Xérès Éveillé had the pleasure of interviewing the wonderful author, mkmac23. She is the author of How to Solve a Riddle.

Hello mkmac23, I'm Xérès Éveillé, an interviewer from the Crazy Late Nighters Community. You have been nominated for an interview by FirstNailInTheCoffin! I hope you're as excited about this as we are and that you're willing to give me some of your time! Let me know if you're okay with this and when you're free if you are.

Hiya and yes! I'm free for the next 2 hours.

Wonderful! First, what name would you like me to call you and what are your preferred pronouns?

You can call me Maddie and I use she/her.

Hello Maddie! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I am the Head Editor at CLN which means I'm a grammar nerd. I write mysteries and I am a huge fangirl.

Interesting description, I must admit! It's the first time I've heard (read) someone voluntarily describe themself as a nerd! What got you into writing in the first place?

I think it really started when I heard my grandpa tell stories when I was a kid. He used to use a bunch of noises to tell us these random stories about his childhood.

That sounds so lovely! What was your very first project?

My first project - and don't laugh because I know my nominator will - was a story about a hamster named Hammy. He literally got sucked through a portal into another world and had to go on this epic quest. His love interest was a blue hamster named Jaclyn. (I was like 7 when I wrote this)

A hamster ... named Hammy. Well, that is a very ... unique storyline, Maddie. What was the inspiration behind this unusual project?

I think it was my obsession with these mouse toys called Zhu Zhu Pets. I need to find them now - they made a movie with them. They made the most annoying sounds and were so loud.

Even your inspiration is quite unique! Moving on, would you say you have a specific writing style? What are three words you would use to describe it?

I do not have a specific writing style but I would describe it as: improvised, half-plotted, spontaneous

A pantser and a plotter then?

Yes, like a weird mixture of both

I think we're all a bit like that, depending on the situation! Where do you get your ideas and information from?

Well, I write mainly based off of movies like Silence of the Lambs. I love all of the hidden meanings in the title and in the cover, that I wanted to replicate that in my own book. I also like the Alienist, and based one of my characters off of John Moore.

Never heard of the Alienist, I'll have to check it out! How long do you take to draft your ideas?

Like 5 minutes. It's more like me scribbling frantically on a piece of paper than me drafting them out.

Wow, that sounds both liberating and terrifying! What does your family think of your writing?

My dad keeps pushing me to write screenplays. My parents think that it is the way I can express myself creatively, and I agree with them. I enjoy writing and I hope to do it for a long time in the future.

Screenplays? Care to drop one here? I'm a very curious creature!

I haven't written one yet (and probably won't for a long time). They scare me!

Haha, alright! Would you like to let us on as to why they scare you?

I can control what is on the page, but I will never be able to control what is on the screen. There will always be something off, a certain je ne sais quoi. It won't have the same magic as it will if I wrote it in a book.

That's an interesting way to look at it! Each to their own, I guess. What do your friends have to say about your writing?

Well, my first story was a Harry Potter fanfiction (I finally revised and edited it but it was terrible to say the least) and my friends constantly made fun of me for it. They don't know this but I actually wrote it in order for us to stay in contact (I forced them to be my beta readers).

Pity them! Are you going to tell them anytime soon?

I think one of them knows. A friend and me forced her to join Wattpad so she'll probably see this and if she doesn't she is @alfredosauc

I'm only to happy to let her know! Who was your greatest supporter?

Honestly, I had 2 of them. I have a great friend named Y (@amourshipper16) who I would literally trust with my life. She writes anime fanfiction and always cheered me on. Alfredo (@alfredosauc) was my moron friend whom I forced to read and edit my story. She's the first person to make me feel better when I am sad or distraught.

They sure do sound like wonderful people! I'll make sure to pass on the message for you! Are your characters based on them, or any real life people?

Well, my main character is loosely based off me (most people do that, right?). One of my side characters is based off of John Moore from the Alienist and others are mainly based off of pop culture references and movie characters

Who's your favorite original character?

Oh, probably Liz. She is from a book I haven't published yet. She is so much fun to mess around with. I absolutely love emotionally draining her!

Oh Maddie, you're so cruel but the honesty is appreciated, though I do pity Liz! Which story of your own do you like the most?

Probably How to Solve a Riddle (the bad Harry Potter fanfiction I mentioned). I took so long rewriting it and I am so happy to finally get back to it and finish the story once and for all. I have seen it come a very long way, kind of like I have as a writer.

Tom Riddle is actually my fav Harry Potter character! I personally hate his ships but let's not harp on that! Moving on, what genres or themes do you mostly dabble in?

In my book I basically prove why he's a terrible person! I love murder mysteries and mysteries in general. (I would like to blame my extensive knowledge of murder on Criminal Minds)

Another show I keep on forgetting to watch. And those are very interesting genres, my preference actually! Do you research a lot for it?

If you count watching mystery movies and playing a lot of Clue research then I have done a ton of it!

I'll have to think about that, but I do guess it qualifies (somewhat)! This is a nominee specified question: What was it like winning the recent awards?

