I'm so excited to be talking to Naomi Valkyrie today!
I have been enjoying her sassy wit and relatable neurodivergent memes for a while. She has a new book coming out that is definitely unique!
Naomi writes Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy. Her new book is a Humorous Paranormal Romance.
Let's get into the Interview!
Interview Begins
R: Hello! Thank you for joining me for this interview. First off, tell us about your latest book that's about to be released?
N:The Ghastly Gumball is live as of Feb. 14, 2022. It's a Paranormal RomCom. I've never written anything like it before. The characters came to me one day and decided they weren't going away until I wrote their story - a story which is completely wacky but kept me entertained while I was working on it.
R: Characters love to keeps on our toes. I'm glad they were persistent! Can you tell us a bit about why you chose this genre?
N: I didn't choose the genres, they chose me. Every story I sit down to write creates itself in Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy, sometimes both simultaneously.
R:I think a lot of people will relate to that. Are you more of a pantser or a plotter?
N: I'm a pantser. I refer to myself as a chaos author.
R: I think my new favorite term is Chaos Writer! Can you talk a bit about your writing process? Where do you find inspiration?
N: As mentioned in the previous question, my writing process is chaos. Being neurodivergent means I have to be creative in how I go about my work. What works one day may not work the next. It's all about going with the flow, listening to my intuition, and adapting to whatever my brain needs on any given day.
Inspiration... I get it everywhere. Literally, anything can inspire a story - a shoe on the side of the road, a license plate, the number on an apartment, someone walking across a room, a word or a phrase that someone says in passing, a piece of art...
R: Being a fellow Neurodivergent Author how has that affected your writing process and the stories you feel drawn to tell?
N: I touched on my writing process in a previous question so I will talk about the story aspect of this one. For me, not knowing I was neurodivergent as a child caused experiences of rejection and being excluded. Discovering my neurodivergence as an adult has been a healing experience. A lot of my stories revolve around found family, diversity, and inclusion in subtle ways.
R: I love that we are seeing more and more diversity in fiction. I'm also a late diagnosis, actually, a fiction novel helped me go get tested. I'd love to know what authors do you love or idolize? And why?
N: I read anywhere from 200-400 books a year so I love the work of many authors. It's difficult to narrow it down.
R: Okay, I get having trouble picking favorites. Let's talk more about what you read to get inspiration or unwind?
N: The main genre I read is M/M Romance - any subgenre.
R: If you could tell readers one reason to read your newest book, what would that be?
N: To be honest, I don't have an answer for this. I figure if someone finds the blurb interesting, they'll pick it up and read it. From what people have said so far, it's the idea of a cigar-smoking octopus that intrigues them.
R: Yeah, I think a cigar-smoking octopus is going to get some eyes on this. I mean what more do people need to know? But for the sake of interviews, do you have a favorite line from your new book that really nails the vibe of the story?
N: "Oh my God! This is how I'm going to go out. Poisoned by a rancid gumball."
R: This book sounds like a blast! Do you have any upcoming projects that you're excited about that you can share? Maybe a teaser project?
N: I have six projects in the works at the moment - two witch stories, the final book of my Life is Hell series and a holiday short as a companion story for it, a dark god story, and a dhampir story.
R: Busy, busy! I love that we have so much more to look forward to! How about some inspiring words for new authors if you have any?
N: The most important thing I've learned so far is that there is no one correct way to write a book. You hear a ton of advice, but at the end of the day, you have to decide what works for you. The rest is just noise.
R: Awesome, thank you again for joining me for this author spotlight. Let everyone know when your release is, how to get the book and where to follow you?
N: The Ghastly Gumball is out on February 14, 2022. It's currently available on Amazon for $0.99.
Ghastly Gumball
My LinkTree has all of my social media links in one convenient place: Link Tree
I usually hang out most on my Discord server and Naomi Valkyrie's Book Dungeon Community hosted on Mighty Networks.
