Yxavel Magno Diño - Children's Author and Reader
- litkidsmagazine
- Sep 26
- 3 min read
Yxavel Magno Diño is the author of the middle-grade fantasy adventure novels The Serpent Rider and The Firefly Crown. She was born in the Philippines before moving to Australia at a young age, where she soon discovered that almost nobody there knew how to say her name. To make up for it, she spent her time daydreaming about fantasy worlds filled with characters who had more unusual names than she did.
Now, she writes stories about her Filipino heritage and its fantastical folklore. When she’s not writing, you can find her drinking copious amounts of black tea or getting lost in the pages of a book.
1. Why did you begin writing? Was it because of a person or something else?
I began writing because I loved reading! I’ve always been amazed by the fact that books are practically telepathy—since entire worlds from an author’s imagination come to life in my mind whenever I read a story. I wanted to write my own books to share my characters and their adventures with readers, too.
2. What did you like to write and read as a kid?
I enjoyed writing and reading fantasy novels! One of the first series I ever remember reading was Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House, and fantasy has been one of my favorite genres ever since. It’s awesome to read about magical heroes and supernatural creatures while learning some valuable life lessons along the way.
3. If you could pick a single fruit to create a story around, what would it be?
I would pick mangoes! My stories are inspired by my Filipino cultural background, and because the Philippines is a warm tropical country, it’s absolutely brimming with legends about the delicious mangoes that grow there! One of my favorites is about a girl whose heart grew into a mango tree, which is why the fruits have a distinctive heart shape. As my books incorporate Filipino mythology, it would be fun to feature mangoes in one of my stories someday.
4. How do you come up with titles for your books?
I choose the title based on an important idea or concept in the book. In my first novel, The Serpent Rider, the heroine Tani dreams of becoming a serpent-riding warrior to protect her family and village, so it was pretty obvious what the best title was going to be! And my second novel, The Firefly Crown, is about a magical crown that is the empire’s only defense against a horde of undead bugs. When the Firefly Crown is suddenly stolen, the main character Yumi must find it at all costs!
5. Where do you like to write?
I don’t have an exact place in mind, as I tend to write better when I switch up the location from time to time. But definitely places that are quiet and give me space to think.
6. What is your schedule like when you’re writing a book?
I don’t have a set schedule or specific writing times, but I generally write better and faster in the late night or early hours of the morning rather than in the afternoons. And I also write a lot faster the closer to a deadline I get!
7. What do you do when you feel stuck?
I like to take a break from my laptop and walk around my house or backyard, as doing some kind of movement or exercise really helps the ideas flow. I do look somewhat silly pacing circles around the living room—but hey, whatever works, right?
8. Do you ever stop writing and start something different?
Yes, more times than I remember! I see myself as more of a mood writer, and my laptop is full of random story ideas that I’ve started and stopped over the years. This also relates to one of my favorite pieces of advice about writing—if a story idea isn’t quite turning out like what you’d hoped, and nothing you write seems to be working, don’t be afraid to let it sit for a while and move on to something else! Chances are you’ll find more inspiration after taking a break from the original idea and letting it stew in the back of your mind. You can always come back to the story whenever you’re ready.
Yxavel, thanks so much for taking the time to share your excellent writing advice with our readers! Please follow Yxavel on social media and check out her fantastical debut novel, The Serpent Rider, in our Bookshop. Keep shining!
Website: https://ymdino.com/
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