1. What made you want to start writing?
Everyone has a need to be heard.
Writing is my way of exploring the vastness of my own voice, completely
oblivious to whether I'm the only one in this exploration and at the same time,
displaying that voice loudly in the ears of all that will take a listen.
2. What things have you read that have
especially helped your writing?
I have always been highly influenced by
the works of powerhouses like Edgar Allen Poe (anything by him really), C.S.
Lewis (‘Til We Have Faces and The Screwtape Letters), Watership Down by Richard
Adams, but I would actually say that I am more inspired and motivated and
influenced to write by visual stories. Certain TV shows, a lot of anime, even
certain movies and songs inspire me. I get story ideas from lots of media and I
find that these story ideas tend to come to me in a similar manner as one might
get a script idea. I wouldn't say I'm a writer first. I would say I'm a
storyteller who dabbles in writing.
3. What’s the hardest thing about
writing for you?
Thinking I'm any good. haha I love to
write, yet I find myself doing it less than anything else for a good 6 months
out of the year. The other 6 months, I send all the excuse-coated insecurities
that kept me from writing the first 6 months away and then I write two full
length books/novels. I'd like to take credit for some kind of mind-shattering
display of discipline, but truth is I'm always evolving.
4. What do you wish you knew before you
started?
How damn long it was going to take LOL!
5. Why did you choose to write in your
particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?
How do you balance telling your friend
about the time you thought you saw a ghost and recounting from memory the
instructions on how to build a bottle rocket to your niece? It's all just
different aspects of life. That's what genres in books are (or in art or music
for that matter). They're just different aspects of chosen lives, both
realistic and fantastical.
6. Where did your love of reading &
writing come from?
My love of storytelling has always been
something very innate. As for reading, I had to cultivate a love for reading
because I struggled with dyslexia. I had to train my brain with different
memory techniques; I found that memorization helped me get better and better at
reading.
7. How long have you been writing?
Well I was a songwriter for a while, so
I have been writing music since I was a little girl. I worked in Nashville a
little. But ultimately I'd had a love of writing stories when I was even
younger than that (won some state competitions and such). So, after my love
affair with music started to cool down, I returned to writing stories and
realized that was at the heart of why I even wrote songs. A lot of my songs were
storyteller-like songs. I still write music, but my number one squeeze right
now is writing novels.
8. What does your “writing cave” look
like?
I do not have a cave; who has a cave?
When did I miss this? lol
9. Do you use music as inspiration? Can
you tell us about what type of music inspires you?
Yes! I am heavily inspired and
influenced by music when it comes to my writing. I create playlists for my
characters (what kind of songs would they listen to, what songs define their
personality, etc.). I create playlists for the story in general, almost like a
soundtrack for a movie. And the genres, much like my own writing, range from
K-pop to jazz, to rap, to rock and roll, to indie, to punk...to Josh Groben and
Aurora (who get their own categories because they are my favorites), and so on
and so on.
10. Must have beverage and snack while
writing?
No snacks, but the beverage depends on
what stage the writing is at. From the beginning to about 80% of the book, it's
one of my favorite teas in a fancy teacup that makes me feel pretty and elegant
in some strange archaic way. Then, from 80% to completion, that tea gets
replaced by a strange mixture of espresso and alcohol. ;)
Wesley Rivers is a no–nonsense individual with a strong disgust for fruitless endeavors. However if you point out how whimsical she can be, she will simply smile and reply: "but with a purpose." Wesley never avoids being brash when it’s needed, determined to see herself through her own heart rather than anyone else’s. She finds staring into one’s own darkness to be very therapeutic and so shies away from stories, movies, or entertainment that hinges too heavily on formulas, trope–ing, or "feel good" material.
Wesley is enthralled with Asian pop culture, expressing her adoration for anime, K–pop and historical Asian folklore on a daily basis. Much of her inspiration comes from the various art forms of these cultures. She adores foxes and often times plays with the idea that she is indeed the reincarnation of a Kitsune (Japanese nine-tailed fox Yokai).
Being part of the community herself, Wesley has strong ties to LGBT advocacy and social activism. She will also be the first to admit that she finds two men engaging in sexual acts to be too stunning for words, never hiding that she hopes to come back in the next life as a gay man "…in a better world of course."
She is a dedicated minimalist, quoted saying… "The hoarding of things is death to all the experience life can offer." Wesley Rivers adores the refinement of tea; she believes there to be more culture in a bag of tea leaves than in the entire world. Wesley sees no difference between children with fur and children without, having five fur–babies: two cats and three dogs. She believes all life matters and the idea that some matter more is primarily what’s wrong with the world.
Bio blurbs like this make Wesley cringe, mainly because she despises being tied down or forced to represent herself in a certain way. Loving change for the sake of change, her work spans several genres.
"Being pinned to one genre or style is the equivalent of staying in the right lane, going 20 miles an hour. It gets you there, but in the most boring way imaginable. Writing is my way of landing on the moon, flying with angels, fighting dragons, doing the impossible."
–Wesley Rivers
Wesley Rivers is charmingly cocky beyond reason, willful beyond words, and warm beyond understanding. She is a spitfire for the ages, but still classy as fuck. Wesley embodies the idea that we don’t have to define or identify ourselves with petty human concepts, but instead we can embrace each present moment—the NOW—and just BE.
"Let your DO be playful, and your You just BE."
