Your stories are about difficult social issues such as rape, homelessness, and mental illness. How do you cope, because I struggled to get through the book in one go?

Lol. I don't cope.

I guess that's the beauty in all of this isn't it? I will always write tragedy and about the wrongs in the world I guess, but that means living through it over and over again. Feeling everything every character feels every step of the way. 

I guess that's the reason why I can't always commit to regular posting dates. When it comes, it comes, and I might write a chapter or write an entire book in two weeks, but I can't force it. Not with the topics I chose to write about. When I force it, and I am not mentally ready, I take a bit of a dive, spiral down, and then hit the bottom of a very deep hole and it can take me weeks to get out of there. So I always need to also think about my own mental health. Especially in the planning phase I will be watching and reading anything that might help, such as documentaries on rape, molestation, homelessness, human trafficking, prostitution, and in some instances I have found myself in places like escort agencies and asking the people there what they had gone through, wanting with everything in me to wipe the tears from their eyes. 

For instance... I am sitting on a really good story (which I hope to write once most of my other projects are put to rest), which almost led to my arrest last year, and on top of that had me talking to someone I love through the horribly and dirty bars of a prison cell. It was terrible. It smelled like piss all over, and when I got him out of there (yes, he was very innocent, and the tantrum that almost landed me in jail next to him at least managed to get him out), he smelled horrible. His clothing was torn from his body. Other inmates stole his shoes. He was locked up in one cell with murderers, drug sellers, and robbers...

So when I truly do need to cope, and it feels like I can't cope with what I am writing, or researching at that moment, I just actually take a break. It can sometimes be a day, other times it might be weeks. I have even taken off most of a year from writing anything other than ideas in a journal. In those times I usually just grab some Harry Potter books and disappear into a world I have grown up in and love so much. So yeah, when I need to cope I pack my bags and go off to Hogwarts and forget about the rest of the world for a while. I can however say it's not always Hogwarts. This month I hope to take a small break and fall into the world of Rick Riordan as we say goodbye to the Apollo books, which in itself feels very stressful to me. Without giving spoilers: He better bring J.... back to life! I swear! And if anyone touches Will, Nico, Percy, Annabeth... Oh for gosh sakes! Any of them! I swear I will hit the roof if another favourite character ends up dead!