When did you begin writing?

I had a story idea in 2006 that I couldn't stop thinking about. I started filling-up note books revising the story over and over - my goal was try and come up with a rewarding action packed mystery fantasy with a ton of plot twists. in which every little clue would mean something down the line. I was an aspiring child actor so wanted to build a library of experiences to draw from to write about too. I literally wrote a list of everything I thought I would need experience in; sword-fighting, martial arts, Welsh mythology, Royal blood line conspiracies, Dragon legends, Ancient alien theories, the Russian mafia and started researching more and more. I started drafting my first chapters in 2009.

In 2010 I had a really long commute - I was living in London had a part-time job in Worthing in Sussex. It was 1.5 to 3 hours each way and the train was really prone to crazy long delays. For the first few weeks I read a book a day on the train. Then I realized I was wasting this valuable time and started writing my novel almost on a full-time basis.

Because I had it all planned out - I smashed out 50% of the first draft over two years and continued to chip away at it on weekends or having early starts, writing weekends and getting work done.

How did you discover Wattpad?

Fast forward to 2013 and I was living in Regina, Saskatchewan. I hopped in my PT Cruiser and went to a writer's conference called When Word's Collide in Alberta, Canada. There I listened to a lady, no A LEGEND called @LDChricton fame!) and @AaronKite speak about an app called "Wattpad" that apparently had 10 million people reading stories every month (now it is 45 Million FYI).

I was blown away. Like all of us - I really wanted feedback to get better! So the chance to put my novel in front of people, especially Y.A. and Middle Grade readers was super exciting! The thought of meeting readers and writers was also cool, even if all I got was negative feedback, I thought it would be great just to see what they thought! After listening to Leah I knew I needed to finish the damn book and then at least someone might get to read it. Leah gave a really good account of Wattpad, things that are true to this day;

- Wattpad is a SOCIAL network and an entertainment network. So as a creator you've really got to be social to have success!

- Also, respect the algorithm, if you want to gain a fanbase, put your novel up chapter by chapter, build up a following, read other's work, respond to your comments and find authors that you love and then support them!

I finally typed THE END in December 2013. In April 2014 I posted my first chapter of Cataindar on Wattpad.

When did you begin getting recognized?

My updates were 3 x a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was great motivation to get editing the manuscript.

The first draft I posted to Wattpad had so many errors and mistakes. (There are still many mistakes in the Wattpad version, however if I edit it now I will lose my comments.) I had so many famous writers stop by my book and give me a hand or a suggestion to make my writing better. I began getting more readers when I made some awesome writer friends - SarahBensonBooks, BritneyCharmantine, Ahna, JayVictor and me were all updating at the same time. A bunch of awesome readers found our works and propelled us all up the charts. When you are in the hot-list you start getting organically discovered. I was no.1 on Fantasy-Action for a month so many, many people found me then!

I've only been recognized in real life twice. When I went back to When Words Collide in 2014 I was in the midst of updating. I actually ran back to my hotel room mid-conference to do it. I was speaking to a group writers and trying to explain what I wrote, when a long-time reader LKWinters realized it was me and we both freaked out. That was awesome! Another time was in Florida when I was looking for a NaNoWriMo group - crazy!

I am so thankful to Wattpad and our amazing community here for all these experiences. Because of being on Wattpad, I met all these amazing people. Friends I have made here like Taran - who you will read about soon are now full-time professional writers. How cool is that!

What's next?

This year has been a year of submissions. Cataindar has had three full manuscript requests so far. All to fantastic agents - but no bites YET. That said, submitting has eaten up enough of my writing time. I've been working on Cataindar for 7 years - so it is get back into writing.

I have one new Sci-Fi book that I am 1/4 of the way through that will hit Wattpad at the end of Summer.

My Sci-fi book is called Mother's Hand. Set in a dystopian future where Earth is ruled by an alien super-being we call Mother. To protect earth from unknown enemies we donate our bodies to Mother's Hand for four years military service while our consciousness is stored. Kal wakes to find he has been taken for six years. As he tries to reconnect to his past he discovers that Mother is not what we thought she was. He will have to fight for not just his life, but for the fate of humanity.

Thank you so much for being part of The Write Place!

If you want to check out Cataindar, it is being serialised on Wattpad here.

More cataindar info and exclusive subscriber-only content, prizes and news sign up at Cataindar.com

That is all from me. :-)

TEJJohnson