Hello fellow Wattpadders! Today we have Exequinne with us, the author of the book, When Last Night Didn't End.

I am Abhipreeti (_abhipreeti_), and I have interviewed Caeran, a.k.a, Exequinne.

Caeran is a twenty-something, Asian author who has nine cats—all of which don't exist. A builder of worlds and a crazy writer at heart, they have titled more series than they could ever write, ending up with a queue to last them until they're seventy. Find completed and ongoing works on their Wattpad profile, Exequinne.

At what age did you realize that you have a special place for writing? Are you currently or do you ever dream of one day being in the writing industry?

>>I was 9 when I realized I wanted to be a poet, 13 when I decided to be a novelist, and 17, a genre fiction author. I am not in the writing industry, but man, I sure wish to be.

Did any story, on or off Wattpad, inspire you ever and help you carve your interest towards writing books?

>>The first inspiration for my genre fiction craze is Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles, and later, Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There are other influences over the years, but it'd take me twenty years to list all of them. xD

What is the genre(s) in which you mostly write your books? Do you think you are able to create brilliant plots when you write in that specific genre(s)?

>>Fantasy is my go-to on any good day. Romance comes in second, though it's usually intertwined with other plot points since I don't do contemporary pure romance well. As for the brilliance of my plots...well, I'll leave it up to the readers to decide. I doubt I'll write something that's not cringe worthy because that's just how imposter syndrome works.

What advice would you like to give to authors who are writing in the same genre(s) as yours?

>>Fantasy is such an easy genre to nail, mostly because anything can happen. The only thing you need to think about is creating a world that's coherent, logical, and still magical. There are further intricacies underneath that advice, but again, we don't want to be here for twenty more years.

Do you have any favourite quote or quotes from your book?

>>I'll share some.

But that's the truth to love, right? To open one's heart meant risking getting shards inside it. To love someone was to risk getting hurt. All for the sake of tasting a little bit of heaven in this cruel world. — Nagara Rin

After everything else has gone to the wind, maybe that's when I'd finally set him free. And maybe, after that, I could set myself free too. — Joon Hye-jin

How was I supposed to weave anything more with the husks of what used to make me whole? — Nagara Rin

There are a lot of people who need your help. Be there for the one who has always chosen you and will forever choose you. —Nagara Ichika

Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

>>Hopefully, I have at least a book published locally by then. Otherwise, I'm probably hammering away at my queue and doing my best to do justice to the many, many good ideas I have been blessed with.

Now let us talk about your book. How would you describe your story in five words? Could you please give us a brief summary of what your book is about? What makes your book different from other books in the same genre(s)?

>> My story is five words is divorced couple, trapped in videogame. I totally cheated on the last word, but that's the general gist. Lol. When Last Night Didn't End tells the story of a divorced couple who is transported into a video game. When rumors of a rising evil force them to work together, they have to deal with their past and hopefully find a way out before it's game over.

As for what makes this monster book different, I'll give you three reasons: 1) it's a fusion between anime and k-drama—two popular entertainment media that I grew up with. WLNDE has adventure themes and tropes of an isekai anime and the emotional beats of a k-drama; 2) I'll let you in on a secret with this one: there's two stories woven into one narrative inside this book, and it's a fantasy-adventure story on the surface but a romance tale at the core; and 3) a divorced couple is a rare MC standpoint in most romance books on Wattpad, so it's definitely a breath of fresh air, writing characters who have been through so much together even before the story started.

Which character or characters of your story do you relate to most? And why?

>>Honestly? I relate to all of them. My characters are always an extension of myself, and I use them to communicate how I see the world.

Hye-jin's plight of not getting to the place where she wished to be translates to my frustration in the creative industry and the roadblocks I have faced over the years.

Rin's issues with his work, his purpose, and his relationships with family and Hye-jin are also something I have seen happen in real life too many times.

And well...Mirani reflects my inner ethic, which is: no matter how many times life does you over, be kind.

How did you come up with such a fascinating plot? Were there any inspirations?

>>As I mentioned above, it's inspired by the beats in both anime and k-drama. I came up with the plot for WLNDE when I was writing another trauma baby, Manila Sunsets With You, and I realized I can twist words around a reader's heart and make it bleed (sorry for the graphic imagery). So, with me having done an action-adventure series, The Chronicles of Fantasilia, before, I thought—why not combine the two?

Thus, WLNDE is born. Now, readers will have access to both exhilarating sword-slashing, fantasy world exploration while also dealing with Cae Emotional Damage or CED™️. (Thanks for that, @TypedInk_)

How did you discover Wattpad? And what engendered you to begin writing on this platform? What do you like best about this application?

>>I discovered Wattpad way back in 2014, since it became a huge fad in my age group at school. Wattpad is easy to publish books in, and I can finally delude myself into thinking I'm a real writer with an audience even though all I do is write like crazy, yeet books into my account, leave them to rot, and vanish offline to write more books.

