This month's spotlighted author is @LivityBivity with her story Monsters Like Us!

Olivia Lockwood (@LivityBivity) is an American expat living in Europe. When she's not reading or writing, she likes hiking, experimenting in the kitchen and volunteering at her local animal shelter.

Please help me give Olivia a warm welcome as our December Author of the Month.

Her novel Monsters Like Us is the focus for this month.

Esperanza Ortega knows her father was murdered and who's to blame. Now she'll stop at nothing to make them pay.

The Hemlock family has everything; looks, status, wealth, and power. But Esperanza and her sister, Luz, are sure they're hiding something. Whatever the Hemlocks go, people turn up missing or worse dead, and no one can say why.

Trained in the art of revenge the Ortega sisters have a plan. With Esperanza engaged to a Hemlock son and Luz hired as a personal assistant, they're in the perfect position to infiltrate the family and uncover all their dirty secrets - even the most monstrous.

This story is the perfect mixture of revenge, suspense and fantasy. The sisters are both dealing with the grief of losing their father while trying to bring their own form of justice. They have no idea what they are in for and what they will find out. The story is narrated by both sisters and is entirely addicting to the audience.

Make sure you check out Monsters Like Us as soon as you can.

We also wanted to know more about Olivia as an author and the novel Monsters Like Us. We were able to conduct an interview with her.

Thank you so much Olivia for joining us in this interview. Let's start off with one of our favourite questions. What sparked the inspiration for you to write Monsters Like Us?

I wanted to write something, unlike anything I'd ever written before. It started out as a fun side project but turned into a full-length novel. Now, I'm planning out the sequel!

Ohhh, we love a good sequel and we're sure the fans are dying for the story just like we are.

How did you start your writing journey?

I've been writing my whole life, but I didn't start taking writing seriously until a few years ago. Before, I'd work on one project, grow bored, and start another. Now, I really invest my time into completing a project. I schedule it into my day, just like anything else. But sometimes that means I don't get all my chores done!!

If you've been writing your whole life what inspired you to take your writing to Wattpad?

My husband and friends encouraged me to join and I'm so glad they did. I love this community. It's super supportive and there are so many talented writers on this platform. I'm always impressed!

Your story, Monsters Like Us, is an amazing example of the Urban Fantasy genre. Why did you choose to write Urban Fantasy?

Thank you so much! When I started writing Monsters Like Us, I had no idea what kind of story it would be. It wasn't even meant to be a fantasy in the beginning. It was meant to be a thriller. But the more I wrote, the crazier the story became, and I just ran with it. Writing this story introduced me to other stories within the Urban Fantasy and Fantasy genres and helped broaden my reading choices!

We love to see it and we are so happy to see your story amongst the genre as well.

Speaking of your novel. What's your favourite detail/scene in your story?

The different settings!!

Hemlock House is this sprawling Victorian manor with a maze-like design and all these hidden rooms and secret passageways.

Paradise Island is a resort island for the über-wealthy and elite, where the locals are going missing, and the plant life has a mind of its own.

I, also, love my two main characters, sisters Esperanza and Luz. But I'm biased, haha. I tried to make them feel as real and relatable as possible. I didn't want them to be perfect. I wanted them to make mistakes, and not always learn from those mistakes. And even though they spend most of the story apart, I wanted to highlight their sister dynamic and how close they are.

As readers, we've all probably imagined ourselves going into an old house and getting lost in the halls.

What challenges came from writing this story/writing in the Urban Fantasy Genre?

The biggest challenge for me when writing this story was matching up the sisters' timelines. The book follows both their POVs, and I wrote those POV completely separate. In the end, I kind of stitched their stories together in a way that flowed well. It took me hours to figure out how to fit them together, but still have it make sense!

With Urban Fantasy, my biggest challenge was, and still is, trying not to compare myself to other writers in the genre. But I think a lot of writers can relate. It's hard not to have imposter syndrome, especially if you're new to writing or new to writing in a specific genre.

Imposter syndrome is a horrible feeling but we can promise you that your writing is incredible and deserves to be up there with the greats.

Last question what tips and advice do you have to give writing that may be new to the Urban Fantasy genre?

Don't hold back!! Let your imagination run wild. That's the beauty of fantasy. You can pretty much do anything.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions Olivia, your words have inspired us all and the advice is perfect for all writers here on Wattpad and the Urban Fantasy community. Thank you.

We're delighted to have Olivia from @Livitybivity as one of our spotlighted authors! Everyone do yourself a favour and check out the amazing Urban Fantasy Novel Monsters Like Us! Interested to know how you can become one? Each author here has been noticed by us for their outstanding writing. Keep working on your story and submit your story to our reading lists to get noticed more easily.