About kim alexander:
I’m a New York/Florida girl! I went to the University of Miami and then lived in Key West for about ten years. (Everything you’ve heard is true.) I spent my whole career behind the microphone, as a DJ, talk show host and finally as an author interviewer at Sirius XM Book Radio. When my channel went off the air, I took everything I learned from many hundreds of interviews and wrote my own book! And because I grew up on fantasy and science fiction, that’s what I wrote. I love epic fantasy, but I also love characters you can fall in love with–people who have stories that stay with you. So epic/intimate, I guess you’d say.
Currently I live in Washington DC with my husband, two cats and an angry fish. We live right behind the National Zoo-you can see the pandas from my house!
What inspires you to write?
I’ve been writing all my life! My first novel was about a con-artist space pirate, I belive I was 9 when I wrote it, so my knowledge of space piracy was pretty spot-on, I’m sure. While working in radio, I wrote commercial copy, morning show comedy, talk show scripts and a billion reviews and interviews. When I lost my radio job, my husband said, ‘Sit on the couch and write, already!’ So I went back to the mind-set of that 9 year old and started telling a story. (There might be space pirates in my next book.)
Tell us about your writing process.
Total pantser. I write scenes out of order as they occur to me. I listen for my characters voices, and write down what they say. Then I go back and figure out how it all fits together. So there’s a lot of rewriting! As I am now writing my third novel in The Demon Door series, I am forced to outline because I have about 40 characters, two worlds and two timelines. That is a lot of plot to juggle!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
They talk to each other, usually as I’m trying to sleep! I can hear the dialogue as if I’m watching a movie, and do my best to transcribe what they say.
What advice would you give other writers?
When I started, I was so excited I wanted everyone to read my work, and I ended up showing it to people before it was fully baked. Wish I’d had more restraint! Also, trust your gut, but don’t skimp on editing. I’m not making this up, but writing is re-writing. And again, repeating the wisdom of others–write to finish.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
Like many new authors, I struggled with the notion of needing an agent vs. self publishing. I don’t have any marketing experience, so I queried dozens of agents, and got many polite thanks-but-no-thanks. You can’t take that personally! I had resigned myself to give self pubbing a shot when I saw a tweet about a company called Booktrope, and they ultimately accepted my submission. They are a hybrid publisher and I can’t say enough good things about them. (I still don’t have an agent.)
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Well, I think my publisher, Booktrope, is one of the most interesting takes on getting a book into the world. They hook up authors with teams of editors, proofers, artists and marketers, and everyone gets a percentage of the book’s earnings. So everyone is motivated to make it work. Obviously, self publishing is exploding. Even five years ago as a book reviewer/author interviewer, I did not take self pubbed books seriously. Those days are over!
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: fantasy and science fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
kim alexander Home Page Link
Link To kim alexander Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
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.
