AViVA is an Australian multidisciplinary artist. She is a singer, songwriter, and author and has a unique sound described as electro-pop emo rap. She has stated that her music is about an “Outsider’s” perspective and her fans are known as Outsiders. Her music has a great ability to connect with people and celebrate people no matter their interests or background.
Self/Less is her debut novel and uses similar themes to her music to present a dystopian world that has banned all forms of self expression. The concept was intriguing and the execution flawless and I am so thrilled to be able to bring you an interview with this inspiring and authentic artist.
Hi AViVa, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today. You are a well known and successful music artist, what inspired you to change mediums and write a novel?
I’ve been writing stories for as long as I’ve been writing music. I’m so passionate about story-telling, that is what song writing is to me, and I’ve always been working towards having a career as an Author as well. To me, combining my two passions only made sense!
Can you tell us a little about Self/Less in your own words?
SELF/LESS is about my worst nightmare- a world where creativity and self-expression are illegal. I wanted to really dive into that kind of reality to see what kind of people it would create. To me, being creative is as natural and integral to my being as eating or sleeping, so I wanted to see what would happen to people living in a world without.
Were you inspired by anything in particular when coming up with the themes and concepts for Self/Less?
Living a creative life is at the core of everything I do. The idea of self-expression and the power of self-expression are threaded through everything I create of whatever medium.
As a songwriter you are no stranger to telling a story but did you notice a difference while writing the novel? Can you share a bit of your writing process?
I write completely differently when writing songs than when writing novels. As a songwriter I like to let go completely, and organically go where the song takes me. As a novelist, I like to plan. I outline and plan everything so I know where I’m going. When I’m writing, things often take their own life, but I like to have my outline there as a sort of road map while writing.
I adored your characters and loved how realistic and deep they were. Were any of the characters inspired by people from your own life?
I think when you’re writing you can’t help but pour a little bit of real life into everything you do, that’s what makes it feel alive! That being said, there were no direct references for any of my characters. Snippets yes. I find I write my characters based on emotions I’ve felt. If the emotion is real, the character will find their own personality around those feelings.
Do you relate to any of the characters personally?
I relate to all of them in some ways. Luanna, Kit and Teddy would be the three that I personally relate to– If it HAD to pick.
How did you find the experience of publishing a novel?
Exciting and hard work. When you’ve been working in ‘entertainment’ for so long, it’s always exciting to learn about new areas, and the world of Publishing is it’s own beast! I am so lucky to have the best team, so I have loved every second of it.
What is the best part about your job?
Getting to play every day! I love being creative (surprise, surprise!) so any chance to do that is a blessing. I write for about four hours every morning and do about two hours of songwriting, as well as reading and all the other crafty things I do. It is so much fun getting to make something with your hands, mind and voice!
I know you are a reader as well so could you share what you are currently reading and recommend a few of your faves?
I am a whale of a reader, so I find this question hard! Two books I’ve read this past month that I loved; Game Changer by Neal Shusterman and Graceling by Kristen Cashore. An evergreen love would have to be the Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima… just to name a few!
What are you working on currently? Can you tell us a little about it?
I am currently working through my edits for book three in the SELF/LESS series, my album Volume II is also coming out soon, so there are still lots of exciting SELF/LESS things still going on in my world,
Thank you!
AViVA xx
