After the Ink was the first story I ever completed, even before Outcasts, so the inspiration for it is a little lost in my memory. If I had to guess I'd say it came from a crush I had at the time.

2

Writing the first draft was no problem. I think I was around 14 at the time of writing it. However, when I decided to rewrite it in 2018 I had a lot of trouble deciding what to keep in the story and what to throw out. I knew the characters deserved a better story, but piecing it all back together was difficult.

Writing the characters was definitely my favorite part! A lot of people don't like Lacey's character, but she's one of my favorite characters I've ever written. She's extremely sensitive with a strong will and sometimes she makes the wrong decisions, but that's what makes her more real in my eyes. And Dylan's character was just fun for me to write because everyone sees him as the 'bad boy' but he's so much more complex than that.

I think people really enjoy Dylan's character and how he develops his feelings for Lacey throughout the story. I think, and I hope, what draws people in more is the fact that Dylan and Lacey's romance happens naturally instead of it being forced.

I'm currently working on a sequel titled Maid in Ink. It has the same main characters with some new complications for them.

6

One of the big things Lacey starts to deal with is taking care of her mental health. She goes through a lot of stressful situations, and it takes a big toll on her. I hope people will realize how important their own mental health is and take care of themselves accordingly.

7

Don't give up! Keep working on your story even when you feel like it isn't working. Instead try to figure out why it isn't working (the plot itself, a certain character, you need a new character, etc.) And also, first drafts aren't meant to be perfect. Rewrites, while a pain, are super important!

8

Lacey and I don't really share a lot of similarities. I think the two biggest things we have in common are sensitivity and probably overthinking situations.

9

There's a trend I've seen in stories where the guy love interest is really aggressive and possessive, and those traits never attracted me to their characters. I wanted Dylan to be hardheaded, but also a little more in tune with his feelings. I hope new readers will read his character and find something new in him.

1

I have a few in the works right now. Maid in Ink has yet to be finished, but I will be working on updating it soon. I'm also working on a new story titled Stellar Skies and Bright Blue Eyes. The character list and a playlist has been published, but I probably won't start updating that one until I'm almost done with Maid in Ink. There's a bigger project I'm working on outside of Wattpad that's more local to my city and state, but I'll share more details about that later this year.