Ahh the weekend, well for me this time it means lots of work. I have many things to get done, especially since I am going into business with my father in law and becoming an official commercial beekeeper. I’m actually really excited about it. The biggest thing we need to get done is to clean our big barn and get it ready so that we can do most of the work in there. I have my own bee suit now…yay!
Busy, busy. I hope that I can share some images with you all on my beekeeping journey. Just adding one more thing to my already busy life. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to sit around and do nothing. I find too often that I have too many things I would like to do and not enough time. But enough about me…let’s get to today’s post.
Hello and welcome to my favorite day of the week here on my blog…SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT!! These are the days where I have the honor of talking with an author who might be new to you. I get to tell you a bit about them, their social media sites and their books. That isn’t the best part though…the best part is interviewing them or having them do a guest post. This allows potential readers to get to know a little bit about the author behind their amazing covers.
My goal with these posts is to introduce you to a new author or book. Take a chance, maybe you’ll find something you fall in love with. There are so many amazing authors in the world that go unnoticed because they are not in the spotlight. I want to change that. If you are an indie or lesser known author, get in touch with me. I would like to help share your work. I do this all free of charge, publishing a book is expensive enough. I promote authors because I love what they do. I will never charge for promoting a book or author on my Saturday Spotlight posts.
Well, now that I’m done with that rant, what do you say we get right into today’s post? Today I am excited to be talking with Alexander Thomas! I was happy when he reached out for an interview
Interview
1) Welcome to The Bibliophagist, I am so happy to have you here today. Let’s jump right into it. The Magician’s Sin is your debut novel if I am correct. How does it feel being a published author? Have you always wanted to write or did you have another childhood dream? If not, what was your childhood dream job and what brought you to writing instead?
That is correct. It’s so surreal still hearing that I’m a published author. It’s a strange duality because it’s the end of the journey I began when I set out to write The Magician’s SIn, but it’s the beginning of my career and the next stage of my life. I’ve known ever since I was four years old that I wanted to tell stories and write books. It was a primal instinct deep inside me and it has provided a strange sense of direction to my life. Sometimes it’s frustrating to people who don’t have that sense of surety about their path in life.
I completely understand not having that sense of surety but isn’t it lovely how something we enjoy as small children can grow until it becomes a passion we strive for as adults? Many of us strive for careers we think of as children, I think reaching that goal is a surreal feeling. This is just the start of your career and I am so happy to see more work from you.
3) Characters sometimes take over their own paths and control the story themselves. Did you ever find your characters controlling the story? Which ones? Do you have one character that you felt closer to than others?
I’m a big outliner, so I usually know where the story is going to go the whole time I’m writing it. That being said there was one key pivot in the story where I discovered as I was writing it that Anson wouldn’t realistically drop this plot and go off after the story I needed him to. I had to rewrite the end of that chapter several times, trying to come up with an in-character reason for him to behave the way I needed him to.
As for closeness of character, each of them holds a special place in my heart and stems from some root part of my personality. That being said Anson and Marcus Moon are two characters who have more in common with me than the others. I see a lot of myself in Anson in particular, but both share my sort of snark, ego, and hidden emotional tragedy.
Characters really do become their own people and we have to make them believable, including ensuring their choices make sense for their character. I love how authors pull pieces of themselves and create characters. I think to put those characteristics into writing characters make them a little more believable.
4) There are many different creatures that lurk between the pages of The Magician’s Sin. Where did you get inspiration to write these beings? Do you have a favorite? What other books that deal with monsters or mythological creatures do you recommend for fans of your novel?
I have a long history with monsters and things that go bump in the night. I grew up reading mythology and playing Dungeons & Dragons. Some of my creatures stem from those sources, others are purely my own creation. I have a background in monster design for tabletop roleplaying games, so I’ve done of a ton of writing on the subject prior to The Magician’s Sin. I think my favorite monster in this novel has to be Mr. Powers. There’s a ton of mystery that surrounds him and his true identity which I’ll slowly unveil as the series goes along. I think people who like my novel would also be fans of Neil Gaiman’s work, especially Sandman and American Gods. I’d also recommend checking out the Hellblazer comics over at Vertigo and the work of H.P. Lovecraft.
I am a huge Lovecraft fan so obviously, your book calls to me. I think creating monsters or things of nightmares is exciting because you get to create something new drawing from things you had seen or been afraid of. Mr. Powers is someone I really look forward to getting more information on as the series continues.
5) Just for something a little fun, if you were thrown into your own story and had to chose one person to be by your side, dead or alive, who would you choose? This can be a television/movie character, book character, etc.
That’s a fun thing to imagine! I’d probably say someone like Dr. Strange or John Constantine, another magic-based superhero. Mostly I want to see them and Anson bust each other’s chops about how each of them would handle the present situation in the story. I’m a sucker for superheroes giving each other the business.
6) Writing a novel is difficult but I would argue writing your first novel might be one of the most difficult. It is a long and sometimes stressful process that comes with positives and negatives. Can you tell aspiring authors one thing that you learned along your journey that you found really helpful? What is something you wish you’d known before starting this journey?
It is a long journey and I think everyone who wants to follow this path needs to know that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. One thing that I learned along this journey is that there are loads of people who will help you with this journey if you only ask. I had a bunch of friends and family members read drafts, provide feedback, and just give inspiration way before I ever hired an editor. That village of people was pivotal in making sure I put my best foot forward into the industry proper. I wish I had known that I was going to be responsible for so much of the post writing work. No one is going to be a bigger advocate for your work than yourself, so be prepared to wear as many hats as it takes to succeed. I’ve been the point person on my marketing, shipping, and production team, and that’s with a traditional publisher behind me. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and do that hard work. It will pay off.
About Alexander Thomas
Alexander’s Books
**Remember to click the book image to read more about it and buy your copy today!**
The Magician’s Sin
Giveaway
Alexander was not only a fantastic interviewee, but he is also willing to give away a physical copy of his book, The Magician’s Sin! But wait…there’s more!!
This giveaway is international, just understand if you are international that it will take a bit longer to get the book to you. That being said…get your entries in ladies, gents, and everyone in between.
Thank you again, Alexander Thomas, for being such a great participant in this week’s Saturday Spotlight post. I really enjoyed getting to know a bit more about your novel and some behind the scenes information. I think that fact about the high five will stay with me forever now, very interesting. Like they say, you learn something new every day.
If you have not read The Magician’s Sin, be sure to check it out on Amazon. Grab your copy today and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
**Again, If you are an author interested in being hosted on Saturday Spotlight contact me! I would love to help support you and your work.**
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Excellent interview!
While researching for a book I was writing, I learned that the Statue of Liberty was shipped from France to the US in pieces.
The scariest monsters I’ve ever encountered were ghosts of murdered boys seeking revenge by murdering the residents of the house they were haunting.
Oh my goodness! That is really scary