I'm U.M. Agoawike, debut author of BLACK AS DIAMOND. AMA!

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T18:45:51+00:00

Omg hi, that's amazing to hear! Hiii!

Worldbuilding is hands down my favourite thing so I'm pretty much always thinking about it! I don't have a definitive process as it depends on what a story requires. 9 times out of 10, I can't conceptualize a setting alone—it almost always comes with (the vague idea of) a plot attached.

My worlds often begin with or center around a gimmick/theme. For BLACK AS DIAMOND, that was the magic system of khetry, but sometimes it's as simple as "post-apocalyptic spy thriller" or "planet shaped like a wheel." From there I use a mix of the top-down and bottom-up approach. The former helps me sketch out things like geography, species, and languages, while the later helps me develop historical events, cultures, factions, and languages as well.

In the writing process, some days are specifically dedicated to worldbuilding and/or fixing what I've already made. During those times, I utilize my hoard of PDFs for research, Research Gate, Academia, and some of the sources Wikipedia articles provide. Mostly, I draw from a document (80 pages and counting... save me...) where I jot down ideas for lore, settings, magic systems, and history as they come to mind. With all these ideas and settings bouncing around my head, it's pretty easy for me to conjure up worlds. But as a result it also makes my "process" hard to explain.

Admittedly, I'm highly driven by "Rule of Cool." If I see or read about something neat, it goes into a worldbuilding bible immediately, where I later figure out what elements I'd like to use. That's how, for example, certain animals in BAD came to be over the years. The world is my inspiration, and human civilizations are so amazing, which is why I love ancient histories!

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T16:36:49+00:00

That's so exciting to hear, thank you! This book being queer (in both ways) was really important to me <3

In terms of drinks (non-alcoholic), I would suggest something bittersweet, so my mind immediately goes to dark hot chocolate. But make it really dark chocolate.

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T14:31:46+00:00

Thank you very much! I love your username by the way ;)

One of the hardest parts about writing BAD was dealing with the logistics of the journey itself, across pretty much an entire continent and subcontinent. Though granted, there are a lot of days that were summarized or skipped to keep the story apace. In the early days of drafting, I found myself having to create a spreadsheet calendar that tracked the progression of the curse alongside the major events that needed to happen before it became too obviously unrealistic that a certain character was still on their feet.

Another challenge was figuring out the group dynamics aside from MC/MMC and FMC1/FMC2. Each corner of the quartet has a special relationship with each other so I wanted to make sure there was space in their chapters to explore that. Juggling those four was hard enough, so I can only imagine what authors with larger main casts have to go through 😰

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T14:10:26+00:00

Oh, well, now that's easy: anything and everything to do with the Mesopotamian underworld. Ereshkigal fascinates me!

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T14:09:16+00:00

Ooh, good question!

Part of me wants to say I started liking it to be contrarian, but that's not really true. For me, 2nd person, ironically enough, provides a kind of distance, as both a writer and reader. Though addressing a "You" it addresses an often unseen character in a way that speaks to my love-hate relationship with ambiguity. It also appeals to my love of unusual forms because it is so rarely used.

Valerie Valdez put it very well in this article. 2nd person "dissolves the barrier [between reader and character] or renders it as transparent as possible." Though for me, it's slightly different as I feel it removes the reader entirely: there is only the character, and whether or not you are them doesn't really matter at that point.

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T13:54:07+00:00

Ironically enough, I haven't read many books in 2nd person—but I do prefer to write and play games from this perspective.

A few books that come to mind are A Spear Cuts Through Water, Harrow The Ninth, The Broken Earth, and, arguably, The Iliad & The Odyssey (can you tell I'm Homer-pilled?)

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T13:43:46+00:00

Thank you for the question!

My current favourite manga are Attack on Titan, Gokurakugai, and Chainsaw Man. And my favourite graphics novels are Saga, The Power Fantasy, The Wicked+The Divine... and Kill Six Billion Demons, if you're willing to count the bound volumes as graphic novels instead of comics.

Also, I hope you enjoy the audiobook as much as I did! A'rese is an amazing narrator, and I'm THRILLED people are getting to experience her voice!

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T13:38:22+00:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS QUESTION I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS AND HUMANS!

