An Appearance by Aidan Ooi is shortlisted for the 2024 Author of Tomorrow Award, 16-21 Category. 

An Appearance: In places of supreme holiness lies a deep-rooted, great evil. 

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WNSF: What is your favourite book?

Aidan: Well, I don’t read as much as I used to, but the book that left the most significant impact on me was probably Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Not to forget any of the other Harry Potter books, Percy Jackson or the How to Train Your Dragon books; those were absolute childhood classics of mine.  

WNSF: Who is your favourite author? Or one who has inspired you and why?

Aidan: I don’t have a favourite author, but if I had to choose one, it'd probably be J.K. Rowling. Stephen King inspired most of An Appearance. At the time of writing, I was reading The Shining and his style influenced me into writing such a piece. I find that his style is both unique and intriguing; he’s definitely a master of the horror genre. 

WNSF: What is your favourite subject at school?

Aidan: I enjoy Biology as a subject (this may be a little prejudiced as I aspire to be a medical doctor in the future), but I also find Additional Mathematics quite interesting. Nothing beats cracking your head for 10 minutes at numbers and letters, then finding out you were right all along.  

WNSF: What does ‘adventure writing’ mean to you? Why did you choose to try your hand at an adventure story?

Aidan: Adventure writing is exactly what it is: writing about a character’s adventures and the obstacles they face. I’ve never really succeeded in constructing proper narrative stories without plot holes all over the place, but I suppose this is a first. I had a vision of my story before writing and when I opened my laptop plus a fresh document, it was almost as if the words were being typed out themselves. 

WNSF: If you could ask an author anything, what would you want to know?

Aidan: How do you cope with writer’s block and move on from it? And to mystery writers, I'd ask 'Do you have to be a criminal mastermind to be able to write a good mystery story?' 

WNSF: Who would you consider one of your heroes and why? 

Aidan: One person I look up to is Bruce Lee. Apart from him also being of Chinese descent, he was a wise person who had unwavering faith and determination. Not to mention, his martial arts skills are extremely cool 

WNSF: What is the most adventurous thing you would like to do, or place you would like to visit and why?

Aidan: I used to do indoor rock-climbing a few years ago, so perhaps I would revisit that extreme sport and challenge my physical limits. I’ve always been interested in it so that’s definitely something I would like to do; maybe even go out to mother nature and climb real cliff faces! 

WNSF: Where do you find inspiration for your stories? 

Aidan: Usually, I write about things I feel passionate about. I’ve always believed that writing cannot be forced and it’ll be a good piece if it’s purely from my ideas and beliefs. Sometimes, I get inspired by instrumental piano music, which really helps me get ‘into the zone’.

WNSF: If you could time travel, where would you go and why?

Aidan: I might travel to the Cretaceous period (of course, on the condition I am immune to dinosaur attacks) and fulfil my childhood dreams of seeing real dinosaurs close-up.  

WNSF: What three words would you use to describe your story?

Aidan: Historical, mystical, foreboding.