Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey guys, my name is Faith Twardzik! I’ve written five full novels so far, and “The Hummingbird’s Sayang” is my self-publishing debut. I’m a Los Angeles-based author and freelance copywriter. After earning a degree in Computer Science and Linguistics from UCLA, I decided to cast off the norm of getting that depressing 9-to-5 and instead pursue my lifelong dream of writing full-time. I built up my own business as a copywriter for notable entrepreneurs, CEO’s, coaches, and companies. With five novels already under my belt, I took a leap into the publishing world, finally publishing my debut novel, “The Hummingbird’s Sayang” in January of 2022, at the age of 22.
“The Hummingbird’s Sayang” is my latest novel, surrounding the trials and tribulations of Sara, a hopelessly shy girl from the Midwest, whose heart is torn in half after a destructive first love. She turns to the aloof Fuad, an Arab Dom from Dubai who readers have called “the epitome of a true dominant,” learning to embrace her own submissive identity along the way. She embarks on a journey of self-discovery, falling in lust with three other men and one woman, while coming to terms with the sometimes stark, unbearable, and toxic realities of validation seeking, the Sub psyche, and true obsession.
I’m currently writing a sequel, and I plan on publishing it this year as well, along with my other four novels. When I’m not writing, I’m voraciously consuming donuts, helping other authors learn the ropes of self-publishing, and going to the gym to build that elusive bubble butt.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is “The Hummingbird’s Sayang.” It was originally inspired by what happened in my life during my sophomore and junior years of college, in which I had my heart broken by said Vietnamese car salesman and met my black-eyed Arab Dom (can’t tell you if we’re still together or not – that would ruin book two!). But, after re-reading the events in the book when I was preparing to publish it, I realized it was much too personal to publish as a memoir – think of what my family would say! Instead, I fictionalized parts of the book and decided to publish it as a dark psychological romance, which it most definitely is!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, this is an interesting one! The first book that I ever wrote, I wrote ENTIRELY on my phone, on the Pages app. Yep, I wrote a 120,000-word adult sci-fi novel using only my thumbs. If that’s not the dumbest, most inefficient, and unconventional past writing habit … I don’t know what is!
Oh, and I wrote most of “The Hummingbird’s Sayang” outside of my apartment on the third-story balcony, overlooking UCLA’s botanical gardens. You might be thinking, “wow, that’s super nice!” And in a way it was, but what wasn’t nice was the bus stop that was RIGHT outside of my window and the robotic bus voice that kept yelling out street names all night, even at 3 o’clock in the morning, which was when I would usually be writing. (And if you’re wondering if it was cold out there, it most definitely was! But we do it for the gains!).
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first author who influenced me was J.K. Rowling, of course. I read the Harry Potter series in second grade, and instantly I knew that I wanted to be an author just like J.K. Rowling (okay, not JUST like her) when I grew up. I started writing stories about little witches named Barry who were whisked off to magical castles by Bagrid’s. It wasn’t until a few years later that I started writing true fiction, and then it was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (for the gorgeous writing) and Fifty Shades of Grey (because we NEED a better mainstream BDSM book than that, come on, guys!) that influenced me to write these books!
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on three projects – I’m writing the sequel to “The Hummingbird’s Sayang,” I’m writing a YA queer fantasy novel about a girl whose temperament turns her into a SkyBreaker, the universe’s version of a pandemic – someone who inadvertently opens up population-killing cracks in the universe by traveling through different dimensions. I’m also working on publishing “Beneath Perseus, January’s Dandelion Grows,” a YA queer novel about an incredibly genius high school girl whose sights are fixated on the Ivy Leagues and only the Ivy Leagues – and then meets a gorgeous, rough-around-the-edges girl who just moved in from the city, January, who introduces her to life and love and debauchery as she’s never experienced it before!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I do most of my marketing on Instagram and TikTok, because I’ve found that it’s easiest to grow a loyal following there and be able to interact with your followers constantly!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Oh yes. Tons of it! I wish I could write you a book with everything I’ve learned and all of the mistakes I’ve made, and someday perhaps I will! The biggest pieces of advice I can give you are: 1) Never stop writing, EVEN if you are consistently working on your books. What does that mean? Well, even if you’re querying literary agents, even if you’re self-publishing one of your books, even if you’re marketing a book write now, it doesn’t matter. That doesn’t count! You need to be WRITING all of the time, consistently. Never lose sight of your passion. Never lose sight of what got you to where you are today – writing. Not marketing, not social media posts, not promo sites, not literary agents. You, writing.
My second piece of advice – don’t be afraid to self-publish! I know there’s a stigma surrounding it, and you don’t want to be lumped in with those authors that make not-so-professional-looking covers and write books that are fit for the vocab of a first-grader, but self-publishing is so much more than that. The possibilities are endless, and you have complete control over your book. It’s also SO MUCH quicker than the traditional route, which takes an average of 5 years to publish a book. So take the plunge, if you have what it takes!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Failure to plan is planning to fail.
Someone very near and dear to my heart told me this recently, and I won’t forget it. If you don’t have a plan, you’re zig-zagging. You COULD be reaching a goal in one, quick straight line, but without a plan, you’re wafering around and your execution will undoubtedly fail. Take the time to plan meticulously before you go headfirst into anything. This goes for writing a book, for marketing, for cover design, for publishing, etc. It is imperative for EVERYTHING that you do. Succeeding in planning is planning to succeed!
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover. I haven’t gotten too far yet, but let me just say – the first scene already had me on the edge of my seat, apprehensive about their future.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing! I’ve been focusing solely on self-publishing my debut, working so hard to learn and apply all the ins-and-outs of the self-publishing world that I haven’t had much time to focus on writing in the past few weeks. Now that it’s almost launch time, my plan is to dive headfirst back into writing to start mass-producing more of the books that you guys love.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The first book would be “Letting Go” by David Hawkins. This is a life-changing book. It changed my life, saved my relationship, and saved my life. It taught me how to disassociate from the evils of the ego and fully control my urges toward despair, anger, and anxiety. All of the negative emotions I was feeling on a daily basis were wiped clean because of the lessons I learned in that book.
I’d also bring “Call Me By Your Name,” because that is objectively my favorite fiction novel of all time. Andre Aciman is a genius of epic proportions, and this book had me bawling my eyes out after reading it all in one sitting, for 12 hours straight.
And for the third book, I’d probably bring Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is one of those books that messes with your mind, and is so utterly depressing that it’s physically difficult to get through the book without feeling so uneasy and so utterly uncomfortable that you wish the book would just stop right there so the torture would end. Nonetheless, it’s a breathtaking book.
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