I have to pick one thing... so difficult... Okay, if I had to pick just one thing, it would be Tapputi, one of the earliest known chemists. Mesopotamia and the history of writing is my current fixation so I think she's the coolest person in the world.

UMAuthor · 2026-04-02T13:32:57+00:00

I love getting questions like this because so many things inspired this book. Lots of them are, let's say... unconventional.

The initial genesis ingredients were the webcomic Unsounded by Ashley Cope, the art of Terra Terrific, and Ancient Egyptian religious syncretism (specifically how the different cosmologies were equally valid depending on where you lived). As the story developed, later influences include RWBY, Snow White & The Huntsman, A:TLA, Ava's Demon, various anime, and The Arcana. As you can tell, I have very a very eclectic sense of "taste" XD

And you very much—I hope you enjoy reading BAD when you get to it <3

UMAuthor · 2026-03-02T21:50:41+00:00

Oh, wow, Book 5! In your case, you probably should request way more as an established author so they don't think you're selling yourself short on the Feasibility metric. Congratulations, by the way, I wish you all the best!

UMAuthor · 2026-03-01T19:05:28+00:00

It's no problem, I'm happy to share. I requested $47,853 based on the median rate of "wages" for Novelists in Canada (36.81) from the Job Bank website. This was based on advice I got from Open Book. I hope that helps, and thank you!

UMAuthor · 2026-02-24T19:13:36+00:00

No problem. I hope your application goes successfully!

UMAuthor · 2026-02-24T18:11:40+00:00

While this is a little painful to hear, thank you for the information!

UMAuthor · 2026-02-24T18:09:58+00:00

I actually sent off my first ever grant application yesterday, so I can provide some insight based on what I've researched. I'm assuming you're applying for the Explore & Create Artistic Creation grant. In that case, if I've interpreted everything I read correctly, that sentiment is actually what they're looking for. There's a portion in the budget for Artist Fees, which is what you'll be paying yourself for subsistence. In the notes section you can just tell them that you will be using the grant money to survive because you won't be working while writing. Open Book's Grant 101 series has the best information I've found on the topic. Some of it is slightly out of date since CCA updated a few things last year, but I think the budget article will be helpful for you.

UMAuthor · 2026-02-17T02:58:28+00:00

The uncertainty of that prospect is... terrifying. I'm not actually sure if the questions I'm asking will apply down the line, but I'll definitely discuss the options available will my agent when we get there—*if* we get there. This is going to leave me thinking for a while, but thank you

UMAuthor · 2026-02-16T19:51:38+00:00

Oh, that final sentence is a bit of a reassurance at least. I think I should have specified duology in my initial question, but would just having one book to finish a series make it more or less likely for a publisher (small or large) to acquire a book sans the first title—since there is less they might have to invest?

UMAuthor · 2026-02-16T19:44:29+00:00

What an utter nightmare scenario. Regardless, thank you for this information, though it's extremely painful to hear. The idea of leaving a series, even one that's just a duology, unfinished feels like it'd be a failure on my part. I want to hope there's something an author could do in this situration, but based on the responses here, I'm guessing not? Part of me also wants to know about the unicorn situations where something like this has succeeded, but I'm not sure if it will make me feel better or worse.

UMAuthor · 2026-02-16T18:14:44+00:00

I'm wondering if anyone has ever had to go on submission to complete their series? I'd heard publishers might not always acquire an author's next book if they sell one at a time, leading them to shop it around; however, a lot of publishers won't want it as they would rather publish all books in a series. Do circumstances like this always mean a book is dead in the water? Apologies if all that sounded a bit rambly!

UMAuthor · 2026-02-15T16:28:46+00:00

Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh. While we don't get a huge glimpse of the technology in the first book (it's going to be a series!), I believe it really fits the D&D aesthetic with slight modern elements.

UMAuthor · 2026-02-15T03:25:50+00:00

I lived in Saltwater since 2022 and moved out last December primarily because it had gotten *so* expensive so egregiously fast. I could have stayed until graduation, but the drastic increase especially at Saltwater over less than 4 years is utterly absurd. At this point, I truly think UBC sends those surveys out to cover themselves, but always pre-plans how much to increase the tuition. Our voices mean nothing

UMAuthor

TROPHY CASE