📚 A Bookish Chat with 'Crown of Blooms' R.C. Dickens | Author Interview | #AuthorInterview

Today we welcome R.C. Dickens to The Writer's Life e-Magazine! R.C. is the author of the new coming of age literary fiction novel, Crown of Blooms. This interview is part of his Blog Tour by Pump Up Your Book. Enjoy!

R.C. Dickens is the pen name of Juniper Ray, a black, queer writer, choreographer, teacher’s assistant and disaster living in Appalachia with big dreams of escaping out to the West Coast. Along with their debut novel, Crown of Blooms, they have worked as a ghostwriter for several years and have published several short stories. In 2023, Juniper won the Webby Award for Best Single Episode of a Podcast for their appearance on Snap Judgement. When they aren’t writing (which is rarely) Juniper enjoys dancing, singing, anime, cosplay and generally being a menace to the general public.

Website & Social Media:

Website ➜ https://rcdickens.wixsite.com/website

Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRCDickens

Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/rcdickens_author

Crown of Blooms offers gritty, romantic, realistic and emotional. Which of these traits were the most fun for you to write?

I love romance. I love love, yearning, holding hands, self discovery, all of it. The romantic elements I feel were not only my favorite part to write, but the backbone of the story. If the core romance doesn’t make sense, the whole story falls apart. I had a great time crafting this sweet, boyhood romance full of firsts, stolen glances, confusing feelings and butterflies. In many ways it was healing as someone who didn’t get to have those experiences myself. It was also very cathartic writing the more emotional scenes and I really enjoyed being able to work through my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences through this book.

Which of the characters from Crown of Blooms do you most closely identify with and why?

Kayden represents a lot of who I was as a kid. Uncertain, sweet, empathetic, spiritually and sexually confused. Kayden has a complicated relationship with his masculinity, which I heavily relate to as a transmasc person. Writing his story of boyhood helped me make sense of my own youth in many ways.

What do you think sets Crown of Blooms apart from other books of the same genre?

I think Crown of Blooms takes a much blunter approach to the realities of being a teenager in a restrictive environment. Crown of Blooms discusses topics like puberty, sexuality, masturbation, abuse, self-harm and spiritual development with a very realistic, embodied perspective as much of it comes from my lived experience. Not many books critically tackle this particular culture of evangelical Christianity, I think because it remains so powerful in our culture. It also cannot be overstated about how important it is to have YA and NA books that feature queer protagonists and black protagonists. This is not only important for building the confidence and sense of self in queer and POC readers, but in building empathy in non queer and POC readers. I think this book is uniquely suited for that goal.

Surprise me. What is something that happens in the book that would make my mouth drop without giving too much away?

Kayden’s twin sister, Delilah, is everything he isn’t. Spiritually gifted, religious, devout, confident, bold, favored by their father. Still, the two are uniquely close. However, Delilah does something to Kayden and you can argue about her motivation but you can’t argue about the effect it has on her brother, the person she shared a womb with. I won’t give too much away but I will say her name is an indicator of her character.

Who is your favorite literary fiction or coming of age author?

Ellen Hopkins writes some of the most compelling, interesting, sometimes bizarre, creative, poetic YA novels I have ever read. I cannot overstate her impact on my writing and I hope it shows in Crown of Blooms.

Do you think writing a coming of age novel is more complex than writing books of other genres?

I don’t necessarily think so. Rather, I think each genre comes with its own complexities. There are struggles that come with writing about young people for young people. You want to be honest while also promoting positive ideals. You want to push them toward maturity without undermining their innocence. You want to stimulate them without promoting escapism from the real world. It’s a tightrope but no more than any other genre.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on the sequels Crown of Thorns and Crown of Roses. If you’re interested in beta reading, please get in contact with me at rcdickensauthor@gmail.com or anywhere else you can find me online. If you’d like to see more of my work, check out my linktr.ee/RCDickens. I write in several genres including romance, horror, fantasy, literary fiction, and academic non-fiction. I’m still a beginning writer so every bit of support helps.