Creativity definitely comes in waves, and I have to ride the wave hard and fast before it passes
Callie Kazumi's (neurodivergent) notes on writing
2025 is shaping up as a fantastic year for neurodivergent debut authors, and I’m delighted to have spoken to Callie Kazumi about her writing, reading and her upcoming thriller, Cuckoo, which is about to take the bookish world by storm! Callie also highlights the work of another ND debut, Lucy Rose, who was the very first author to be interviewed on this Substack! I love how supportive the neurodivergent writing community is of one another.
You’ll see a lot of authors, particularly debuts (myself included), talk about preorders a lot - it can feel really hard to do, especially at the moment, when the world feels increasingly scary (though I personally believe that’s even more reason to talk about and celebrate art).
But the reason we do it is because pre-orders are genuinely so important for writers, especially writers who are marginalised or underrepresented in any way - it signals to publishers that there’s demand for our books which leads to them being more likely to publish more ND authors. And I think I speak for all authors when I say we are genuinely so appreciative of any and all support from readers. As a reader on a lower income, I know that pre-ordering isn’t always possible so do remember that you can request books from your local library who can pre-order things too!
Hey Callie! Tell us a bit about you and your work.
Hello! Thank you for having me! Well, I'm Japanese-British with ADHD, I live in London and I write creepy little stories. My debut is Cuckoo, or Claire, Darling, as titled in America, and it's a commercial, pacy psychological thriller about a woman whose fiancé suddenly ghosts her. It's publishing March 2025, so very soon now! And I'm currently editing my second novel, which is releasing in 2026, and is about cannibals set in Japan. Whilst slightly less of a commercial thriller, it has the same darkness, broken characters, and is full of suspense!
Does being neurodivergent impact your creative process? And if so how?
It definitely does - my energy and my creativity come in sharp, impulsive bursts. If I'm in the mood to write a scene, I have to drop everything to do it immediately, or it will likely be lost to the void of my brain. If I'm out, I voicenote myself, so I can keep the idea for later. I can also write abnormally quickly, because I visualise everything so clearly in my head during these creative bursts. I'll hyperfixate until the scene is finished, and can get a few thousand words down in an hour if I'm in the zone. However, if I'm not in the zone or the mood, I sit and stare at my laptop for ages wondering what I'm doing and accomplishing nothing. It definitely comes in waves, and I have to ride the wave hard and fast before it passes!
Is neurodiversity a theme in your work?
No, not really. I was a very late diagnosis, self-diagnosing a few years ago after realising how different ADHD can show in women. I've only recently been diagnosed clinically, and am very excited to trial out some medication to see if it helps make my day-to-day functioning a little easier and more focused! So because of this late diagnosis, I don't feel very qualified to speak on neurodiversity, or explore it in my work just yet. All I have is my own experience, and it's a very wide spectrum out there!
What's one piece of advice would you give to aspiring neurodivergent writers out there?
Don't feel disheartened during harder days and work in whatever way is most efficient for you, even if it's 500 words at 3am and then nothing for the rest of the week, that's 500 words more than you'd have otherwise. Don't let neurotypical cycles or expectations hinder your creativity.
Carry around a pen and paper or jot down your thoughts or voice note yourself whenever inspiration hits, and try to keep the excitement for that idea alive long enough for it to grow into something. I often have to say to my agent, 'sorry, I'm just getting an idea now, give me a moment,' and she goes quiet whilst I zone out and my idea forms and then I share it with her and we build on it together. Having people around you who respect how your mind is working and how hard it can be to keep your thoughts in place is very important.
Is there a book (or other kind of art) by a neurodivergent artist that you love and you'd like to draw our attention to?
I really loved The Lamb by Lucy Rose, which is a cannibalistic fairy-tale style story which explores the brutality of motherhood. Lucy is AUDHD, and is becoming a good friend. (The cannibal novelist circuit is pretty small!) I really love her way of describing details, of making you feel so many emotions in such a short amount of time.
Another very niche person worth shouting out is Rebecca Mason, who used to be a police detective and now appears in lots of crime documentaries. She also has ADHD, and I think is a great role model for the idea that neurodivergent people can do anything they set their mind to, whether it's catching criminals or eloquently storytelling on tv!
What’s one thing the publishing industry could do to make things better and more accessible for neurodivergent writers?
I think that for me, the idea of deadlines can be quite difficult. I think that when signing up to a publisher, you should make clear that you're neurodivergent and state what your specific needs are, to make working together as easy as possible. For me, personally, I ask my agent to set me outrageous deadlines. Long deadlines don't work for me - it will just never get done. If I have a short deadline, and am under pressure, that's when I work my best. The flexibility and understanding my team have shown me for this type of thing has been excellent.
What are you working on at the moment?
I already touched on it, but my cannibal novel! I don't think I'm allowed to announce the title just yet, but it's publishing with Penguin again in Spring 2025. It's set in Japan, and follows a struggling gambling addict as he takes on a job for a cannibalistic billionaire. I love it, it's the most fun I've ever had writing something and has given me a lot of scope to explore mixed race themes. Plus, I am doing lots of 'research' into Japanese cuisine (stuffing my face), with my second trip to Japan booked for this Autumn! I can't WAIT to announce this book and begin raving about it, because it's really shown me how much I love crafting a strange, dark novel.
And lastly, how can readers of the newsletter support your work?
They can pre-order Cuckoo on Amazon or through their bookshop of choice, follow me on social media (I'm @CallieUntitled on all of them!) or subscribe to my Substack, Reads for Feral Girls, where I share lots of funny and hopefully relatable content, as well as writing advice.
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