2nd Place Winner in the Asian Fiction Category of the Romance Reads 2024

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Bio: Exequinne is an agender the and aromantic Wattpad Senior Ambassador, Wattpad Creator, NBDB Registered Author. Their accomplishments include the Open Novella Contest Finalist (2024, 2022), The Ambys 2023 Top Pick. They like to think of themselves as a mathematician and considers themselves a builder of worlds with an unstable thought process. They have proudly published 69 stories on Wattpad.

Story title: Premise/Blurb: It's Rin and Hye-jin against the world. Or so it should have been.

Nagara Rin and Joon Hye-jin, college sweethearts and passionate gamers, have lived a fairytale marriage. Not even a decade after did they expect to be signing divorce papers. Now, standing on opposing paths, they only need to get out of each other's lives, move on, and hopefully, be happy.That is until they get trapped inside their favorite video game.Here, they must meet friends and foes alike as they join dangerous quests and battle monsters they only ever see behind a screen. And they must do it alone, apart from each other, as they have always wanted. But when rumors flare up about an ancient evil being resurrected in their new world, Rin and Hye-jin must throw all grievances aside and work together or else risk losing more than the game.Once more, it's Rin and Hye-jin against the world. Maybe.

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What inspired you to write this book?

Believe it or not, I was inspired to write When Last Night Didn't End by two of my most favorite entertainment media—anime and k-dramas. I wanted to write a perfect fusion of the storytelling conventions and themes of both these media. Particularly, I was so hooked with the dynamics of the main couple in Go Back Couple, and I've been dying to write a LitRPG, isekai novel after the mechanics of So I'm a Spider, So What?, Sword Art Online, and No Game, No Life. So, here we are now with a 180k-word monster. xD

What was the inspiration behind the main character and their love interest?

I gotta admit—it was hard to write a story about a divorced couple as a single, unmarried plebian. My only sources of inspiration were the stories around me, both fictional and real life. The main characters are based on people that I know, and some of their traits have been taken straight from my own personality. I toyed with the idea of having these traits, no matter how negative, and still finding someone that will love them. Rin and Hye-jin are also not stationary characters that met inside the story. The story starts way after everything happened, and we'll see how they picked up the pieces from there. It's both a refreshing angle and quite a headache to think about.

What sparked your interest in writing, and how did you end up writing on Wattpad?

I wanted to be published and have always talked better in writing. What sparked my interest is when I read Rick Riordan's books, and Wattpad became a fad in my country from way back, so I decided to try it out. This is also why my account is 10 years old this 2024. xD

Do you have a favorite scene in your story? If so, what makes it special to you?

I have a lot! It's hard to rank them, but if I only have to go with three, I'll settle on these: 1) when they first talked about the divorce, and how much of an emotional damage scene it was, 2) when they met again, and the arc focused on them forced to do a monster-hunting mission together, and 3) the final battle against the big bad.

These are special for a number of reasons. First, they expose the contemporary romance beats typical of a kdrama as well as highlight the action/adventure beats of an anime. A delightful combo, if I may say!

How do you create and develop your characters? Do you base them on real people, or are they entirely fictional?

I start with the most basic layout of their personality and think of how it would move the plot along. Then, I build their backstory from that, further enhancing the motivations behind their actions and choices. After that, I develop their physical and psychological attributes before setting them off the page.

Most of my characters are based on aspects of my personality, often exaggerated and function as catharsis. I often wonder what type of person would find appealing a certain trait I do not like about myself. In a way, it is me comforting myself that even if I have flaws, maybe someone out there will love them too.

But there are some that are based on real people in my life, from friends, strangers, acquaintances, and family. I won't name names, but rest assured that if we crossed paths for more than a decade, you will find a character you will relate to in my books because they might be you. xD

Do you have any favorite romance authors, on or off Wattpad, who inspired you to write romance stories? Feel free to name up to three people and some of your favorite stories they authored.

My most favorite traditional published romance author is Soman Chainani. I love how he handled The School for Good and Evil, balancing fairy-tale romance with real, unconditional love. Another is Marissa Meyer in her Lunar Chronicles. I love how she is able to combine a high-stakes sci-fi story with YA romance. And of course, Claudia Gray's Firebird Series is to die for. My most favorite book, and the only one that made me cry, was Gwen Cole's Cold Summer. It is a YA Romance as well.