Name of Author: Mutiara Elwa

Title of Book: Ace of Minds

Favorite Authors: Rick Riordan, Telullah Darling, J.K. Rowling, Peter Lerangis

Bio: Hi, I'm Tiara. I'm an enthusiastic reader, haha. I love fantasy and paranormal stories, especially Rick Riordan's works, they're the best. And maybe, because I love reading, I love writing too! And I'm always interested in 'fantasy boarding school' theme.

Can you explain what your book is all about?

Well, it's about a girl who never had much of an adventure before. Her mom (whom was a Hollywood actress) didn't really let her out. But on her sixteenth birthday, a man came to her party and claimed that he was her father. She was tricked into his traveling portal. Not long after that, she found out that she was not normal, that there were people who called themselves Ace. And since she couldn't go home anyway, she agreed to go to Z, school for Aces. And there, she had her first adventure.

Who is your target audience - and why?

They would be young adult readers, because the characters itself are about 15-17 years old. I think teenagers can relate more to the characters rather than adults or children.

What is 'paranormal' about your story?

Ace stands for people who has 'talent'. It's basically the same as superpower. So the students at Z, they didn't study math or physics. Instead, they studied Floras, Faunas (animals and possibly other creatures), Combat, Potion, Magic, etc.

Does it contain other genre elements, if so which ones - and why?

Actually, I can't really tell if my story is fantasy or paranormal. So, the other element would be fantasy. And romance as well, because there will be a little romance in the story.

Tell us about your writing process - how do you get from story idea to a Wattpad published story?

I got the idea as I re-read the Harry Potter series. Some parts might even be similar (like, for example, they're both in a boarding school). At first the plot is not how it is now. I had many plots before but as I wrote, I just invented a whole new plot, haha. Anyway, I've been a Wattpad reader since long, long time ago. I've posted stories before (which I deleted because I can't finish them). So I thought it would be fun to post this story to Wattpad as well :)

Did you encounter any challenges when writing, if so - how did you overcome them?

Yep, I did. At first, my story and writing style was heavily influenced by Harry Potter. Then when I got to the 5th book. I just didn't feel like reading it because Harry's kind of irritating in that book and there's also Umbridge, haha. Then, I re-read Percy Jackson series as well as Heroes of Olympus. Big mistake. The two books have a completely different writing style. Percy Jackson's more funny and witty and sarcastic, whereas Harry Potter is more descriptive and mostly serious. So, yeah, I got distracted and thought about writing a new story where the story would be funny. At last I deleted the story because it's going nowhere. Oh, and there's also author block.

I overcome them by ... reading Harry Potter again or any other books that use 3rd POV. It helps for me. And about author block, I think I kind of just write to overcome it. Write new stories and stuff.

You often hear that 'writing well' is the baseline for success. What does that mean for you?

First of all, I don't write that well, haha. English is not my first language after all. But I do think writing well is a must (that's why I'm working on it). Readers don't want to read something that is badly written. So, to get many readers, and to get people to love your story, you have to write well :)

One final question, this being the Paranormal genre: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Sadly, no. My life's pretty boring. That's why I read a lot, I guess. But I would like to experience at least once. Like, superpower doesn't sound so bad, right? Haha.