Congratulations to debut author Ria Parisi on the release of their YA Romantasy novel, OF WOLVES AND STAGS, published by Inked in Gray Press. To celebrate, Ria has answered some questions about their inspiration, their writing process, and what’s next for Dalia and the characters in OF WOLVES AND STAGS.

What motivated you to write and how did you get started?

I have wanted to be an author and tell stories since I was a teenager. At the time, I didn’t have the courage to write work that was completely my own and ended up finding fanfiction and online roleplaying. After many years of playing in other people’s sandboxes, I finally decided to take the leap and write my own characters.

I have always been very motivated and inspired to write the characters I didn’t have growing up. So, writing in the YA space, it was very important to me to write authentic representation for plus size and LGBTQIA+ characters. So that teens now might have characters they could look at and relate to in a way I couldn’t while I was growing up.

What is your creative process?

I am very much a plotter. I have ADHD and if I don’t have some kind of plan in place, I’m just going to be staring at a blank screen or get distracted by my phone for hours. So, the very first thing I do is just listen to a lot of music and brainstorm. Start writing down scenes, moments or dialogue I want to see in the particular story I’m working on, and through that I start to develop my characters. This whole time I’m making Spotify playlists, Pinterest boards, and just trying to immerse myself in whatever vibes I’m going for. Once my characters come into focus, I start work on a very general outline before trying to get to a chapter level and getting down at least a sentence about what I want for each chapter.

Now, I think it’s very important to remember that an outline is a living document. So, if I start writing and change my mind about something or add a chapter here or there, that’s okay! I just need something I can look back on to see the overall plan.

What does your working space look like?

Admittedly messy. I live in a small space, so my desk is in a corner of my bedroom. I have my small writing desk, and two small bookshelves with my favorites to look at. I often like to get out of the house to write, though! I will go write in Barnes and Noble cafes, or at a local park. Sometimes I just need a change of space, and to get out of my bedroom. So long as I have my headphones and some instrumental music playing (preferably a video game soundtrack, my current favorite is Hollow Knight), I’m good to go!

Which authors have inspired you and why?

When it comes to prose, I always point to Ava Reid. I think her voice is just so lyrical and beautiful, even when she’s writing some really dark and disturbing things. Juniper and Thorn took my breath away. Storytelling and worldbuilding, I am very inspired by Brandon Sanderson. His insane grasp on how to craft complicated but extremely accessible worlds and magic systems always blows me away. I don’t think I would ever want to write an interconnecting universe with my books like he does, but the way he’s been able to navigate such a feat and still gain new readership no matter where you start in the Cosmere is truly commendable.

What do you think draws readers to your work?

I think readers want to see stories with refreshing takes on familiar tropes. In OF WOLVES AND STAGS, I play around with enemies to lovers, a love triangle, found family, etc. Things people enjoy and are used to seeing in Romantasy stories. But to revisit old favorites through the lens of a plus size character, or a non-binary character, it brings a new take to the story. And I think readers are hungry for that sort of representation in the stories where they find comfort in escaping into.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Don’t go back and edit your opening chapters over and over again. Allow yourself the space to let your first draft suck. It’s okay. It’s supposed to suck. That’s what editing is for! For so long, I never finished writing any story because I was so stuck on making sure the opening was perfect. But once I finally allowed myself to just write, and to keep going even if I wasn’t fully happy with something. I started finishing drafts.

How did you get the idea for OF WOLVES AND STAGS?

As I mentioned before, I started writing in fanfiction. A particular ship which has a special place in my heart is Reylo. For anyone who doesn’t know, Reylo is the romantic relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. I had been writing stories with those two for many years and when I finally decided to write my own work, I took an idea I’d had for a Reylo fic and changed it quite a bit.

From there, I knew I wanted to write a story featuring a softer main character. Often in YA we see female main characters who are strong because they are cold badass warriors of some kind. I love those characters! And I love stories about feminine rage, but I wanted to write something different. I wanted to show that there’s strength in kindness and that you can be the girl who is called sensitive or cries at the drop of a hat but still be strong and take on the world.

Did you have any particular challenges in writing the story?

My biggest challenge was navigating how lonely writing can be. With fanfiction and role playing, there are either people writing with you, or a close-knit community constantly leaving comments. Writing my own novel, it was just me for the first time. I got over this hurtle by developing a good support system of other writers. People I could brainstorm with, or could alpha and beta read for me. It’s so important to find your people and have friends you can turn to when things get hard.

At what point in the creative process did you figure out what the climax would be? What was it like writing it?

As I said earlier, I draw a lot of inspiration from music. When I was first brainstorming, there was this song I found called: Beneath the Brine by The Family Crest. I must have listened to that song on repeat for weeks on and off. It wasn’t the lyrics that inspired my story, but the way the music flowed. I plotted my climax to the ebbs and swells of that song and just knew exactly how I wanted it to go. I could just see the highs and lows of the scene in my head as I listened to that song. And I knew the trajectory my plot needed to go in at that moment. I needed to build the story in a way that got us to this moment I was seeing in my head, and it would be so satisfying.

Is there more to Dalia’s story that you haven’t revealed?

I would love to explore more of Dalia’s story! Back when I was querying, I always called this book a standalone with series potential and always had plans for a trilogy if possible. So, there’s a lot more I would love to tell! I would love to see Dalia explore more of her relationship with the mysterious masked villain, the Wolf, and dive into what happened in the past with them. I would also love her to be able to explore her powers more fully and embrace all parts of herself. And of course, I want her to find the family and home she so longs for.

*Parisi posing outside the* *Doylestown Bookshop* *ahead of their book release event!*

How did you celebrate your book release?

My release day was wonderful! I did a live stream with the wonderful Thea Guazon. We chatted OF WOLVES AND STAGS as well as fanfiction, and I’m so excited for her next book, TUSK LOVE. I then had a launch event at the Doylestown Bookshop where I was in conversation with De Elizabeth. She is another debut author this year and I’m very much looking forward to her YA Fantasy: THIS RAGING SEA! After that, I went to Hibachi with some family and friends. So, it was a really lovely day.

Tell us the story of querying and signing with Dunham Literary:

I have such an interesting and wonderful story in finding Jennie! I found her during a pitch event on Twitter and decided to query her. When I received a full request, I was ecstatic! She’d also seen me posting about a WIP on social media and asked if I was okay with sharing some of the pages from that as well with her. I did and it was the first time during querying where I felt like, oh my god. This could be it. Unfortunately, at the time, Jennie passed on me but still expressed interest in the future and gave me some amazing advice. So, when I received a small press offer on my debut, I reached out to her just to thank her, not expecting at all to end up on a call with her the next day! Jennie and I signed, and she took over navigating my book deal and we started working on that WIP. It certainly isn’t the most usual way to sign with an agent, but I could not be more grateful for the way things played out. It also just goes to show you, don’t burn your bridges. A rejection from an agent is not personal. And you never know what might happen in the future!

Add anything else that might be interesting or fun that you want to add?

Something fun about me is that a lot of my social media following actually started due to cosplaying! I still cosplay pretty regularly and attend multiple conventions with new costumes every year! My favorite character to cosplay right now is Shallan Davar from The Stormlight Archives. You can find all of my author and cosplay content @riathewolfwrites on both Instagram and TikTok.

Congrats again, Ria! OF WOLVES AND STAGS is available in paperback and e-book format everywhere now. Check out this link to see where you can buy today!

Interview with Ria Parisi: OF WOLVES AND STAGS Publication Launch