Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Andy Siege. I was born in Kenya and have lived in Tanzania, Canada, and Germany. I am schizophrenic and I am part of the LGBTQ community. I have a Masters in Political Science and used to be a successful filmmaker. Nowadays I am pursuing my career as an Author! I love writing more than anything, and it is also therapeutic for me. I find that I am extremely lucky, that something which does me good, is enjoyed by my readers too.
What would people be most surprised to know about you?
Probably that I struggle with my mental illness daily. You wouldn’t know it when reading my books, but yes.
Do you have a favorite quote (either from your own books or one’s you’ve read)?
“And now that you don’t need to be perfect, you can be good.” By Steinbeck.
How long have you been writing and what made you fall in love with writing?
When I was a very small child, I used to always say that I want to be a film director, a cowboy, and an Author. Well I’ve been a film director, now I’m an author, and someday I’ll probably become a cowboy too. I actually published my first short story in a children’s magazine in Germany called “Der Bunte Hund” when I was thirteen years old.
Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes.
What are your ambitions for your writing career?
Although I do secretly hope to someday write a bestseller, my main ambition is to just keep going. Writing isn’t just the most fun thing I’ve ever done, it is also incredibly good for my psyche. The most important thing for me, is to just keep writing, keep producing work, keep communicating with my audience.
What’s your favorite part of writing?
My favorite part of writing is when I’m lost in a trance. In those moments I’m dreaming and writing at the same time, and the words just flow like music. It’s an incredible experience.
Tell us about your writing style.
Because most schizophrenics have a very hard time communicating and writing, I focus a lot on writing in a simple way. I really want people to understand what I’m trying to communicate. That is why I generally write in short sentences with simple vocabulary.
What does your writing process look like?
I write at least five hundred words daily. After my morning coffee I write about two hundred and fifty words. Then I go to a café for my lunch and to meet with friends. And then in the afternoon I write another two hundred and fifty words. In the evening I generally go over what I have written and edit. I enjoy editing while writing because it means that you don’t have to edit as much once the book is completed.
When/where is your favorite time/place to write?
I love writing at home, on my couch or even in my bed.
Why did you choose to write LGBT romance/fiction?
I find queer relationships much more romantic than heterosexual relationships. With queer love, there are always inherent obstacles that heterosexual people just don’t have to deal with. You have societal pressures, religious pressure, etc.
Do you write any other genre?
Sometimes I do write other genres. Because of my varied and international background, I have many life experiences. I have written a few literary novels in which I focus on those experiences. For example, I have one novel called “Rastaman” about a Rastafarian in Ethiopia. I wrote this novel because I spent a lot of time amongst the Rasta there, and already had a lot of research done.
Give the readers a brief summary of your latest book or WIP. What genre does it fall in?
My current WIP is a queer scifi trilogy called “The Biopunk Trilogy”. I don’t want to spoiler too much, but it’s about queer characters on Mars! The trilogy is very dramatic. I’m about halfway through writing the second book.
Give us a little insight into your main characters. Who are they?
My main characters are racially diverse, neurodivergent characters of marginalised orientations and gender alignments. I write these characters because of my own diverse background. Trying to keep all of my identities under one single hat is difficult, and writing helps.
Which actor would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Willem Dafoe did a great Vincent Van Gogh in a recent film. I think he’d be great again!
What hobbies do you have outside of writing?
I spend a lot of time in cafes, drinking coffee and watching people. In my neighborhood I’m known as “the writer” and I have a lot of acquaintances who often sit with me. I talk to these people and get lots of inspiration from them.
THANK YOU
Book Title: VINNY
Author: Andy Siege
Publisher: UpLit Press
Release Date: July 2, 2024
Pairing: MM, MF, MT
Tense/POV: A mix of tenses: first/third/present/past/single
Genres: Sci-Fi/Futuristic/Dystopian
Tropes: Forbidden love, friends to lovers
Themes: Coming out, bisexual awakening, trans awakening
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 40 000 words/180 pages
It is a standalone book in the DIVERGENCY SERIES
and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Blurb
1888: A young prostitute opens a gift from a painter and discovers van Gogh’s bloody ear.
2042: The inventor of gene-tweaking buys a desiccated ear which he believes holds the key to bottling human genius.
Vinny lives on an isolated island and paints. Scientists watch him, waiting to see if his artistic genius or his latent schizophrenia will manifest first. He’s been cloned to be an artist; he’s surrounded only by things that stimulate his art. Until he discovers rock and roll…
The island is full of secrets. Vinny is hiding a guitar cut out of paper. His surrogate parents are hiding their anger and shame. And in an underground lab lurks a far more dangerous secret, a warped, wrathful angel that longs for freedom.
As these secrets explode into the public eye, Vinny must discover what it means to be true to himself when he’s been born to be someone else.
The painting van Gogh was working on depicted a group of prisoners walking in a circle around an oppressive prison yard. In the center of the painting was a convict that resembled van Gogh himself, and Peyron figured that the artist was expressing his own feelings of claustrophobia inside the asylum. The work was dominated by depressing tones of blue and green with splashes of red on some of the bricks that enclosed the prisoners.
Peyron cleared his throat. “Monsieur van Gogh.”
The artist jumped a little at the noise, but then kept painting. “You almost made me misplace a line, Doc.”
“I apologize. Were you not able to sleep?”
Van Gogh shook his head. “Not before finishing.”
“Does painting help you?”
Van Gogh turned around slowly and smiled. “It does.”
“How does it help?”
The artist scratched his red beard with a paint-speckled hand. “When I don’t paint, I worry about delusional things. But when I paint, I worry about the next drop of color. In this way my mind is occupied with logic when I paint.”
Peyron nodded. “Thank you for putting it so well.”
“Why are you awake, Doc?”
“I dreamed something that upset me.”
Van Gogh took a sip of water from a metal cup, spilling some of it onto his chest. He was wearing an open shirt and the droplets ran down across his belly, dampening the top of his pants. The painter had put on a little weight since coming to the asylum. A sign of increased health. Peyron also noticed himself getting aroused. Not a good sign under these circumstances.
“I, um… I should go back upstairs,” the doc stammered.
“No. Stay.” Van Gogh scratched himself just above his left nipple. “I’m a bit lonely.”
The doc’s eyes lit up. He had been waiting for a sign from the painter and here was a sign. Peyron swallowed hard and then took a step forward. Van Gogh mirrored him and also stepped closer. The doc lifted his right hand and placed it on the painter’s chest. Van Gogh took the hand in his and their fingers entwined. Then the painter pulled Peyron towards him and the men kissed. Peyron could feel van Gogh’s stubble against his own clean-shaven face.
Suddenly the painter pulled away. “No. I… I can’t do this.”
“But… why?”
“I’m not a pervert.”
“Neither am I.”
“Other people, all of them, they don’t understand.”
Peyron remembered the crowd at the dock in Marseille. “I know.” He turned and walked away.
Andy Siege born as Andreas Madjid Siege in Kenya in 1985 is an award-winning film director and writer. His debut feature film “Beti and Amare” which he wrote and directed was nominated for multiple high-profile international film awards. He has a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Political Science. Andy Siege is also neurologically divergent and a member of the LGBTQ community.
Author Link
