Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Most of my own creative work has been oriented towards the visual arts. I would like to try creative writing (fiction) when I’ve finished the True Tales of a Traveller series, but these travel stories themselves don’t fall into that category; they are more like journalism. There are 13 in the series so far.
I considered publishing my own travel experiences many times in recent years, but self-publishing seemed too complicated so I never got around to it until I discovered in 2018 that Amazon had streamlined the whole process. Now I’ve got the ball rolling with the first few stories available in paperback and as e-books, but I still have many tales to tell! I would like to make them available as audiobooks, but unfortunately that option is only available in a few countries, not including Taiwan.
I’m putting excerpts of all my work on my personal website, alixlee.com, so that anybody interested has an alternative to Amazon’s Look Inside facility, which only shows the first pages.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest story is True Tales of a Traveller: Winter Break. This true account is set mostly in the Philippines about a year after the deposal of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The People Power revolution that led to the end of the Marcos era and ushered in the new government of Corazon Aquino had been positively reported on throughout the free world, and just reading those news reports made me keen to visit the country and see life there first-hand.
The years immediately after the People Power revolution were a time of soaring crime rates and political instability. A weak government and a brutal communist insurgency which seemed at times ready to topple it, along with an undermanned police force and rampant corruption throughout law enforcement and the judiciary provided the perfect backdrop for criminals and even people who no criminal history to settle old scores with impunity. In an era which makes Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous post-2016 campaign against drug dealers seem uncomfortably familiar, murder without legal consequences became commonplace, and ‘hitmen’ proliferated. This story also provides insight into exactly how that happened.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like to work very early in the mornings or late at night; that way I don’t have to many other concerns to interfere with my writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I may not be a good judge of that. But I have enjoyed most of the classic travel books, so it’s possible I’ve been influenced by any or all of them. I give any book a listen (I mostly listen to audiobooks, although I do occasionally read paperbooks and e-books) if the subject interests me and the writer seems to know what he or she is talking about.
In my late teens in the UK I was obsessed with science fiction, particularly the ‘new wave’ writers, such as J.G. Ballard, Thomas M Disch, Harlan Ellison and so on. Then, while in Morocco on my first piece of independent travel in 1981, I read the book that changed my life: Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon. I couldn’t put the book down, and it started me on a travel ‘career’ lasting many years.
What are you working on now?
For the next year or so I expect to continue working mostly on the True Tales series and The Taiwan Experience trilogy. The True Tales paperbacks will be published in chronological order, but the stories themselves I just work on in any order as I feel, or according to what’s clearest in my memory.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I only free promotion websites like this one! Perhaps when I have had more success I will have the option of trying a few paid promotion methods.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Only the same advice I give myself: Don’t give up!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably the above.
What are you reading now?
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Success, hopefully!
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 would take the above-mentioned Jupiter’s Travels, plus The Great Railway Bazaar, The Motorcycle Diaries, and On The Road. All these books would be able to take me to other places.
Author Websites and Profiles
Alix Lee Website