Hi Younglings,

For this edition of Book of the month, we got the chance to talk with gtgrandom about her Fantasy YARomance story full of adventuring and thrilling. 

About the author: Erica Gallegos is an environmental scientist and sustainability manager who spends her evenings developing fictional worlds. Her favorite genres to write include fantasy, adventure, and science fiction—all with a healthy dash of slow-burn romance. As a feminist and progressive writer, she also aims to incorporate a range of female, BIPOC, and LGBTQA characters in her works. 

Her writing journey began in fifth grade when she wrote and illustrated her first book, Running Rain. Thirteen years later, she became a "Wattpad Star" on the popular writing platform — namely for her book series, The Ephemeral, which she drafted in high school. Since then, her novel Breeder has won a Watty Award and garnered over 500,000 reads. 

When she's not greening the business sector or stitching character arcs, Erica can be found exploring the natural world and embarking on ridiculous, fantastical adventures of her own. 

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About the Book Of The Month - "Breeder"

In a dystopian future where women are forced to repopulate a dying nation, 17-year-old Alex Kingsley wants nothing more than to prove herself as an equal. 

Her dream of joining the military isn't her only secret, though; she also harbors the power to consume the memories of anything she touches, and her father is desperate to marry her off before the word gets out. 

But when demonic forces invade her country, a life of marriage and prescribed motherhood gets pushed to the wayside. 

With the help of her male peers, Alex ventures into demon-infested lands to save humanity from oblivion, only to discover she's connected to this war in more ways than one — and so is her curse.

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About other YARomance stories: Check out the rest of her "The Ephemeral" series.

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1. How did you start writing on Wattpad? What is the one thing you like about this orange land?

I've been writing fictional stories since third grade, and while I've dabbled in fanfiction, I never had a place to share my original content before. After I made an animatic of my characters on YouTube, one of my subscribers suggested I publish my work to Wattpad. 

I'd only ever associated the site with fanfic; I had no idea it hosted so many wonderful original stories. So, in June of 2019, I made an account and began uploading my series to the platform in hopes of obtaining feedback from my target audience. 

I didn't think the story would resonate with so many people, and that's really what I love so much about Wattpad: being able to see my readers' live reactions to the content I share. It's incredibly rewarding to watch a plot twist catch readers by surprise or an emotional scene evoke crying emojis and dramatic exclamations. It's a really fun, valuable addition to the writing experience!

 2. According to you, what makes the romantic relationship in young adult genre stories special and well-loved by the community? Additionally, what is the genre/trope that you like to combine with YARomance in stories? 

I think the romance element in YA stories appeals to readers for many reasons. As a teenager, I loved the idea of falling in love with someone who cared to dig deeper than most boys my age were willing to shovel, if that makes sense. And YA romance allows readers to explore a profound, exciting — and often idealistic — romantic relationship. It's fun. It gives them something to root for, giggle over, and hopefully learn something from. It also provides a healthy escape from school, college applications, family issues, and financial stress. 

Romance, and YA Romance in particular, attracts a lot of adults in their twenties too. Personally, I think this is because there's something very "pure" about YA relationships. So many adult books put physical relationships on a pedestal, but YA relies heavily on building that platonic and romantic foundation first, right alongside that "coming of age" storyline. In a world of hookup culture and dating apps, I think a sweet, slowburn romance appeals to more people than we realize. 

As for my favorite mixed ingredients? I love combining YA Romance with Fantasy, Paranormal, or Science Fiction— basically anything where death is imminent and the stakes are high. These genres also enable me to incorporate the enemies-to friends-to lovers trope, which I adore.

3. In "Breeder", you have built such an amazing world with fantasy, paranormal, and also war elements. What is the inspiration for this story? Do you face any difficulty while building the plot and the world system? 

Thank you! 

I started outlining the trilogy when I was 16, and I think a big inspiration for me at the time was my community. I grew up in a very religious, conservative, and racially homogenous town, and as I became more politically literate, I desperately wanted to inflict positive change in the world. 

