Hello, fellow disciples! We've been searching far and wide for individuals who have cultivated for a long time. This month, we bring you an interview with cjoavg, the author of Heartbeating Snow.

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Tell us a bit about yourself!

Aló aló! We're two Venezuelan writers that love stories of fantasy, comedy, and psychological horror, as surprising that combination can be. 

 We write mostly in Spanish, but we're trying to make the jump to English as we learn everyday how to become better writers. We love publishing our stories at Wattpad, where we've found an amazing community, not just of friends, but also artistic brothers and sisters, and incredible and warm readers! 

 We hope to have more stories in English soon, either by creating some new original ones, or by translating some of our old stories. We are also very happy with the love and support shown by the team of WattpadAsianFantasy to our story 'Heartbeating snow'. We appreciate your dedication very much!

What is your writing process? Do you outline everything or write as things come to mind? Why?

We usually make outlines and schemes for everything that is going to happen, then we sleep it over, and within days, we check back to see what plot twists have grown from the roots of the story! Each of us adds up to the final content and message, and we discuss everything until we have unanimously agreed at it. We always say that for this particular reason, we are both the type of writers that plan ahead, and the ones that let go off...

What are some things that influenced your story?

The prompt! Jajajaja, we loved it, and we saw it as everything binding within a plot of love and fantasy, and it felt as it was fated, because it was the snake prompt, and one of us has the snake astrological sign of the Chinese zodiac! Right then, when we were looking for the opportunity to write our first English story. So we could say it was fate what mostly influenced the first thoughts of 'Heartbeating snow'...!

Tell us about the main character of one of your stories. What inspired their creation?

As, apparently, it can be any main character from one of our stories, let's mention Elliot Arcana, our first ever! He was born out of a mix of personal experiences, as well as Japanese videogames, anime and manga, and the Western perspective of mythology, history and art... 

 He is a teenager who must face darkness and prevail, helped by the power of magic, friendship, and most importantly, strategy and intelligence. His story, 'ARCANA' is a very dark one, yet, one of the most beloved by our readers. And we hope we'll translate to English someday!

What were some challenges you experienced while writing the story?

With 'Heartbeating snow', it was finding the equilibrium between adventure and romance, and the personal growth of the main character, within a short amount of words. We had to make a lot of cuts to the final version, as we were writing more than it was required. 

What message do you hope your story will tell your readers?

Always be brave, live by your own standards, and never hide your voice. Basically, it was a story meant for that. No matter what. And of course, that forgiveness and compassion, even for those that don't seem to deserve it, is the best way to get rid of those fears and harsh feelings that sometimes, locks us down.

If you woke up in a time or place that was very different from reality, what would you do?

Prepare to die! Jajajajajaja, because none of us have any practical skills to survive in an Isekai... XD! 

If there was something you could learn (i.e., some spell, some martial arts, etc.) like the main character in your book, what would it be?

A spell, because they could always save your life in a dangerous situation!

Would you rather go through a lifetime of never finding love or be willing to go through several lifetimes of hardships just to save your love? Why?

The second one, always, no matter what. A life without love is a life without true meaning.

What is your favorite creature from Asian mythology or folklore? Why?

The Japanese Kitsune, and its tale of a wedding under a sunny rain, and the Chinese Koi, which transforms into a Golden Dragon after never giving up.

What is your favorite Asian myth? Why?

Arash, the legendary Archer from Persia. We didn't know the story before the prompt, but after reading and researching about it, we were caught in absolute fascination!

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, cjoavg! We wish you the best of luck in your writing endeavors.

Until the next chapter, fellow disciples!