The community is what drew me to Wattpad, and why I kept coming back to it even though I've contemplated stopping at many points in the course of my writing career. (Ten years is a long time, you see.) Also, the fact that I can make semi-professional covers and showcase them on my profile is really fulfilling. uwu.

When did you start writing on Wattpad? How has your writing journey been ever since then?

>>Like I said, way back in 2014. But I stopped for about two years and came back in 2018 to put up the reworked version of my first-ever completed novel that shall not be named. It's the very first draft of The Fairy Legacy, which is the first book of The Chronicles of Fantasilia main series.

Since then, I have written far too many things including the other five books of The Chronicles of Fantasilia main series, a 13-novella prequel series called Memoirs of Mayhem, and the currently-updating but completed offline, 14-novella spin-off series, The Unseen Wars. They are all under one universe, which is rad.

I'm also responsible for an east-asian inspired, high fantasy series, The Piper of Mirchaek Trilogy, a set of standalones such as the steampunk-paranormal-fantasy-romance novel, Libelle, the tragi-romance, horror-esque novel, Scapegoat, a contemporary, coming-of-age novel, Manila Sunsets With You, and a slew of novelettes (The Heart of Verolya, ZENITH, Laureen & the Apocalypse, Vogelhuis, The White Thorns of Fire, and Forever the Same).

I joined the Open Novella Contest for the first time in 2022, and much to my surprise won third place. The novella in question is Kolibrie, and since then, I have expanded it into a novel, which is called Kolibrie: The Novel. I know—original. xD

And that's the biggest achievement so far. Now I plaster that everywhere I go. Lol.

What is your writing process and how do you cope when writers' block hits you?

>>My writing process is composed of a ton of steps that I developed for the sake of my sanity and my writing queue. First, I pitch an idea to myself and decide if it's worth pursuing as well as its series potential. Then, I let it stew (read: rot) in my ideas stash, and when I get into queue planning mode (usually in January, September, and before the year ends in December), I usually dig them up and try to arrange them into writing schedules until I get to how I would plot it around my available writing dates every month. I know—very chaos and much organize.

As for writer's block...I don't really get them anymore. I know. *Gasp* from the audience. But I have been doing this for longer than 10 years, and suffice it to say, I have hardened my writing muscle so much that 8k words every day and 100k+ words every month is not a big deal anymore.

Are you a pantser or a plotter? During which time of the day do you usually write?

>>Since this is connected to the previous question, the reason I don't get writer's block anymore is because I know what I'm going to write for the day and where I should pick up again the next writing session. How? Because I'm a plantser, meaning a combination of a plotter and a pantser. In a spectrum, I'm leaning more into plotting, but when I'm actually drafting, there are some things that I do pants because sometimes, characters have minds of their own that only make sense as I'm in the middle of drafting.

Otherwise, I'm a heavy plotter because I don't want to take a whole year to edit a 700k+ words series again. (Looking at you, COFU. :< )

What would be your advice to young and budding authors, who are just beginning their journey on Wattpad and are quite new to the writing world?

>>Honestly? Don't expect too much. Most new writers I see on the platform have this idealistic view of their writing career on Wattpad when they enter. I don't mean to be a Debby Downer, but it's certainly a hard pill to swallow that you're not special and there is such a thing as luck when it comes to the writing industry, both in Wattpad and in traditional publishing. So, work hard, trust in the powers that be, but don't expect to be an overnight sensation just because you wrote a book. You'll save a bank on heartache.

And well...one thing that helped me put my name out there was to build networks, join contests, and connect with other writers. Most importantly, have fun. Even if you're not raking in millions of coins from your art or you don't have millions of followers, knowing the purpose of your writing will help you weather through the dark, dark void of being undiscovered.

Is there any author(s) on Wattpad whom you look up to as an amazing writer?

>>Oh, want me to name the people who make me feel like a protist? Here we go: tarishannon18 , pomalo_ , SuVida777 , MiyaHikari , axgirl13 , avadel , TateCsernis , DaniBrull , Birdpaw , chaikovskiy , scarlettlantsov , Yano_Ism , Aptionia

I'm bound to discover more, and by that time, I'll probably feel like an amoeba next to these authors whose stories deserve more than the world. ;-;

Could we please have two or more Wattpad story recommendations? What do you like most about these stories?

>>Venture to Uncertainty by tarishannon18. This is the first Wattpad book that made me speechless. Like, it's so good I'll just start crying and screaming in envy that I didn't write this book. ;-;

The Wish from Heaven by pomalo_. This book just hits you damn right in the feels that I felt I wrote Manila Sunsets With You just to cope. Lol.

What would be the three words to describe yourself as an author?

>>Crazy, realistic, and raw. If you have seen me and any of my works, you'll know. ;)

Thank you so much! It was an honour to have you here for the interview conducted by Kalon Community. We wish you lots of success on your writing journey and may you flourish more. Thank you once again!