I'm black and female, which automatically puts me at a huge disadvantage when it comes to getting an agent and a publisher. On top of that, my novel, Epic, is lead by two LGBT+ women who are also people of color. It was either spend years finding a publisher who would work with me, only for them to try and change everything about my book to make it more acceptable to a mass audience, or keep control of everything and self publish. I chose the route I felt was best for me and the story.

I wrote weird little things as a child but I didn't start taking writing seriously as a career until I was about seventeen or eighteen. From then on, I knew that being a writer was what I wanted out of life.

I grew up in a large city of almost a million people. I spent my time in the suburbs of the city but also venturing downtown sometimes. The people I met over the years were diverse and interesting, from many different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. I think this way of growing up helps me remember that I don't have to just write from the perspective of someone who looks and acts like me. There are many different types of people in the world who deserve to have stories written about themselves.

With Epic (available now), I wanted to share a rich and imaginative story. At the time, I was getting fed up with YA literature, where every story seemed to copy the last, where the creativity had been completely sucked dry. I matched this with my desire to center an adventure around a diverse, young cast of characters, and the next thing I knew, I was well on my way to finishing my first novel.

Currently, I'm working on a collaborative project between myself and Amy H. Lynn. It's a new adult romantic comedy novel titled "93% Chance I Don't Hate You." It follows Ashton and Carter, two characters who have a mutual dislike for one another, and couldn't be any more different, as they are set up on a blind date together thanks to an app and one too many drinks.

Marie Lu. The entire list is Marie Lu. She's such a gifted author, her plots and world building are fantastic. Her characters leap off the page and I can never put her books down. Also, I thought I would faint the first (well, only) time I met her.

Catching Pokemon