Monster Girl Extravaganza - Amber Atlas with Magpie Girl Evolution

Monster Girl Extravaganza Day 5!

This one looks amazing. Welcome to Amber Atlas with Magpie Girl Evolution

I fully admit I'm into the birbs! :) and we love our magpies here. They knock on my back door if I don't get out of bed to feed them!

Here's all about Amber!

Tell us a little about yourself? Online or Offline.

I'm Amber, usually going by the pen name Amber Atlas. I've been writing fantasy webnovels for over a year now, mostly focusing on progression fantasy and slice of life stories.

Where does your inspiration come from? What childhood books, or movies were your biggest draw? 

There are too many to count. My whole childhood I read every fantasy book I got my hands on. This has continued into adulthood and I still seek out every interesting series I can find. If I had to name my childhood favorites it would be Eragon, Howl's Moving Castle and Avatar the Last Airbender. As an adult, I've taken a liking to Japanese media, especially light novels. My recent favorites are The Apothecary Diaries and The Ascendance of Bookworm.

What was your first story on Royal Road and how did it grow you and your brand from there? 

My first story is not available on Royal Road anymore. It was a romantasy story which landed me 12 followers. I was so embarrassed about it that I deleted the story. After that, I wanted to create something that the Royal Road audience might enjoy more so I wrote Demon Queen Wants to Paint. Since then I've been writing quirkier types of stories since I enjoy making things more challenging for myself.

The exciting part, tell us about this newest release?

Magpie Girl Evolution. It's a monster evolution story that starts with a magpie named Liora. She's a little thief that enjoys collecting shiny things, and one day she stumbles upon the shiny that changes her life forever—Archmage Renir who happens to be trapped in a beautiful gemstone. Together they'll try to free him of his prison by going on a long journey where Liora gets more and more powerful. And steals a few more things that she shouldn't.

What made you choose to tell this particular story? 

It all started with my author friends who are big fans of the monster evolution genre. They said they wanted more monster girl evolution stories on the market, and then everyone got to thinking which monster girl could be the one they'd write about. I was apprehensive of the idea at first. I had just released another story and was fully focusing on it. I didn't think I'd have time to write something like that.

But their enthusiasm and energy eventually got to me and I wanted to join in as well. Initially, I wanted to write a Demon Girl Evolution since I was already familiar with these monsters from my other story. But I couldn't come up with a good concept no matter how hard I thought about it. Eventually I settled on a magpie because I've always liked birds and magpies are really intelligent and fascinating with all the things they're able to do. Not to mention, that I've always wanted to write a story with an animal MC.

What have you learned with previous writing that you’ve harnessed here?

Ie what is your writing process?

Simple is best. Overcomplicating things is an easy way to lose track of the core of your story, and turn readers away. I've made things difficult in Demon Queen and also in Taste of Magic, albeit to a lesser degree. So with Magpie Girl Evolution, I'm trying to keep things simple.

What is your biggest regret with writing? Or your hardest lesson learned?

Don't add plot twists for the sake of plot twists. As praised as they sometimes are, they are an easy way to turn your initial story into something else entirely. I feel like Demon Queen could have been much more if I didn't make plot twists just for the sake of having them.

If you could tell our new authors 3 things that helped you get to where you are today, what would they be?

1. Read. Not just the stuff you enjoy, but stuff that is currently trending and on-market. Especially if you're trying to turn this into a serious career.

2. Communicate with other authors. They say that success breeds success. If you surround yourself with successful people and listen to them, then you are more likely to be successful yourself. But only if you listen.

3. Don't be afraid to admit that you did things wrong. We all make mistakes, and it's better to acknowledge them and learn from them rather than keep living in denial. It took me a bit too long to admit to myself that 12 followers is not exactly a successful story.

Any other parting nuggets of wisdom? 

I'm not too wise, so I'll just say write what you enjoy. No point in forcing yourself to write something you don't like.

All Social Media Links.

My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AmberAtlasStories