Let’s start with the heart of "The Omen Girl." The story blends competition, identity, and survival in a world where secrets can kill. What inspired Sozo’s journey, and how did you find the balance between fantasy adventure and emotional truth?

I started with the heart, as the question suggests. Worlds and magic and adventure gets the heart pumping, but the actual heart that does the pumping are the characters — the relationships between them, their struggles, their hopes and dreams, their fears and doubts. I started with that, then built out from there.

Your book began on Wattpad, where it drew over 100,000 readers and won a Watty Award. How did the online community shape your voice as a writer, and what lessons did you take from that experience into traditional publishing?

I think there’s a fine line between staying true to your voice and your vision, while also taking into account what the audience are wanting or expecting. Posting online definitely hones that skill! Through the Watty Award specifically, I was able to meet so many incredible souls — fans, friends, editors. I got to meet a writer friend in real life at New York Comic Con through our Watty connection and have formed lasting connections with editors at traditional publishing houses such as Penguin Random House.

At its core, Sozo’s story is about hiding who you are to fit in. Why do you think that theme resonates so strongly with young readers today and how did you approach writing a heroine who embodies both power and fear?

Growing up, I remember so distinctly fear being a constant companion — fear that people would figure out how scared I am, how lost I am, how uninteresting I am, and that I would be unmade for it, abandoned for it. And I think that’s a fear that everyone experiences at one point or another, regardless of age. On a deeper level, because I had gone through something of a social cataclysm (yada yada escaped a cult, didn’t realize I was part of a cult, believed I was a monster for many years because of said cult), one burning question had been branded into this story as I wrote it: Can monsters be forgiven? Should monsters receive love? Can monsters ever stop being monsters? (Very Kpop Demon Hunters coded!)

I think, ultimately, I was seeking redemption. I didn’t want to be a monster, even though everyone I loved at the time told me I was one. How do I reconcile that? How do I reconcile loving myself when I begin to believe the voices that say I am a monster? I don’t know if this particular train of thought is one that people often have (laughs), but at the end of the day, I needed to explore the idea of love for the unlovable not only for my own sake, but also for the sake of honouring the people who loved me through that time and stayed with me despite everything.

Comic Con is such an exciting stop on your debut journey! What were you most looking forward to about connecting with readers in person at NYCC, and how does it feel to celebrate this milestone surrounded by fandom energy?

Honestly, I was just terrified the entire time, haha! It was my very first time at a signing, and I didn’t want to let anyone down. At the same time, I didn’t feel like I particularly deserved to be there — I just wrote a book that I loved that doubled as a therapy session for myself. But looking back, it was an exhilarating, magical time. Wattpad and WEBTOON are incredible for supplying these opportunities, and it’s all made possible by the passionate fans.

"The Omen Girl" explores destiny, sacrifice, and found family. If you were granted one wish in Sozo’s world, what would you choose and how might that wish would reflect your outlook as a storyteller?

Oh, this is a tough one! The boring but realistic answer would be financial stability. There’s a very real future where I might not be able to write anymore, and that always terrifies and grieves me. The more fun answer would be: to get to fly with my own bonded star!