Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky in a town so small that we couldn’t afford traffic lights and tractors caused major backups on the highway. I grew up watching a lot of science fiction (i.e., Star Trek, Space 1999, Twilight Zone) and comedies. I kept on thinking that I could write these shows. How hard could it be? At the age of 13, I took a chance and submitted a skit to Saturday Night Live (SNL). About a month later, I got a nice letter from SNL that stated they do not accept materials from outside writers. So, my life was crushed for about another 22 years until I got the improv and acting bug. When I started writing again, I wrote dinner theater play (a total of four). By the age of fifty, I wrote my first novel “In The End” under the pseudonym Cullen Kit Alexander. The book is a nod to my youth and growing up in Eastern Kentucky. I wrote my second novel “Ancestry: Awakenings” in 2016 (again under Cullen’s name) that follows a nine year old girl’s journey to inheriting magic passed down by family members from an ancient African Tribe. I also wrote a play in 2016 that is still waiting to be produced called Putting The Fun In FUNeral about an adopted funeral home owner who by chance discovers who his biological parents are when he buries each of their spouses.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Witch Detective: The Fire And Brimstone Bourbon Trail Case is my most current literary work. (This is the first novel that I have published under my real name.) I’ve always loved stories about witches, their familiars, magic, and supernatural creatures. I’ve combined my love for these elements with my state’s claim to fame (bourbon) and created a fictional town in Western Kentucky called Abysmal where only bad things can happen.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Editing is probably the craziest (I have my computer read aloud to me). I also have a tendency to observe people in their natural environment and make notes for possible characters. It’s the psychologist in me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dean Koontz and Alan Dean Foster
What are you working on now?
Two books are in the hopper – “Bingo Baby” and “The Antique Dealer.”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon and Facebook
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing everyday and write for your enjoyment.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up
What are you reading now?
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finish the “Antique Dealer” and “Bingo Baby” by the end of 2020
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?
I write more than I read, so I’d rather have paper and pen since a computer would probably be out of the question … unless I had one of the Professor from “Gilligan’s Island.”
Author Websites and Profiles
Alan Hounshell Website
Alan Hounshell Amazon Profile
Alan Hounshell’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile