My friend Tony runs many sites, one of which is called What is Sexy. Though we may debate semantics, the photos he posts there are undeniably beautiful. While sexiness I feel is a much more subjective term and beauty a more easily universal one, the bottom line is that the pictures he posts showcase the many kinds of beauty women possess. It is absolutely worth a look, and for me, it’s been inspiring. In particular, this photo of Natasha Poly has prompted a great deal of inspiration for the book. keep reading »

A conversation about the book between myself and my friend Blythe, who’s been beta reading draft four for me. I hope it gives you a nice idea of the characters and story without giving too much away.

Blythe: The thing i love the most about Roberts and Cass is that they’re PEOPLE

Alex: yeah, ultimately, everyone in this story is human

Blythe: one is a pirate chasing a dream and the other is a TIME WITCH, but they’re people. They’re not out to save the world and both have relatively selfish (if you want to classify it as that) motivations (personal fulfillment/love) so of course the villain isn’t EVIL but is threatening to them. keep reading »

I don’t like cheap villains. I like villains who are complex, sympathetic and relish being evil. I like villains who pay their dues and earn their vengeance. I don’t like bad guys who are blindly, mindlessly bad.

Consequently, I’m writing a villain who is less a villain and more a truly fucked up person. Someone who clings to pain and uses it to give themselves strength, someone who thirsts for power and vengeance. I want someone whose lust and sadness are understandable and relatable. Someone cold and calculating but ultimately, painfully human.

Hopefully I’ll be successful in this endeavor. I don’t want anymore stereotypes.

Holy shit. Chapter eight was the hardest chapter I’ve had to write so far. I fleshed out a formerly minor character (though a pretty interesting minor character), into a much more important character, then decided she made a lot more sense in a different part of the world and in a different book. I literally switched her out with her brother. It fits. It’s the right thing to do. But it took a week of obsessively mapping out the details and trying to write several versions of the same chapter before I figured it out. This was a problem that went back to some of the original drafts, where this character was a key player and essentially had to be in two places at once. I think this is an efficient and rather elegant solution to that problem, and it means we get to see a lot more of her in the future (which I like – it’s a nice consolation prize for the fact that she’s only briefly mentioned in the first book). She also got a name change.

Anyway, for those of you who have so kindly offered to beta read, I will be sending some more chapters out in the coming week. In the meantime, if you’re in the US, please have a happy and safe fourth of July! For everyone else, have a great weekend.

Things are going really, really well with this draft. I have a few moments of stage fright, wherein I convince myself (albeit briefly) that this was a terrible idea and no one will ever want to read my book. It’s more pressure now because of all the absolutely incredible feedback I’ve gotten so far. I’ve had the guts to send the book out to a few people and get their feedback. I’ve gotten a great deal of positive response, and some excellent critique. The critique, in many ways is what I’m dreading and looking forward to most. It’s like being a contestant on a reality show. Every week, I send out another chapter, and every week (so far), I make it to the next round. My fear is that I’ll be thrown something I can fix in a quick rewrite. I’m dreading the somewhat inevitable major plot reevaluation. While I’m fairly certain this is a solid effort at this point and the plot is somewhat water tight, I’m terrified and excited about the idea that I’ll discover something was missed. keep reading »