Today my Author Spotlight guest is the wonderful Toby Wise who’s here to chat about their love of omegavese, their background in fandom and breaking out of their comfort zone with a new alien romance.
Over to you Toby…
First things first, please introduce yourself!
Hello! My name is Toby Wise and I write queer omegaverse romance often with a side of mpreg. I hail from a small town in the middle of Wisconsin and live with my partner, our feisty four year old, and our spoiled rotten cat, Pikachu.
Tell us a little bit about your writing style.
I absolutely love focusing on the omegaverse trope. There’s so much you can play with whether that’s shifters, true mates, or non-shifter omegaverse. I adore writing found family finding each other and being a mismatched crew that somehow just fit together. My staples are adding humor and fluff to every story I write.
Describe your books in only three words.
Humorous. Sweet. Sassy.
What’s your next book about and when is it coming out?
My next book is called A Layperry’s Tradition. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit with this one and writing an alien/human romance. There will be a foreign planet, gorgeous aliens, snarky best friends, and mpreg in this book. It’s coming to a kindle near you this January.
Out of all your books, which one are you most proud of?
This is a tough question because I’m proud of all of my books for different reasons. I’m really proud of Ageless Fate because it’s my very first book. Fate’s Perfect Timing is also one of my most proud moments because it’s a book with a non-binary main character and being able to tell their story was amazing and I had so many people come to me, thanking me for explaining what being non-binary means to me through Isaiah. That really touched me.
What or who (or both) has influenced you most as a writer?
I think fandom has influenced me the most. I’m not sure I would have started writing without the community I’d found on tumblr. It gave me the opportunity to write tropes I probably would have never tried before and helped me find my own style.
It wasn’t long after I started writing fanfiction that the idea of ‘A Collection of Strays’ came to me and I really wanted to write an original, even if it was just for me. My best friend showed me there was amazing MM romances on Amazon and once I read my first omegaverse novel, I was absolutely hooked and knew I wanted to write books too.
What inspired you to start writing?
I started writing because of fandom and fanfiction. Without that community I’m not sure I’d be here writing books right now. Super big shoutout to Charlie for always pushing me to write and encouraging me and reading my drafts when I’m positive they’re trash. XD Without her and the other friends I’ve made over the years in fandom, I wouldn’t be the writer I am right now.
What’s your writing process like? Do you have a typical “writing day”?
I try to write whenever Lil Wise gives me a moment of quiet during the day. And then every night I get two hours in my office to write and do admin work. I usually play some music to get in the zone but other than that, I don’t really have much of a process.
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters?
I usually get a vague overall plot and then I need to come up with the characters that fit into the world I want to write.
What’s a book that you wish you’d written?
I honestly can’t think of one. There’s something so wonderful about sitting down and reading your favorite book and I don’t think I would have that same enjoyment if I had been the one to write it.
If you could only write one trope for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I know this is a cop out but I’m going with it anyway; Omegaverse! There’s just so many things you can do with that one trope. You can do fun shifter pairings, you get to write mpreg, you can write fun heat/rut sex. And no matter what combo you come up with, you’ll never write the same story twice because there’s such a wide variety to play with.
What would be your three desert island books?
The Bane Chronicles, Alpha’s Mates by Susi Hawke, and Starting from Scratch by Jay Northcote.
If one of your books could be made into a movie/TV series, which would you choose and who would you cast?
Oof, this is SUCH a hard question omg. I’d love to have A Collection of Strays as a TV sitcom comedy type show where you get to see all these different shifters find their mates and fall in love while being wacky and goofy together. Cameron would be played by Andy Black and he would be a HILARIOUS little shit right up until Future Cameron becomes Present Cameron and he has to deal with his shit.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Do you have a secret passion or hobby that we don’t know about?
When I’m not writing I’m a full time parent. So lots of arts and crafts, lots of reading the same exact book over and over and over again, lots of walks where we get distracted by every noise and insect we find ;D
The things I do just for me are crocheting and doing thing with fandom either on tumblr or discord.
Finally, what’s your favourite dinosaur?
The dinosaur from Meet the Robinsons who yells ‘I have a big head and little arms!’
TOBY WISE is a stay at home parent who hails from a small town in Wisconsin. They grew up loving to write but fell away from their passion once they became an adult. Thankfully, the world of fanfiction drew them back, forcing them to write about a pair of idiots falling in love (and sometimes engaging in acts of debauchery). As they started up their journey of writing once more, they realized there were a plethora of characters in their head that needed their story told, birthing ‘A Collection of Strays’.
When Toby isn’t writing fanfiction or original books, they’re likely chugging coffee and shaking their head at their kiddo.
Toby can be found on Facebook, and Patreon. You can also join their Facebook reader group, Toby’s Wiseasses, and sign up for their newsletter.
