Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m Alexis Radcliff: Author, gamer, unashamed geek, and history junkie. I spent years working in the tech industry (Amazon, Expedia) and dreaming about a writing career before finally deciding to go for it and finish my first book (with many, many drafts in between, of course).
I live and work in the Portland area with my adorable (if surly) cat and my equally adorable husband. When not writing, I spend all my time reading, running, playing way too many videogames, and thinking too much about everything.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
A VANISHING GLOW is the is the opening book in my MYSTECH ARCANUM series, a blend of steampunk and flintlock fantasy with mature themes. I’ve been thinking about it for the better part of a decade and building the world out in my head.
I like low fantasy and steampunk a lot, and since I grew up reading high fantasy I was hungry for something really different. The world of Ghavarim I created is just that: a little different from both the fantasy and steampunk you’ve read before (in what I hope is a really fascinating blend), set against an extensively researched backdrop that draws heavily on real-world history during the industrial revolution.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I use just two fingers to do the vast majority of my typing, but still manage an above average words per minute speed. People ALWAYS comment on it.
I do it because I never learned how to type properly, but I played a lot of EverQuest with my brother growing up, and believe me, you NEED to be able to type fast when you’re announcing impending death from your train to the zone line.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many I can’t even begin to say. Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin are the two biggest, probably. Then Anne Rice and Michael Crichton, too. Aldous Huxley, Virginia Woolf, Orwell, Fitzgerald. Modern influences are just as varied. I’m a sucker for John Green novels. I still read as much as I can in a wide variety of genres.
What are you working on now?
The next volume in my Mystech Arcanum series, of course! I also have an exciting not-so-secret Superhero series set to come out in 2016 that I think people are really going to like. It tells some stories you don’t usually see in the superhero space, while maintaining everything about the genre that makes it fun and awesome.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Twitter, almost certainly. I’m VERY active on Twitter, and I have great relationships with friends and fans there.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
That seems presumptuous at this point since I still am one! But my best piece of advice is to keep going. Just. Do. It. Don’t stop, whatever happens. Your dreams won’t get any closer to you if you sit around and wait for them.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That what other people think of me is none of my business. It’s hard to not internalize criticism (and praise too), but if you let either one get its hooks into you, it can destroy you. We all have value, and we all have more to learn.
What are you reading now?
I read a few books at a time (slowly). I’m currently reading Annie Bellet’s 20-Sided Sorceress series, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and I’m just beginning to dip into Scott Lynch’s second Gentlemen Bastards novel.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep going! I’m serious about going the indie route and making this business work for me, so my next goal is to get as many books as I can written in 2016.
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?
Well, obviously a desert island survival guide would be top priority. Then something REALLY heavy and leather-bound so I could make a weapon out of it if needed. After that I’d probably request an omnibus of Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. Studying that sucker could keep me busy for years.
Author Websites and Profiles
Alexis Radcliff Website
Alexis Radcliff Amazon Profile
Alexis Radcliff’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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