Interview with Addison Boskovich
Author of Dissimulation
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What emotions might the book make a reader feel?
- I would definitely say every emotion. There are parts where your hands can't turn the pages fast enough, moments that are hilarious, paragraphs that can shed tears and so much more.
What is new or intriguing about this book compared to all the other fantasy books out there?
- The story. It's new, and exciting, and filled with action. It isn't a remake or a copy of something done before. The characters have incredible development, that my audience so far has loved. It's funny when it needs to be but it's also terribly sad when it needs to be. A few simple words can't describe the action packed pages of this novel.
Which authors do you admire? How have they influenced your writing style?
- I admire authors like J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan who wrote the very books I grew up on. It was only after I finished their books that I decided I wanted to become good enough to write my own. My writing style is modeled after them, with exciting action-filled pages.
Can you tell us a little about the locations in your book?
- The book is set in a dystopian city led by a heartless leader. The houses are described as made out of either wood or clay, the clay houses being seen as the richer houses. The location isn't an exact city or place, but described as extremely sandy with dust littering the streets and the air.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Don't listen to people who haven't put in the work a day in their lives, and don't put your book's value on it's page count. Especially near the end of writing Dissimulation, I wanted to give up so badly. I wanted to scrap the whole idea and just write the ending real quick so that I could get it over with, so that I could say I published a novel. I worried about quantity over quality more times than I should have instead of just enjoying what I loved.
Could you talk a little about your writing process?
- I began Dissimulation in my living room, writing on my family's computer. My parents put an old computer in my room so that I could work on it whenever I wanted without disturbing anyone else and that was my peak in writing. I would set alarms to wake up an hour before I needed to so that I could write before school. I would write as soon as I got home, sometimes all the way up until dinner. I usually played music, so that my mind could focus on something besides writing. It was exhausting, but I knew I wanted to put in the work for the one activity I love more than anything.
What was the biggest challenge while writing?
- The biggest challenge to me was the editing. I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on an editor, so I downloaded a handful of editing apps and spent hours going through each word, phrase, and sometimes even paragraph they highlighted to see what I needed to change. Even after I edited the book, I sat myself down and forced myself to read my own work, to check if everything made sense. It was the hardest thing to do, making myself read a story I knew about and thought about nonstop for the past year.
If the book were to be adapted for TV or film, who would you see in the lead role? Who did you have in your mind’s eye ?
- I would see someone like Millie Bobby Brown for the main role. Her role in Damsel is similar to the character design and characteristics I see in Seraphai. Even though Millie Bobby Brown is older than my character, I feel as if she would excel greatly in portraying Seraphai.
What has been the greatest moment in your writing career?
- It is hard to choose just one. Finishing my book felt amazing, until the cruel reality of editing crashed down on my shoulders. Seeing my book on Amazon for the first time was a dream, seeing the word "Author" next to my name really lifted me up in the belief that I was a real author. That my book was somewhere like Amazon, one of the top platforms to buy and sell.
Where next? What are you working on now?
- If you read Dissimulation, you'll agree that it screams for a sequel. Right now, my main focus is getting my novel publicity. Once it goes somewhere, and the cry for a sequel becomes too loud to ignore, I will definitely start writing. I am working on the plot and the title for it in some of my free time, but it isn't my main worry. I finished writing and editing Dissimulation in less than a year, so the sequel shouldn't take me too much longer.
