An Interview with H. Z. Payne

H. Z. Payne is a debut author residing in the southeast of England with her partner and nine reptile children. She loves green tea, weight training, reading, and writing. When she isn’t writing, she works as a research psychologist with a background in health psychology. Key inspirations for her work include Victoria Aveyard, Sarah J Maas, Rick Riordan, Veronica Roth, Leigh Bardugo, and Beth O’Leary, to name a few.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I adored reading, and as soon as I could pick up a pen I took to writing stories. I bled onto the paper, being an undiagnosed autistic throughout my educational years was incredibly challenging and so I sought comfort in different worlds and characters. Characters understood me, I could understand them. I read the likes of Jaqueline Wilson (scarred for life from some of her novels), Enid Blyton, and then I moved onto fantasy novels by the likes of Cassandra Clare, Terry Pratchett, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins and Laini Taylor. It was the most beautiful nose dive into the arts and I have never resurfaced.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

Chances was conjured in a time of turbulence for me, I didn’t fit in at college and university was looming on the horizon. So unsurprisingly I became an ostrich and buried my head in the sand. Marvel films had introduced me to Norse Mythology and I could not help but look further into it, particularly the character of Loki. A hyper-fixation was born.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Chances came very naturally to me, the story covers both Freya’s and Loki’s shot at redemption and a second chance and so the title came about. Nothing ever really came to mind after that. The manuscript was called ‘Project Horns’ on my laptop, which was a nod to Loki in the Marvel films.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Oh, I have a whole Spotify playlist just for this: listen here! Think Lana Del Ray, Ruelle, Adele, The Neighbourhood—dark and passionate music. Key songs during my writing process were “Love in the Dark” by Adele, “Grovel” by April Jai, “Me and the Devil” by Soap&Skin, and “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush.

Describe your dream book cover.

Ohhh, now this is such a difficult one! I adore the bold fonts with an image in the background that seems to be the current trend. Think Throne of Glass, Powerless, etc… I love foiling on a front cover (along with a sprayed edge). Bright and bold.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

So I have been a swimming teacher, various retail assistants, supermarket assistant, events steward for Wimbledon and football matches. I have studied psychology and specialise in health psychology and am currently undertaking training to be a chartered health psychologist. My readers wouldn’t know that I own nine reptiles including snakes, skinks (bonus points if you know what that is), and geckos. I read One Day about ten years ago so it’s nice to finally have people who understand the pain that book caused me.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

My usual reading rota is fantasy, romance, fantasy, etc… I read a lot of Sarah J Maas and Beth O’Leary. My comfort read is One Day by David Nicholls (yes, I may be a masochist). The main thing for me when writing is to read writing in the same tense and person as my writing.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I don’t have a vision of a perfect reader, there is no such thing as perfect but I hope the book can bring my reader respite from their life and bring them laughter and maybe a few tears. As for takeaways, as my acknowledgment says, I want those who are neurodivergent to know that it is possible to publish your work, to write literature and make writing your craft. Take the leap! I also hope that Chances helps readers emphathise more with one another.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.