Well, I won the 1989 Harry Potter fanfiction awards a week ago (first place if I do add). It was fulfilling for all of my hard work -editing and rewriting- to pay off

Aw, congratulations! Another nominee specified question: Do you have any upcoming projects? I'll have to give you a potential spoiler alert for this!

Haha, yes I have a straight mystery book coming out soon, I just need to retheme it (it was originally written as a fanfiction) and I have another Harry Potter book coming out because why not.

Absolutely valid reasoning, Maddie! What is your work schedule like on a busy day/week?

I write so spontaneously that it's mainly whenever I get an idea. Is it when I am walking home? maybe. Is it at 1 am in a notebook? Also maybe.

Do you have any dream based ideas?

I used to have them when I was younger, but my dreams have become so dreary lately. It literally is the same dream of me falling off of a ledge for the 20th time

They do say falling dreams means you're about to fall in love soon! (Or at least my friends do) Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

Most of the feedback I get is from clients who leave comments on my books for editing. I do have a few dear readers who have said amazing things. One of them actually rooted me on to finish the whole rewrite when I had no drive left.

That's so kind of them! What was the most motivating comment you received?

I think it was when I realized my original story was terrible. The reader said that she had wanted me to continue and I literally wrote 5 chapters for her

Wow, what an amazing thing to do, she's so sweet! Who was it?

@mariaj_santiago, she said "I just wanted to let you know that your story is really great!" - That was on the 6th of June, 2019.

I'll be sure to mention her!

Please do, she's the reason I wrote most of the chapters after (she was the only reader who had ever interacted with the book at the time).

She definitely deserves more! What was one of the most surprising things you learned when you first began writing?

I think it was that I could do anything. Like with a few words, I could make a character whoever I wanted them to be. It made me realize that my life was in my own hand and that I could make myself whoever I wanted to be.

That's actually a very empowering discovery and so true! What was the proudest moment you have experienced as a writer?

I think it was when I won my first awards (The Skyfall Awards, second place). I realized that I could actually win things with my book. It was a huge emotional boost. A close second was being promoted to Head Editor in CLN (big shoutout to Tori aka the person who nominated me).

Congratulations again! What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I am a huge fan of reading books and comics. I also like watching movies (as you can probably tell thanks to my random mentions of movies).

I'm beginning to wonder whether everyone except me is capable of finding good movies to watch. But never mind that. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Has your ambitions changed after taking up writing?

Oh wow, when I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be a scientist (no specific study) and then a marine biologist. Then, since second grade, I have wanted to be a mechanical engineer for Disney's Theme Parks and still do.

Very creative fields! But does that mean writing will remain a side project?

Yes, at the time it will.

And if you get published? What happens then?

Those probabilities are slim to none, but if I do, I will stay with writing as a side job. Working for Disney has always been a high priority on my list, and I want to see it through so bad

I can definitely understand the motivation for that! What are your thoughts on working on multiple projects at once?

I love it a little too much. Sometimes it is a good idea, but I usually have a "main project" and then a bunch of secondary projects ranked.

How do you manage them? Between the time constraints and readers asking for updates, isn't it tough?

Luckily for me, all of my readers know that I don't update often and that I take my time with my chapters (quantity over quality). I write any chance I get, so I don't have a problem with fulfilling my "quota" for the secondary books.

I have to applaud you for that and special thanks to your patient readers! What would you tell other aspiring writers in the beginning stages of their career?

I would tell them to just keep going. Writing is a very laborious and not-so fulfilling hobby/job to do. I think that once you finish your first book, you will feel the drive to continue.

Looks like I'll have to take that advice! Any special message for FirstNailInTheCoffin?

To Tori: You have literally been a shining star! I absolutely adore you and all the work you put into Scripted in Blood and cleaning up Zaid's horrible grammar! To Zaid: No words for you, sir.

That's an amusing message, I wonder how it'll be taken! Maddie, what do you think makes a good story?

CHARACTERS. I can't stress that characters are what push your story, not plot. While plot is super important and you should ALWAYS HAVE ONE, characters are the shining stars. If your story has no plot, then it is a worshipped cliché romance. If you book has boring characters, then you are screwed over and your readers don't have anyone to connect to.

HEAR HEAR! Last question; Being a member of our late night, slightly insane community, how has CLN affected you?

I joined CLN randomly and I really didn't know what I was doing. I auditioned for editing because editing is easy, right? When I made it in, I felt like I had known these people all of my life. They were so welcoming. I learned about how to rise through the ranks of a company (with LOTS OF HARD WORK AND TIME). CLN is like a little company, all of us have jobs and we do them. When I became Head Editor, I felt like I had been with CLN since the beginning. CLN showed me how to react to certain situations, what to do and not to do with other communities and people. CLN isn't perfect, and that is the beauty of it. Walt Disney once said: "Disneyland will not be complete unless there is still imagination." and that's how CLN is. We are constantly learning and evolving. And, editing is not easy to make it into. I learned that one word was what could've been the difference between me making it in and me failing my interview

Really? I didn't know it could be that ... close cut? Anyways, that was a very heartwarming piece of news and I'm sure all of CLN will especially love reading this! Thank you so much for your time, Maddie!

Thank you so much!

My pleasure! I wish you all the best with your writing!