Italics/Bold=Written emails
Lines that don't have Italics or any Boldness are me (Alex Chapman) talking
By: Alex Chapman
CG Drews is an author who lives, as their website says, “under a pile of books.” I found one of their books named Don’t Let The Forest In on Amazon. Once it shipped to my house, I immediately found my love for the author and their stories within the first fifteen pages.
Don’t Let The Forest In is a young adult psychological horror about two high school boys, one named Andrew Perrault, an author with twisted stories, and the other named Thomas Rye, who will draw anything that Andrew writes.
Thomas’ abusive parents disappeared one day. He came to the school with blood on his sleeves, making the police and principal investigate the situation. Andrew, being worried about his friend, decides to investigate himself. What he finds out is shocking and not humanically possible.
While I am not finished with the book, I feel like I know what will happen near the end. I can see that Andrew would do anything for Thomas. As the author says, Andrew would, “Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him.”
It is a very thrilling book, and that is why I decided to do my interview on CG Drews.
🩸🔪
I started out by emailing CG Drews–mind you that I have never interviewed an author, let alone one of my favorite authors when writing this. I didn’t want to make them uncomfortable by emailing them directly nor with me still being a High School student, but I needed to email them for my curiosity and desire for answers.
This is what I sent to them:
Hello CG Drews. I am currently trying to think of a pen name for myself, but for this, please just call me Ex. I am an aspiring author who is a writing major in high school and has been working on a book that is in both the Horror and Fantasy genre. I am planning to pursue writing whenever I get into college and I am really excited about that! Anyways, I would like to ask you a few questions about your style of writing and your book, Don’t Let The Forest In. While still reading the book, I find your work to be enjoyable and I would like to know more about your technique when writing. I also have some other questions to ask you such as: “When did you start writing?” and “How did you find the genre that you like to write?”I am sorry if directly emailing you makes you uncomfortable or if me being a minor and contacting you also makes you uncomfortable. This is supposed to be an interview for my Journalism teacher but I would also like to know more about you. If you could, please respond to this email.
They responded to my email in a span of 10-15 minutes, which was surprising since–I believe–they live in Australia.
This is what they responded with:
Hi Ex,
Thank you for your email and I'm so glad you enjoyed Don't Let The Forest In! I'd be happy to answer some questions, just email them through whenever you like and I'll try to get to them asap.
Best,
CG
A couple of days later, I emailed them again, apologizing for the late response. There were four questions in my mind when I emailed them:
Did you draw the monster shown in the book or did you hire someone?
How did you find the genre you like to write in?
Where did you get your inspiration to write this novel?
How many drafts did you go through until you finished?
CG Drews did not disappoint. They answered me as quickly as the last time and answered my questions honestly by saying:
Hi!
Answers to your questions below:
1. Did I hire an artist to illustrate my monsters?
I didn't hire the artist but my publisher did! I am published with Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan USA) and they hire the cover designer and illustrator to work on my books. I have input and generally give ideas on what I would like etc. The artist is Jana Heidersdorf, and she does the covers and interior illustrations for all my YA horrors.
2. How did I find my genre?
I experimented with everything! I started writing dark fantasy, I did a bit of sci-fi for a while, I sold my first 2 books as YA contemporaries, I went back to fantasy, and then I tried horror. I love writing in many genres so I'd def recommend experimenting if you have the time/interest. I've also been writing for 15 years (started as a teen) and it took me a long time to find my voice/style. Practice truly is the best thing here.
3. Where do I get inspiration?
Just everywhere honestly. I read a lot, I listen to real life stories, I write about things that interest me. My books are generally full of things that I'm personally keen to write. I think of what story I want to tell, what message do I want to get across, and then I build that into the story from the start.
4. How many drafts did you go through until you published?
It's different for every book. Don't Let The Forest In took many many drafts over like 5 years. Hazelthorn took one draft. My next YA horror took two drafts! Just depends on what a book needs (and also the more you write, the more experienced you get).
Hope that helps!
It did help tremendously. How they responded made me think about myself, my skills in writing, and how I wanted to be like that when–or if–I become an author.