*Walks out in my orange dress..."

DIRECTOR: LIGHTS, CAMERA ACTION!

Assalam o Alaikum and hello friends and fans!!

I'm your host and dost Kounj Muzafar. Today we have another honorable and lovely Author and winner of a Freedom Award VoiceOfAlasais.

Thank you so much Natalia Anikina for agreeing to this interview. So I will start now...

Tell us a little something special about yourself and your background?

I was born and raised in Moscow (Russia). English is not my first language, so I must apologize in advance for any mistakes in my answers. I'm a psychologist. I like reading, swimming, walking or jogging in the forest (especially in autumn) and I'm an aspiring crazy cat lady. I have only one cat (a Siberian named Mouse) now, but I have a really huge collection of cat figurines and I've been writing stories about sentient felines for over ten years (and of course I would like to live surrounded by many cats when I grow old). My dreams are my main source of inspiration.

What's your age, your date of birth and zodiac sign? 

I'm 33 years old. My birthday is September 14th. And I'm a Virgo.

Which genre did your winner book belong to? What draws you to this genre? 

It's Adventure. I like to put my characters in dangerous and mysterious situations, force them to overcome formidable obstacles and make difficult decisions. This allows me to clearly show the development of their characters throughout the story (and to have fun of course!).

What do people hate the most about you?

I'm a perfectionist and sometimes it drives my family and friends (and me myself too) crazy.

Do you ever get writer's Block? Give one tip on how to get through the dreaded writer's block? 

I have to admit that I don't. But I often have the opposite problem: how can I find time to write about all these ideas, crowding in my head?!

Please, don't push yourself too hard! If you stuck on a particular scene of your story for a long time, it does not mean that you can't write another one. So try to choose that part of your book which inspires you more then the first one at the moment and try write it (and if you succeed, don't forget to praise yourself for this little victory!). Or maybe you just need a rest. So take a pause and listen to music, play with your pet, go for a walk or read some interesting book. And then come back to a difficult scene with a fresh mind and try again!

How do you react to negative comments? 

To be honest, I don't get negative comments very often, but when I do I always ask their authors what exactly they didn't like in my stories?

And there is a funny situation: one of my novels (The Cat...) is criticized mainly for having too many descriptions and reflections of the characters and for a lack of action. But my second story (The Shameful Past...) is criticized for precisely the opposite. So I usually just advise dissatisfied readers to try my other novel. And then often they turn from dissatisfied ones to satisfied.

Which person would you like to meet from WP and why? Tag them. 

It would be great if I could meet dianadallafina We've been friends for so many years, but we have never met in real life because we live on different sides of the world.

Who are your favorite authors? 

Jane Austen, Emile Zola, Harry Harrison, Stanislaw Lem, Vladimir Nabokov, Dan Simmons, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mikhail Bulgakov and Terry Pratchett.

What do your family say about your writing? 

My mum loves my stories and helps me with editing. She criticizes me and asks me the sinuous questions but she always encourages me to continue writing. She has an account on Wattpad and we went to Wattpad Meetup in Moscow together. My dad doesn't read fantasy or adventure books, but he also supports me a lot.

Favourite Quote –

"If we have our own 'why' of life, we shall get along with almost any 'how'" (Friedrich Nietzsche).

Places you want to visit –

New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Are you a good liar? Tell a lie.

I'm a very confident person. Yes, truly, honestly!

What's one thing people love the most about you?

I'm good at listening.

Hobbies besides writing?

Reading and needle felting (I turn pieces of colorful wool into funny fluffy jewelry using a special kind of needles that have tiny barbs on the end: 

What do you think about IEscapist?

She is very creative, cheerful and friendly! I was very glad to meet Kounj :)

Any insane wish? Name one.

I would like to experience weightlessness.

Are you living the life you really want to live? 

Yes!

What question do you ask yourself a lot?

How can I do all this?!

Relationship status?

Single.

Best thing about being YOU?

My ability to find the humor in even the most difficult situations.

Is being a writer a gift or a curse? 

A gift, of course!

You only get 3 words to describe yourself – what are they? 

Optimistic. Curious. Dreamer.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you? 

I always try to plot out the major points of the story before start writing, but my freedom-loving characters tend to ruin all my plans and do what they want to do.

What do you think about The Freedom Awards? Would you like to suggest something to better it next time? 

It was great! I really liked it!

How do you feel about winning a Freedom Award? 

I'm beside myself with happiness! Winning this award was a complete surprise to me and I'm so flattered! It will inspire me to continue writing and translating my stories!

Any Message for the people of Wattpad? 

Just keep writing!

Here we will end this interview. Thank you so much again for joining us today andI hope you had as much as we did.