Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
I’m Alexes Razevich, the author of “Khe,” the first book in a planned series of three “Khe’s World” stories. I write, play hockey, and crochet some on the side. I have a wonderful husband, who is my partner-in-crime on the rink and often my alpha beta reader, and two really great adult children.
What first inspired you to start writing?
I wasn’t inspired so much as compelled. I’m a congenital writer, I think—born with stories rumbling around inside of me. It seems to be a family trait. My mother wrote. My kids are both talented. My cousin writes. My niece is turning out to be one to watch.
What was the first story you wrote?
The first complete tale I remember telling was something about a squirrel that I made up on the spot when my younger sister wanted a story at bedtime. I was maybe seven or eight years old. In the fourth grade I wrote a play that the class voted to produce. In the sixth grade I wrote and performed a piece about coming across the Oregon Trail that involved a crow and a black cardboard stovetop hat. I think it was the only A+ I got for anything that year.
If you could work with any author, who would it be?
That’s a hard question. Writing is such a solitary exercise. Maybe Barbara Kingsolver. She seems interesting and fun.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
I love those magic moments when the words are effortless, your fingers are flying across the keyboard, and you know the scene is “just right.” I like finishing the last draft. There’s a sense of accomplishment (along with trepidation) in knowing that you’ve taken an idea and turned it into something worthy (one hopes!) of sharing with others.
And the least?
Hands down, the first draft. Finding out what the story is (often it’s not at all what I thought originally) and getting all the details sorted drives me crazy. I’m a slow writer—the type that overly worries about word choice. I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year, and found it liberating to focus mainly on quantity. Sadly, I came down with serious pneumonia and didn’t make it to 50,000 words, but I did get quite a bit of the story structure for my next book.
What advice would you give new and aspiring authors?
Write. Write. And write some more. Join a critique group or find trusted beta readers and listen to what they have to say, especially about the things they don’t like or don’t understand in your story. Be fearless: Send your stories out into the world. Be patient—writing is a long game. Treasure sites like this one that help us authors get out the word about our books. Hire a knowledgeable and heartless copy editor.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m mostly working on the follow-up book to Khe. When I get stuck, I tinker with a fantasy story set in the Amazon or a historical novel set in early1900s Oklahoma.
Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.
Khe is a dystopian epic science/fantasy adventure set on another world, with an all alien and mostly female cast. It was a semi-finalist in last year’s Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest, and is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Khe-ebook/dp/B00987OLVU or in the US at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00987OLVU.
Thanks to Alexes for sharing his thoughts with us, on Wednesday we welcome Daniel Grotta to the hot seat.
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