Know about your Authors

@shayebay

Pen Name: Shaye Easton

Username: shayebay

Is your pen name your legal name? If no, then how did you make up one?

It is my legal name.

How many books have you published till date?

On Wattpad I have published 6 books (3 completed) and 3 short stories (2 completed). Beyond Wattpad, I have had 1 book published: Cold Fire.

What are your future projects?

I am currently in the middle of writing a couple light young adult novels, but I'm also working on a major adult fiction novel I plan to publish one day.

What is writing to you?

Writing is like breathing. I often say it's not hobby, it's a compulsion. I can't not write.

Is being an author, your long time dream or a hidden passion you found out later?

I started writing stories before I started reading stories. Most authors I find, they read books first and the writing of books comes later. With me, it was the opposite. Back then, I didn't really think to myself, "I want to be an author." But I was writing short stories and then novels from about age eight or nine. The transition to becoming an author was natural for me. It's what I'm meant to do.

What genre books you like to work on?

Young Adult, Paranormal, and Science Fiction were my first loves. Soon I began to write Horror and Mystery/Thriller as well. These days I like something based a little more in the real world, with a good dollop of mystery and a light sprinkle of magic.

Writing is a reality that paints a beautiful fantasy. What do you think are the charms of writing fiction/non fictional books?

I can't speak for non-fiction, but fiction writing is an escape. It's a way to process thoughts and emotions. It's a way to explore and analyse and tear apart new ideas. It's a personal playground where the only limit is your imagination. I've always loved the control if gives me: in my stories, my worlds, I get to decide what happens. It's very comforting.

Who are your favorite authors in and out of wattpad?

On Wattpad, I've always loved utopianism, concussive, northbynorth, afterword, DarknessAndLight, wildgreenskittle, and ELatimer. 

Outside of Wattpad, my biggest inspirations are Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, Leigh Bardugo, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Amie Kaufman, and Alice Hoffman.

Name few of your close wattpad friends.

reflowering, shatteredlife_, utopianism

What is your favorite series you have recently watched or read?

On TV, my favourite recent series is Mindhunter. That shit (can I swear here?) is mind-blowing. In terms of books, I mostly read stand-alones, but my favourite series is The Raven Cycle.

Who is your favorite actor/actress?

I couldn't tell you who my favourite is, but I'll watch anything with Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart or Timothée Chalamet.

Who is your favorite Villain you couldn't help but love?

Loki. Easily my favourite character in the MCU.

What are your hobbies other than writing and reading?

That's about it, actually! I used to be into the performing arts (singing and dancing), but I've never really been one for sport or anything else.

What are your hidden talents?

I'm really good at hula-hooping. Talk about useless talents.

Who is your first celebrity crush?

I think it was Dylan O'Brien or Josh Hutcherson or someone else equally embarrassing.

What is the most embarrassing situation that you have ever been through?

Does my whole life count?

One craziest thing you have ever done?

Call me boring, but I tend to play it safe. And I very much doubt you want to hear about my drunken escapades.

There are many authors who just started their journey and many readers who want to write but has no courage to do so. Please give them a tip and a word of encouragement.

The best advise I can give is this: Live your life. Gather experiences. Writing draws from real life - the more you've done and experienced, the more you can write about. I try new things and put myself in unfamiliar situations all the time, just so I have the experiences in my back pocket. When writing, you never know when you might need it. Beyond that, if you want to be a writer and it's a passion of yours, you'll write. No one will need to tell you to practice or read more books or write more stories - you'll do that all on your own. If courage is the problem, write, but don't share it for a while. Work at it until you feel comfortable in your skillset, and then start looking for feedback (it's easiest to start with strangers; sharing your work with people you know is always daunting at first). At the end of the day, you should always be writing for yourself, not anyone else, so who cares what people think?

Last but not the least, have you ever dreamt of writing your own comic?

No, comics have never interested me.

What do you feel about this interview?

It was great!

Hope you had a great time answering our questions. We appreciate you for your beautiful works and also spending valuable time with us.

We wish you to write many more successful stories and be a bestselling author one day.