Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m just a guy who likes to make stuff up in his spare time—the spare time that isn’t occupied by obsessive Netflix binges, I mean.
Right now, I have four novels out, as well as six volumes of my New Devil series, although I hope both those numbers will be going up in the near future.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is called Alph Beta. It’s a weird little story about an arrogant, self-absorbed writer who, with the help of his own characters and his real-life friend, learns to become a better person, as well as a better writer. I started writing it as kind of a loving mockery of the many, many books writers have written about writers. In this case, my character (Alph) writes a story about another writer who’s writing about yet another writer. It’s very self-referential and kind of tongue-in-cheek. And hopefully it’s funny.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I admit that many writer clichés appeal to me—for example, the image of a writer slaving away over his manuscript with a stiff drink. Except I personally don’t drink alcohol, so I often sit down to work with a nice heavy glass full of, like, lemonade or milk or V8 or something. I feel like that’s pretty unusual.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Just about anything I’ve ever read and haven’t hated has probably influenced me.
I have been in awe of Stephen Crane’s diction for a many years, but his somewhat bleak naturalistic themes aren’t really the kind of things I want in my own stories. I’ve loved what I’ve read of Oscar Wilde and Kurt Vonnegut and Isaac Asimov. Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon is probably my all-time favorite novel.
But lest anyone thinks I’m pretentious, I should point out that I’ve read and enjoyed a ton of Crichton and Koontz and Rowling and such. And my first literary obsession might have been a sadly little-known young adult sci-fi writer named William Sleater. Man was a genius. Seriously, go read Interstellar Pig or The Boy Who Reversed Himself.
What are you working on now?
I’m in the middle of a sequel to Tiem Mechine right now. I’m trying to figure out how to keep things convoluted and bizarre enough to live up to the original, and it’s definitely a challenge!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t have one.
Seriously, I’m terrible at promoting my books. I’m slowly learning, though. I recently had what was hands-down my most successful free Amazon promo for Tiem Mechine, which I’m pretty sure I can mostly credit to ReadCheaply.com, but there can always be other variables at play, and I’m going to have to do more experimenting before I declare ReadCheaply my Lord and Savior.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Measure twice, cut once.
That was meant to be amusing and useless, but now that I think about it, it still kind of works. Obsess over your work to get it as perfect as you can before you take the plunge and release it. Sure, you can always edit it or reformat it or get new cover art down the road, but measure very carefully before you cut. I think indie writers especially have more scrutiny on them. Because we’re not from a professional publishing house that has poured resources into deciding whether to accept a manuscript, editing and formatting what they do accept, and then preparing and packaging the final product, readers are less likely to just assume our books are awesome.
Also, be much, much better at networking with other self-published authors than I am. That will definitely help.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Measure twice, cut once.
Ha, see what I did there? I mean, I know the saying is intended to apply to carpentry, but I think it applies well to writing and to, well…life.
What are you reading now?
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
What’s next for you as a writer?
More writing. I’ve been focusing on fleshing out my catalogue lately. I hope to have another novel out by the end of the year, and 2017 should, with a little luck, welcome the conclusion of The New Devil series. I’m also thinking of branching out a little, genre-wise. Maybe try my hand at horror or something.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, my complete works of Stephen Crane, and a book about survival skills. I was a crappy Boy Scout, so I’m gonna need some refresher courses about starting fires and building shelters and stuff.
Author Websites and Profiles
Alex Hansen Website
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