Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Alex Fitton and I’m a Crime/Thriller writer. I live in the Midlands region of England. My debut short story, Goodbye Prison, came out earlier this year and hit 18th position in the What’s Hot chart on Amazon. Goodbye Prison inspired me to go on and write a full length novel, and I’m hoping that will be out in mid-2017.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I finished my first full length novel earlier this month (December 2016) and it’s currently with an editor for a final go through. I’ve been working on it since first outlining my idea way back in 2012. Fight or Flight tells the story of a young woman who’s trying to escape gang life and move on to a more normal one, but a possessive prison officer and her former gang boss set about hunting her down.
The inspiration for the novel comes from almost every Crime/Thriller book I’ve ever read and all the different crime dramas that I watch. They all tell the story of a crime and the process of solving it before catching the bad guy. I wanted to do something slightly different and pick up the storyline from after being released from prison.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’d say that I’m quite old fashioned. I wrote the full Fight or Flight novel out by hand over a couple of different journals before I even started typing anything up. 92,000 words by hand might seem a little daunting to some people, but I found the process quite therapeutic. When I finished typing the whole thing up, it felt like I had already got to second draft stage as I was editing as I went along. I guess it might not work for everyone!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was 15 we started reading The Lord of the Flies in English Literature classes. Ignoring the Harry Potter series, it was the first time I really got into a book and from then on I’d become pretty hooked with devouring as many different books as I could. Sat on my bookshelf now I have everything ranging from things like 1984 to The Da Vinci Code and a fair few non-fiction history books too.
What are you working on now?
I mentioned before that I’d just sent my debut novel off to an editor for a final go through, so right now I’m not working on anything specific. The last year has been really intense focusing on the novel with BETA readers and a couple of rounds of editing. I’ve given myself a few days to have a break from writing so I’m just focused on the promotion side of things at the moment. Having said that, I do have an idea for another short story, so I don’t think it will be long before I start filling up another journal!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not really sure that I can say that I have ‘one best way’. I personally think it’s about the right mix of things. I know I can approach a really supportive group of readers that have been with me on my journey so far and I know they’ll go out and purchase things that I’d release, but I think authors have to do more than that. When I released Goodbye Prison, I worked hard to make sure it got featured in lots of Kindle Book newsletters and on Blogs too, as well as approaching people I knew followed me on the different social media channels.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I might have been writing since around 2012, but I’d still say that I’m a new author myself. My first published work only came out in March 2016 and the full length novel won’t be out for a good few months yet. Having said that, I think the most valuable thing that I’ve learnt while writing is this: write! I think sometimes it’s hard to force yourself to sit down and write when you’re having an off day or just not feeling ‘it’. I’ve found it useful to keep going though as you never know when you’re going to write a killer paragraph or page that you’ll end up using in a published piece of work.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“If you think you can, or your think you can’t, you’re probably right.”
What are you reading now?
I read Origin by JT Brannan a year or so back and have decided to reread it. I really enjoyed it last time and it’s been staring at me from the bookshelf for the last few days. I can’t reccomend the book enough to anyone who’s into thriller/suspense!
What’s next for you as a writer?
The next few months will be pretty heavily focused on promoting my work in the run up to releasing Fight or Flight. Having said that, I know I’m going to make time to work on another short story – so watch this space! I feel like I’ve been really growing as a writer over the last year and I’m really looking forward to seeing where 2017 takes me.
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?
Anything and everything by Dan Brown and Johnathan Holt are books that I can’t really live without. They’re books that I absolutely love!
Author Websites and Profiles
Alex Fitton Website
Alex Fitton Amazon Profile
Alex Fitton’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account