing place. I've grown as an author there and clearly you have too. What made you decide to start posting your work on the online writing platform?
MD : It was towards the end of senior year, right before graduation was when I discovered Wattpad through a friend. When I first started on there, I mainly went to read the stories that everyone had created, truly amazing. With the suggestion from my mom to write still on my mind though and just mostly the hand written stories filling my notebooks at home, I decided to begin a story.
AB : Now you have a sizable readership, over eight thousand followers, on Wattpad and a boy-love romance novel titled Breed Me that ranks pretty steadily on the Science Fiction What's Hot List. What do you think it is about Breed Me that people seem to love so much?
MD : That story has given me the opportunity to write in a genre that is new to me. I like to think people are loving it so far is that I've incorporated many different aspects to the book. While it does have romance in the story line, it has action, suspense and mystery added to it as well.
AB : Do you have a short teaser for the book you'd like to share?
AB : I think it is safe to say at the moment Jasper got a raw deal. It's clear to see why your readers enjoy your work. Do you have plans to write more stories of similar nature in the future? What are your long term writer goals?
MD : Absolutely, in fact I have a second book being planned to continue after Breed Me with a side character that most readers have begun to love. My long term writer goals are to complete a series that I haven begun and hopefully publish them one day.
AB : I don't have an artistic bone in my body, much to my mother's eternal disappointment, but I am always impressed when I meet a fellow author who does. You mentioned though, that writing has been your main focus for the last two years now. What made you turn your attention to this hobby for the standard introvert?
MD : Well, two years ago I found myself in a rut of sorts— doing the same mediums and styles. No matter what I tried, nothing seemed to come out like I wanted it, much like most artists feel but to me this was different.
I happened to be moving to a new city with my family at the time and came across a book that I had written in middle school about mainly animals and their habitats among some of my possessions. I ended up showing it to my mom to reminisce about old times and she asked me why don't I try writing stories. At first I laughed and said maybe one day. Though the more I thought about it the more I pushed myself to give it a try.
AB : And thus, you eventually found yourself on Wattpad. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with Wattpad so far?
MD : My experience so far on Wattpad had been unlike anything that I have gone through before. I've made friends and connected with people from different places around the world it still amazes me. Everyone tends to be very friendly and willing to give you feedback on your work.
AB : Wattpad is an amazing place. I've grown as an author there and clearly you have too. What made you decide to start posting your work on the online writing platform?MD : It was towards the end of senior year, right before graduation was when I discovered Wattpad through a friend. When I first started on there, I mainly went to read the stories that everyone had created, truly amazing. With the suggestion from my mom to write still on my mind though and just mostly the hand written stories filling my notebooks at home, I decided to begin a story.
AB : Now you have a sizable readership, over eight thousand followers, on Wattpad and a boy-love romance novel titled Breed Me that ranks pretty steadily on the Science Fiction What's Hot List. What do you think it is about Breed Me that people seem to love so much?
MD : That story has given me the opportunity to write in a genre that is new to me. I like to think people are loving it so far is that I've incorporated many different aspects to the book. While it does have romance in the story line, it has action, suspense and mystery added to it as well.
AB : Do you have a short teaser for the book you'd like to share?
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BREED ME
DAY ONE
Thunder rolled making my eyes slide open. I was looking up at the sky but it was different from anything I’ve seen before. It was brighter and more stars than I’ve ever seen. Sitting up quickly only resulted in my head spinning and I gripped at it, staring at the red earth beneath me.
Panic flooded my mind as I slowly looked up studying my surroundings. Red rocks and landforms surrounded me, causing me to scramble to my feet, spinning to look in every direction. My breath quickened and I winced when my head throbbed. Reached up again I pulled away my hand and saw dried flecks of blood.
Where am I? Looking down at my dirty clothes, I patted myself down trying to remember if I had a phone but found nothing. Swallowing, I closed my eyes and counted to ten hoping this was nightmare. Opening them again, I froze as I stared out into the sky. This wasn’t Earth, no it couldn’t be. I didn’t want believe it much less fathom that I was on another planet.
Breath, Jasper. No use of panicking. My hands shook as I stumbled in a random direction just to get out of the open. Heat washed over me as I got closer and I slowed my steps to see a river of...lava? Taking a step back, I tried going another direction before stopping frustrated coming upon a cliff. Taking a peek over it, I saw it fade into blackness and smoke came from it making me feel sick to my stomach. Covering my mouth, I walked away from it and headed for a boulder not far away from where I stood and sunk down against it. Placing my head against my arms, I resisted the urge to cry but it didn’t help much. A few quiet cries left my mouth and I became aware of how thirsty I was, it must been awhile since I’ve had anything.
Head pounding, I laid on my back and studied the stars. I scanned them until I came to something I didn’t want to be true. Earth in the distance, despite being this far out, it was unmistakeable. Letting my mind process that fact, I had to finally tell myself I was on the only red planet that I knew of. Mars. The planet suspected of having life on it and resource that could sustain it.
DAY TWO
I lost track of how long I have been walking. Hours, maybe? My feet had begun to blister from the heat and all the walking but I continued walking hoping to find food or even water, if I’m lucky though I doubted it. After waking up and debating if I should wait where I was for something to happen, there was a pressing at the back of my mind that told me to continue walking.
With no food or water, I wasn’t sure how long I’ll last. Continuing forward, my thoughts drifted to the only memories I had of my family and friends. Tears formed in my eyes, I wondered if they notice my disappearance. Are they searching for me? Would their minds ever stray in this direction?
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MD : Absolutely, in fact I have a second book being planned to continue after Breed Me with a side character that most readers have begun to love. My long term writer goals are to complete a series that I haven begun and hopefully publish them one day.
AB : Those sound like pretty reasonable goals to me! And it sounds like you have
a lot of work on your plate so I must say thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview. Before I let you go, is there anything you'd like to share with your readers?
MD : Yes, I want to thank them for always being so dedicated and passionate about my stories, including my silent readers, as well. It means the world to me! And thank you Autumn for having me here as well.
AB : It's been my pleasure!
MD : Yes, I want to thank them for always being so dedicated and passionate about my stories, including my silent readers, as well. It means the world to me! And thank you Autumn for having me here as well.
AB : It's been my pleasure!
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY AUTUMN BREEZE
BEST SELLING LGBT AUTHOR OF LOVING ANNA & GRIM LIFE
CONTACT THE AUTHOR!
Awwww! Y'all are so cute! Really enjoyed the interview! Insightful and honest!
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