Featured Interview With A. C. Haydée
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Florida, and currently reside in the greater Tampa Bay area. Unfortunately, I don’t have any furry pets (I have a LOT of allergies), haha.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Since a very small age! I grew up with a very rigorous stutter, and books and reading aloud helped me in speech therapy classes. But even aside from using reading as a fluency technique, I just got invested in the stories. My parents always valued our education, and instilled in my younger brother and I the importance of reading, and would take us to the local libraries often. I would want to be there all day… Every. Day.
I would always write short stories in class, primarily through creative writing projects. But I was always super self-conscious and would hardly ever share the stories with others, maybe a select few friends. But nothing too serious, until I got older and realized I could really write something special. Since I was a kid, my peers have enjoyed my writing, however, it was just about building confidence in myself. Though the community and greater industry can seem intimidating at first (and there’s waves of imposter syndrome), as a young woman in her twenties I’m a LOT more confident now, haha. And lots of fellow readers and writers are SUPER supportive! It’s really a community.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Some of my favorite authors include J. R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Suzanne Collins, and Rick Riordan. They hooked me into the fantasy genre to begin with.
I write primarily YA, with primarily young adult/teen characters. I attain inspiration from EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere, and everything. Family, friends, stories, fairytales, my surroundings. My younger brother influences one of my characters, my public high school experience influenced my writing of public high school experiences, my love of epic fantasy influenced the care I take into my own fantasy worldbuilding and construction of intricate magic systems, etc.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest publication is Eve II: Hiemal Dominion, which is the sequel to my debut, Eve & The City of Yule. While the first novel focused on introducing the characters and building the lore, etc., the sequel takes a more episodic approach. The series as a whole takes heavy inspiration from winter folk tales and Christmas holiday celebrations (such as Santa Claus, Krampus, The Nutcracker, The Little Match Girl, and more), and this book in particular is something I consider a “remix” of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen.
My urban fantasy novel Madeline & The Moon Blooded will be experiencing a “remix” of its own. The special edition, called Midnight Edition, filled with detailed artwork, bonus chapters and more exclusive content will release this fall. It’s a vampire novel, so it’s fitting, haha.
Thank you for reading!
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