Author Spotlight: Leona Storey
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Leona Storey (yes, that is her real name, thank you very much!) grew up within a small village in the heart of England. She wrote her first story when she was just seven years old and very kindly asked if her dad could publish it for her. For obvious reasons, this didn’t happen, but she never lost her zest for reading and writing. Graduating with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Roehampton in 2018, she went on to do an MA in the same discipline at the University of Manchester. She published her first novel, Pride, with an independent press within the U.K. in 2020.
TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR PRIDE: homophobia, gun violence, general violence, self-harm, mental health
Q&A
Introduce yourself!
Hi! My name’s Leona Storey (perfect name for a writer, I know). I graduated from a BA in Creative Writing at the University of Roehampton in 2018, and I’m now completing an MA in the same discipline at the University of Manchester. I mostly like to write within contemporary settings, tackling modern day issues.
I’ve been vegetarian for over six years now and I am a huge animal lover. Especially cats. I obviously love writing, but I also adore reading. I can’t go anywhere without a book in my backpack. I mostly read YA, but lately I’ve been branching out into contemporary and popular literary fiction.
What do you like most about writing?
Writing is cathartic. It allows me to express my discomfort within the world in a safe space. There are so many difficult things within society, and I could never unpack all of them, but writing allows me to make a change in my own way. I’m not much of a public speaker, and I’m very introverted. Politics was never something I could enter into… but writing? Writing is the way I can tell the world what I think is wrong, and what I think we, as a society, should change.
Within PRIDE, I show the difficulties of homophobia, both externally and internally. The political landscape of LGBTQIA+ rights is on shaky ground, and while there has been so much progress, there is still so much to do. PRIDE allowed me to show one girls story of how homophobia can affect an LGBTQIA+ person. It’s a difficult book that I wouldn’t recommend to everyone (strange to say of my own book!), but it’s a topic that needs talking about, and that’s why I wrote it. Writing, to me, gives you the space to do those kinds of things, and enact a change you may not have been able to make elsewhere.
What is your writing routine like? When and how do you write?
I’ve written two novels now, so my routine is a little more defined than it once was! One thing I need to do when I write is plan. Like, a lot.
Like… whole notebooks full of planning have been done over my books. Messy, handwritten things that I swear, only I could understand! Big timelines and character pages full of information that sometimes never even sees the final pages of the novel. It’s crazy how much I plan, but it makes me feel incredibly secure.
Once I’ve done my planning, I start writing chapter by chapter and I do not stop. One thing I learnt during my BA was to not edit during the first draft process. This was something that used to hamper me so often: I’d start writing, and then I’d edit as I go. And then I’d never finish, because I couldn’t stop editing. So, I forced myself to stop editing and to just write. Get that first draft done, then worry about the rest. That’s my motto.
In terms of when I write, I honestly just pick whenever I feel like it. If I had more stable employment, I may be able to get into a really good routine, but as it is, my shifts are erratic and long. I write when I have the energy and the time.
What are some things that have influenced you and your writing?
I can’t remember not wanting to be a writer. One funny story I tell people is of the time when I was around seven or eight and I wrote a story out on my dad’s laptop. I printed it out, I drew little drawings along the side. I thought it was perfect, so I went downstairs and I held it out to him like it was a trophy. Then, I asked him if he could get it published for me.
Of course, being so young, I had no idea how it all worked. My dad just nodded and probably kept it in his desk somewhere, and I forgot all about it. But I never stopped writing and wanting to write.
I just accepted that I wanted to be a writer. And with that came lots of reading. As I got older, and I started reading more and more, I became inspired and influenced by the books I was consuming. I particularly loved Jandy Nelson’s mixture of narrative and poetry, and I would love to be able to emulate something of hers one day.
Could you tell us more about PRIDE and why it was an important story that you wanted to tell?
PRIDE follows the story of 17-year-old Lucy Brown who has just come out as a lesbian to all of her friends and family. She attends a pride festival with her best friend, Brittany, only to be attacked within homophobic hate crime. She suffers with PTSD from the event and struggles to understand and accept who she is afterwards.
The horrific events at Pulse, a gay club in Florida, was what started my idea for this novel. I was shocked at the homophobic violence, and it didn’t leave my mind. The deaths and the lives of the people followed me for weeks, and I wanted to tell the story of someone who survived something similar and how it would’ve affected them. It is an incredibly sensitive topic that I hope I handled with care.
Modern day homophobia is an important topic. Lucy’s story is fictional, but so many LGBTQIA+ people have suffered against homophobic comments and attacks. I wanted to let them know they aren’t alone.
At the beginning of PRIDE, Lucy is reluctant to attend a pride event and she struggles with fully embracing her identity and community. Have you ever attended a pride event and, if so, what do you like about them?
I have attended a couple of Pride events, but I’m pretty introverted so they can be slightly overwhelming! I spent most of my time at the events with a small group of friends watching the festivities from slightly afar. I remember sitting on some stairs near Trafalgar Square, seeing a sea of rainbow flags and having my heart swell at the sight. It is amazing, seeing the sheer mass of the community’s pride.
One thing that struck me, though, is the homophobia on the sidelines. People with signs and megaphones repeating homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. That is something that stuck with me after leaving the events, and something that also inspired the idea of PRIDE. While it was affirming to see confident members of the LGBTQIA+ community shouting back, or singing over them, it still stuck with me after the event.
The front cover contains the line “you can’t run from who you are”, why did you want this to be prominent in the book’s marketing?
Mainly because of Lucy’s story and character arc: she both figuratively and mentally runs away from who she is (in this case, she identifies as a lesbian).
What other things do you like to do besides writing?
Aside from reading, which I consider to basically be the twin to writing, I really enjoy video games. My favourites are Minecraft (oh, the hundreds upon hundreds of hours I’ve sunk into that game!), Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. I also like to dabble a little with music, mostly the ukulele and the piano.
Tell us about a book that is important to you.
Ooh, gosh this is a tough one. There are so many.
In terms of YA, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is a novel that has stuck with me years after finishing it. I love the meld between poetry and narrative, and the physical aspect of handwriting. Honestly, that book in the UK hardback edition is the best money you’ll ever spend. It’s a whole experience. I also love The Hunger Games, as typical of an answer that is. The trilogy got me through some really tough times as a teenager.
In terms of contemporary fiction, I’ve recently loved Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (seriously, what a talented writer!) and If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha. Novels that show strong female characters are always a win for me!
Anything else you want to share?
Just a big thanks for this opportunity, and a big thanks to anyone who reads this! It means so, so much. ❤
Buy PRIDE!
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