However, at my age, there was only so much I could do for women's bodily autonomy, the climate, LGBTQ rights, and BIPOC communities. So I think I channeled a lot of my fury and passion into a dystopian fantasy series where a young woman could stand up for the oppressed and make a real difference in the world. And of course, I loved fantasy-adventure, magic, and military tropes, so I decided to throw it all into one massive saga. 

In terms of worldbuilding and plotting, I've learned a lot since I first embarked on this journey. Over the last 9 years, I've had to strip the story down to its skeleton and start again, and since then, the trilogy has seen many, many edits! 

I think when you work with a world so big—particularly where a magic system is involved—it's crucial to determine your rules and limits from the get-go, lest you spend your evenings in your dorm room, filling in plot holes! 

Now, I have a pretty good handle on plotting ahead, keeping the details organized in my Story Bible, and building a thorough infrastructure for my fantasy world before ever putting pen to paper. 

Definitely a learning curve.

4. Your story revolves around a badass female protagonist going on battles and wars to save humanity, which helps you convey the feminism and empowerment themes. What elements did you add to create such a badass female character? Additionally, what is the detail/scene in the story that you think shows empowerment the most? 

I think every reader has come across a Strong Female Character(TM) who lacks a personality and forces the "anything you can do, I can do better" narrative. A lot of the time, these characters also boast their masculine qualities and put other girls down, which doesn't do us women any good. 

My main goal for "The Ephemeral" series was to create a female protagonist people could relate to, laugh with, and root for, but also someone who had a lot of growing up to do. Basically, I wanted to create a complex human being readers might not always agree with, but someone they could see real potential in. 

So when it came to Alex, I did my best to give her the traits of a feminist icon: passion, bravery, confidence (perhaps too much at times), resourcefulness, a sharp tongue, a sense of humor, ferocity, empathy, and of course, some lethal powers. But I also gave her the flaws that someone with her history and trauma would exhibit, the recklessness and naivety of a teenage soldier, and, as a product of a patriarchal society, faint traces of internalized misogyny. 

Over the course of the trilogy, and as Al befriends a range of diverse women, she learns to embrace her "feminine" traits — like her emotional intensity — and begins to redefine her idea of feminism. It's at that point when I think she truly becomes a "badass female protagonist." 

As for Book 1, I think a scene that really gets female readers riled up is when Alex wins the Tournament. Relying on wit and agility, she proves that she's just as capable as her male peers, which sets the tone for the rest of the series. (I call it her Mulan Moment).

5. A random question: If you were a character in your story, who would you be? And why? 

I'd like to think I was as cool as Alex or Will, but in reality, I'm more like Fudge: the pacifist who sees the best in everyone and offers emotional support in lieu of violence.

6. Finally, as a Wattys Winner, what advice or tips related to writing can you give to young writers who also want to try to combine YARomance with different genres like fantasy?

I think something that's really important when combining romance and fantasy is allowing the plot and character development to drive the love story—not the other way around. 

Trust me, there are many times when I just want to sit and write for hours about my angsty lovebirds, and it's easy to get carried away with potential conflicts or cute, fluffy scenes. But there is just so much ground to cover in a fantasy book that you really have to be picky about the content you stuff into your subplots. 

Ideally, the internal and external conflicts that arise between your pairing should stem from who they are as characters (backgrounds, beliefs, traumas, etc.) and what their role is in the story (what are their affiliations, who do they become, etc). Emotional scenes will fall into your lap if you've fleshed out these categories. 

However, when these elements are not well-integrated into the story, a lot of younger writers will force a conflict—romantic or otherwise—for the sake of "spicing up" the plot, and that's why miscommunication tropes or random spurts of jealousy may come off as contrived or pointless. 

In the end, I think it really comes back to taking the time to build your world and flesh out your characters before jumping into the writing stage. 

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That is all for this time! Check out more at the author account gtgrandom! 

More to come!