We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful CW Wren. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with CW below.

Hi CW, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

The main character, Emer, was specifically born from the desire for people to feel seen and empowered.

Often those with anxiety are painted as fragile and incapable, their anxiety is framed as a weakness.
However, anxiety can present as hyper-independence, perfectionism, and over-achievement. When it is in these forms, it’s praised, but the deep-rooted anxiety that drives it remains hidden.

Some of the most accomplished people I know are also the most anxious. I wanted people to see that version of anxiety; that they are still strong and capable. Doing things while scared does not take away from that.

The story at its heart is a love letter to my family and reflects the complex emotions related to a loved one’s cancer diagnosis. This exploration of grief and fear of loss was blended with fantastical elements in the hopes that readers would have the opportunity to escape while still tackling real-world heartbreak that impacts so many.

Emer ventured to the Isle Basalt in search of healing and I wrote her story as part of mine. 

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always had a heart for darker tales.

As a child, I wrote mysteries and post-apocalyptic plots alongside my best friend. Stories that, to no one’s surprise, were never finished and lived only in our mildly macabre imaginations.

In adulthood, I discovered a special kind of magic in fantasy books and their ability to finally quiet my mind.

So naturally, my debut novel was a dark and atmospheric story inspired by folklore where magic and melancholy coexisted.

The Quiet Beyond the Well was initially a project I took on for myself, and not one I ever intended to publish (much like my earlier forays projects). When 80 words became 80,000+, I realized that this story was special. That, while I imparted much of myself into it, the characters that were created deserved a life of their own and that meant they needed to be read by others.

To my utter delight, they now live on in the hearts of so many amazing readers who embraced them with open arms and gave them a forever home on their bookshelves.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Initially, I had this misconception that the first draft needed to be perfect. There was considerable apprehension about letting others see it before it was polished. I had this notion that dangling participles and misplaced commas would be an injustice to the story I was trying to tell, which resulted in a perpetual loop of editing as I wrote.

Sharing a story with others, especially for the first time, requires incredible vulnerability. It can be intimidating and, at times, down-right nauseating but it is also a magical stage of bringing the characters and their world to life.

I am fortunate enough to have a tremendous group of critique partners and it was through working with them that I realized I was spending time perfecting the grammar of chapters I ultimately deleted or completely reworked. I would have saved myself many late nights if I had gotten their thoughts before pouring in hours of edits.

By sharing the “imperfect” versions of my work, I was able to gather feedback that inspired new ideas and refined existing ones in a flow that was far more conducive to my creative process.

Feedback is a gift and I am far less restrictive about when I allow myself to seek it out. In fact, I permit myself to embrace chaos far more in all aspects of the drafting process. I label my files “trash draft” and write in fonts like Papyrus. The notebook I carry everywhere is a mess of incomplete sentences, half-formed ideas, and spelling errors-it is also the heart of my stories.

First drafts are meant to be messy, they are for the author to discover where the story will lead. Refinement will come with time and feedback.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Genuinely connecting with people.

There is nothing more rewarding than when someone, who may have been a stranger the day before, takes time to message me and share that a line that I loved also resonated with them or that they picked up on a small detail that I thought no one would notice. No two readers will experience a story the same way, so the ways in which we connect over it are equally as unique.

I am always honored and humbled when I receive a message or voice memo from a reader, inviting me on their journey through Isle Basalt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cwwren.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cwwrenauthor
• Other: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/48680942.CW_Wren Newsletter via Substack: https://cwwren.substack.com/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/CW-Wren/author/B0CW5LW2XL?ccs_id=5a8fb67b-5ec7-4fdc-9b83-bf30aa3d54c0

Image Credits
CW Wren