About Alex Galassi:
Alex Galassi’s debut novel Battle for Eklatros is the first book in the Rebalancing the Cosmos series. He has been writing and creating stories for most of his life. Many of his characters, including Navacus Clums and Cecil Kloud, were born through his time playing with LEGO.
Alex was born in Littleton, Colorado in the early 1990s and has lived in Colorado his entire life. He received his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Currently, he works as the Lead Developer at Blue Zenith Design + Strategy, a small business started by his mother that creates websites and helps small businesses with their digital branding and marketing. When he is not at work making websites or writing fiction, he enjoys hiking and camping in Colorado’s beautiful mountains and playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.
What inspires you to write?
I have been developing stories pretty much my whole life. Part of it came out when I played with LEGO, but I also would write a lot of random stories in elementary school as well. Eventually, the stories I created while playing with LEGO became the inspiration for my 5-book epic science fantasy book series titled Rebalancing the Cosmos.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
In no particular order:
Stephen Baxter
Philip Pullman
Russell Kirkpatrick
Jim Butcher
Drew Williams
R. A. Salvatore
George R. R. Martin
J. K. Rowling
Dean Koontz
Michael Crichton
Tell us about your writing process.
For me, personally, the story I am writing I have been developing my entire life. So I have hundreds of characters, and I know them all fairly well, because some have been around for 25+ years in my head. So I don't really write character bios until I'm writing the book, as I will then record like where I want the character to go.
I use the writing program Scrivener, and for me, that helps tremendously. The file I use is around 10 years old now, so I can use the search function to find whatever I'm looking for fairly easily. My scrivener is not organized in any way, but it works for me.
So most of my story is planned, I know exactly where I'm going and what will happen to certain characters. But there are always changes. Characters sometimes want to do things that I did not plan for and I need to let them do what they want to do. And it has always worked out for the better. So I do a bit of both I think – I will always plan ahead, but I will allow for in the moment changes and inspiration to change and inspire the outline also.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I think I answered this in my above answer, but yes. For most of my main characters, I have a solid plan on where they are going, but they still pull me in directions I don't expect, and I like when that happens.
However, my minor characters always surprise me. I have created dozens of characters that were meant to just be one offs and just be in the background that have since evolved into real minor characters with fleshed out stories. And that always happens on the fly typically, and that's a lot of fun to have that happen and let those characters grow in the way that they want to.
What advice would you give other writers?
A lot of authors say, 'make sure you read a lot of books'. And while I agree with that – stories are literally everywhere. Final Fantasy has been a massive influence to my writing, because those stories and characters are phenomenal. Lord of the Rings is also a big influence, and I have never read the trilogy, only the Hobbit. So you can find stories in movies, video games, tv shows, and of course, real life. Make sure you take in all the influences, not just from reading. Also, write. Like, write a lot. Especially when you're not good at it yet. Because it's all practice. The more you write, the better you'll get.
And, importantly, remember, like the pirates, there are no rules, only guidelines. Don't feel constricted to write in a certain way – do your own thing, and do it well.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I knew that I wanted to self-publish for several reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to keep all of my rights, so my company – Galactic Treehouse LLC – published my book. I also did not want to be tied down by an editor or an agent. I wanted to do everything myself. While I did hire my own editor, interior designer, cover designer, and cover artist, I did that through my sole proprietorship.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think that with the way things are now, if you have a story, publish it. I would highly suggest doing it right, meaning making sure you have a good editor that knows your genre well. Self-publishing is expensive, and it is a lot of work, but it's well worth it I think. But if you choose to go the traditional route, then go for it.
What genres do you write?: Science Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Science Fiction, Alien Invasion
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Alex Galassi Home Page Link
Link To Alex Galassi Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
