An Interview with Alice Oseman
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Photo by Stavrialena Gontzou on Unsplash
Alice Oseman is one of my favourite authors. For those of you who are new to her work, Alice is a brilliant UKYA writer, with four published novels to her name and one fantastic webcomic, Heartstopper. Naturally, I’ve been super excited to read her brand new book, Loveless, and jumped at the chance to find out more about her latest cast of characters.
I took to Instagram and asked you guys to submit some questions for Alice all about Loveless; thanks so much to everyone who submitted a question, there were loads of great ones and I selected the best to feature as part of this interview.
Curious? Read on to find out more about the book, and what inspired Alice to write about asexuality.
Hi Alice! Thanks so much for speaking to me today. So, first things first, what’s Loveless all about?
Loveless is the story of Georgia Warr, an eighteen-year-old girl just starting her first year at Durham University. She's romance-obsessed, loves fanfiction and weddings and happily-ever-afters, but she's never been in love herself... or even had a crush. Upon arriving at university, she decides that she's going to finally fall in love and find the one - everyone does, right? But instead, she ends up embarking on a journey of sexuality, and over the course of the story comes to discover and accept her identity as aromantic asexual.
When did you first hear about asexuality?
Probably not until I was at university, aged eighteen or nineteen. I saw it mentioned online sometimes, but it took a long time for me to truly understand what it meant, or that it even applied to me.
Does Georgia’s experience of being on the aro/ace spectrum reflect your own?
It does! One of the reasons I wanted to write Loveless was because although I'd read several books that featured aro and ace characters, the feelings and experiences in those books weren't things I could particularly relate to. The aro and ace spectrums are so vast, people can have all sorts of different experiences and feelings about things like sex, romance, and intimacy. So I decided to write a book that reflected my own experiences and feelings about being aro-ace.
As this book is so personal to you, was it harder to write?
Definitely. It was very hard to write because I had to unpack a lot of really dark feelings and things that I'd gone through when I was younger and didn't understand my sexuality. Having to wallow in those dark feelings, while also trying to write them with a hopeful spin, was very hard. I didn't want to make the story too miserable, even though my experiences with my sexuality have caused me a lot of pain, but I also didn't want to shy away from the dark stuff. But hopefully I found a good balance!
Are there going to be any cameos from your other books?
No cameos this time, sadly - none of the characters from my other books would be in Durham (where Loveless is set) at the time of the story. But there are a couple of sneaky references to Radio Silence and I Was Born for This, if you want to look out for them!
What do you hope that aro/ace youth will take away from Loveless?
It's okay to feel conflicted and confused about your identity, and it's okay to take time in working it out. I struggled a lot when I was younger because all the asexuals I saw online were so sure of who they were - so happy and confident and proud! And the fact that I didn't (yet) feel like that made me feel even worse about it all. I think most people can understand that people who are gay, bi, and pan have a time in their lives where they're confused and unsure about their identity while they're figuring things out, and maybe having to unpack some internalised self-hate. I wanted to let asexuals and aromantics know that it's very understandable to feel those things too - coming to terms with being asexual and/or aromantic can also be hard!
What are some of your favourite books with ace rep?
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman is my all-time fave book with aro/ace rep! While it's not a book about being aro/ace, it does feature a narrator who is figuring out whether she might be on the aro/ace spectrums.
And lastly, what are some fun facts about the characters from your new book?
Georgia hates tea, Rooney has a house plant named Roderick, Pip always got a lead role in her school's musicals, Jason loves the live action Scooby-Doo movies, and Sunil plays the cello.
Wildcard questions
Which of your characters do you see yourself in the most?
Georgia from Loveless and Aled from Radio Silence.
Do you outline your stories before you write them?
Always! I can't write a story unless I've planned it first.
Are there any pansexual characters in your books?
Yes! Rooney from Loveless figures out that she is pansexual in the course of the book. I also feel that Michael from Solitaire is pansexual - there are a couple of instances in Solitaire that suggest he is attracted to people rather than gender - but when I wrote Solitaire in 2012, I'd never even heard the word 'pansexual', so it's not definitively canon!
Do you have any advice for aspiring webcomic creators?
Practising your style and preparing to launch a webcomic is great, but sometimes people feel like they need to wait until their art is perfect before they could start a webcomic. Don't wait!! Webcomics are a huge undertaking and are usually multi-year projects. Start as soon as you can! If your art changes as you go along (mine did, a lot!) it's just a sign that you're improving.
Do you have a favourite Heartstopper volume?
Wow... that's so tough! I like all of them for different reasons - Vol 1 because it began the journey, Vol 2 because I loved seeing Nick figure himself out, and Vol 3 because it's full of such queer teen joy. So... I guess I don't have a favourite!
A huge thank you to Alice for taking the time to answer our burning questions about Loveless! Do make sure that you pick up a copy for yourself, as it’s out now and available to purchase online and in all good bookshops.
Happy reading!
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