Author Spotlight

EMMcNULTY

Q: Why did you start writing?

I started writing about fifteen years ago when I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder and psychosis. It became a type of therapy for me to express the trauma of what I was going through, to explore my past, to escape from my present, and to give a voice to all of the noise that was going on inside my head.

At the time, it didn't occur to me that my stories might be interesting for other people to read, but eventually I began sharing them with a few friends and colleagues, and they all encouraged me to keep writing. So, I did.

I only joined Wattpad a little more than a year ago, but I feel like my writing has found a good home here and a receptive, supportive audience. Moreover, the interactions with readers, and also other writers, has helped to keep me motivated to write.

Q: Where do you get most of your inspiration?

I get most of my inspiration from my life's experiences. My writing is not autobiographical, but I write about what I know: friendship, loyalty, trauma, love, addiction, gun violence, abuse, death, grieving, mental illness, healing, self-love, and the need to belong.

Q: Plotter or Pantser: how do you plan a story?

I usually start out with a basic outline, and I generally have an idea of who the characters are and where the story will go from the beginning. However, once I start to write, the voices in my head tend to take over, and I just go with it and kind of channel what comes through. It's a nice feeling of flow. Then when I have a first draft, I edit, edit, edit. I've never written a story that was completely perfect from the start.

I should also add that I try to write for a few hours every day. I think being disciplined and setting time aside each day to write is important, even if all you end up doing is editing a part you've already written or only hacking out a couple of new paragraphs. For me, I have to treat it like a job and not a hobby. Otherwise, it's too easy to get distracted and not follow through.

Q: Do you have a favorite author on Wattpad? If so, who?

I have many favorite authors on Wattpad, but I would prefer not to just name one or two. What I do have to say, however, is that everyone who is writing on Wattpad, be they beginners just getting their feet wet, or seasoned authors with a big following, share something in common.

They're all bearing a piece of their soul to the world. They're sharing something very personal that comes from their hearts. They're telling the story of what it means to be human from many different angles and perspectives, and that's a beautiful thing. We should all respect it and be delighted to be participants in the show.

Q: Is there a message you hope readers will take away from your stories?

The message that I hope readers will take away from my stories, and also from my personal essays, is that every life is a specific journey in which we are meant to experience both pain and pleasure. Overcoming the pain means that we have to learn to love ourselves first, and then learn to love and rely on others.

We live in a society. We are meant to help each other and to bear witness to each other's triumphs and travails. It's all part of the human condition.

Also, love in all its forms, be it self-love, romantic love, or the love of loyal friends or trusted family members, really does trump everything. I know that sounds corny, but it's the one thing that most human beings are constantly seeking, sometimes even when they don't realize it.

It's like we've been programmed to desire it from birth. It's innate. And the quest to find it appears in some form in pretty much every novel or story ever told. It's something that my stories explore in many different forms while also giving the reader a bit of mystery, suspense, coming of age struggles, and nostalgia.

I like the 80s. It was a time when things were simpler, and young people had to face things head on and in person. There was no technology to hide behind when any of your skills were being challenged. You just had to figure it out and count on other people to help you. There's a certain transparency and innocence to that period in history that I love to explore in the YA/NA context. 

Note From the Author

Beginning in early 2024, I'll be publishing a new YA book on Wattpad entitled Invisible, and a new NA book entitled Where or When.

Invisible will probably be my last book (for now) that takes place on Chicago's South Side in the 1980s. It's a suspenseful thriller with romantic subplots that features a group of teens who come together to solve the mystery when a series of girls from the local high school go missing under mysterious and disturbing circumstances.

I would characterize Where or When as a contemporary NA take on the old,1986 classic film, Peggy Sue Got Married. College student, Olivia O'Shea, breaks up with Daniel Burns, her boyfriend of four years (and former high school sweetheart), when she finds out he's been cheating on her. She goes home for summer break licking her wounds and hoping not to have to see Daniel or his new girlfriend around town.

During a thunderstorm, she's struck by lightning and is transported back to high school with a chance to do it all over again. Daniel is pursuing her again as he originally did, but there's someone else she overlooked back then who might be a better choice: Jack Garcia. Can Olivia resist Daniel's advances this time around and pursue the shy and introverted Jack, or is history only meant to repeat itself?

About the Story

Who Do You Think You Are? is a story about a recovering addict who discovers love, but ultimately needs to learn to love and accept himself. Thanks from the author for the cover go to xxsoteria.

Q: What do you like most about Rory?

What I like about Rory is that even though he's complex, troubled, and conflicted, his heart is pure. He's been through a lot of trauma and abuse and almost gives up, but he doesn't, even when nobody would have blamed him if he had.

Q: What inspired you to write a story about a recovering addict?

I've had addicts in my life both in my family and among my friends. The United States is in the middle of an opioid crisis that is the result of bad government policy, private sector abuses, poverty, other social challenges, and poor access to adequate healthcare.

Overcoming addiction is a huge challenge in the best of circumstances when there are accessible programs and resources to help. So many young people and their families around the world don't have this access and are left in very hopeless circumstances.

I wanted to write a story to highlight this struggle and to help people to understand its complexities on a human level and from the addict's perspective.

Q: What is your favorite scene? Why? (No spoilers!)

My favorite scene is when Grace turns up on Rory's porch on New Year's Eve. I feel like it's a turning point when they both decide to finally rely on their inner compasses to guide them. They make a final choice to pursue a specific path when before there had been various paths to follow with various possible outcomes.