Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve always been into everything creative. For my whole life, that’s been through writing and performing before more recently in which I’ve dabbled in crafts.
The closest thing to a “regular” job I have is working in theme park entertainment while my others consist of selling handmade crafts and writing (literature or travel blogging). My hobbies consist of reading, writing, aerial arts, playing music, and visiting amusement attractions.
Masqueraded: Act One is the first book that I’ve published but is not the first book I’ve written. I’ve always pursued creative writing, but I first started working on full on books in 2012. As of the moment, I have another series and two stand alone books that I know I’ll be publishing next before going back to the drawing board for new one. Masqueraded will be a trilogy.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Masqueraded: Act One is my latest book, the first of three Acts in its series, and my first published book.
I first got a fleeting idea of writing a story centered around a circus, carnival theme and that concept eventually evolved into what Masqueraded is today. Amusement attractions have always been a fascination of mine and I feel like there’s a lot of untapped potential in stories surrounding them. I also like more weird, dark, unconventional twists to typically lighthearted, whimsical things. So, it was no question that Masqueraded would be just that.
The title is a more eloquent way of saying deceived, because that’s the most prevailing theme in the book/series; what’s real and what’s a lie?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if it’s all too unusual, but I go in major phases when it comes to writing.
Typically there will be about four or so months where I’m writing every day, all day. But every several days, I’ll change up which stories I’m working on. As such, I have a lot of other stories in the works, but Masqueraded: Act One was the first one I finished.
After a while of writing nonstop, I then go a few months where I’ve got nothing mentally and am at a block. But, I’ve been really kicking that lately. I’m pushing myself to just continue writing–pacing myself so I don’t get burnt out–but to keep at it everyday. I like to think that if I put anything down, it’s just a skeleton. I can go back and change or beautify it, but just put something down. Sometimes, that’ll spawn ideas that you hadn’t thought of for the story. Other times, I just pull something from real life as a concept idea and play around with that.
But that’s definitely something I’m working to do away with, because I’m ready to finish off more books. Creating different story lines and story worlds is a blast.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I think the major, end all be all for me is the Brothers Grimm Fairytales. They are so eccentric and sometimes unsettling that it fascinates me. It’s that oxymoron of lighthearted, fun fairytales with a rogue dark, bizzare, or nonsensical edge to them.
I know it’s not necessarily the typical inspiration source, but for me, it’s the embodiment of my fascination with any literature that fits its quirky nature.
What are you working on now?
I have another book called Lacrimosa Medina that will be coming out after Masq: Act One and before Masq: Act Two. It’s what I’m currently fine tuning, in that beautify stage.
It’s more of a somber, gothic, poetical tale in stark contrast with Masqueraded’s wild, zany, sarcastic tone. Its moody, gloomy angst set around an abandoned attraction in Medina that’s haunted by a spirit that met a brutal fate, thus lacrimosa (weeping). It’s something of a paranormal romance which is a new genre, the romance part, for me as I usually take stories down a morbid road rather than into a love story.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m most active on Instagram and then my website. Between the two, there’s a lot of fun tidbits you can read and see about Masqueraded before you read it. And, it’s without spoiling any of the story.
I’ve also worked with a few agencies, Silver Daggers as well as 38 Digital Media, on spreading the word. This had led to some fun interviews in book blogs and features in media like the LA Tribune, AP News, Yahoo, and so forth.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m pretty new myself, so bear that in mind. But really, I’d just say go for it.
Keep writing, keep reading, keeping learning about marketing, keep interacting with everyone else in the community, keep learning about all of these matters as well as the outlets you’ll be publishing on–just pursue it. Jump into it and chase it and never stop trying to learn, refine, and create your best.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Back to the writer’s block piece, the advice of writing *anything,* getting anything down in a draft is the best way to keep going.
You might turn around later and change it because you hate it, but that even spawns ideas for what you want to do differently or do next. If you have no starting point, take a page from the real world. Hearing about the pirate Mary Reed and the child she had, whether or not it survived; if it did, it would’ve been an orphan. And that’s what sparked the idea for my lead character in Masqueraded being adopted.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading one book after another on SEO, marketing, writing techniques, blogging, and fine tuning creativity.
It’s nothing as exciting as picking up a fiction book, but I’m in a workaholic state right now that I can’t seem to break. So nearly everything I do as of late is somehow pertaining to working.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My blog is a mix of travel and writing. I’ll go to unique places and do posts for them that’ll be helpful for other people to experience that for themselves. But, I also write about the fun facts and history of the various attractions at those places.
The half of it is writing short stories or pieces about books of mine. Some are even of character journals of some of the roles I’ve played and do as an exercise.
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?
Probably:
1) Bible
2) Brothers Grimm
3) Diary of Chippewa Lake Park
Author Websites and Profiles
Alexis Dees Website
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