Writerly Wednesday Welcomes Alistair Cross.
Pull up a chair and turn on some ominous music.
Interview
1. What is your favorite marketing task that has resulted in a sale?
I think word of mouth is my favorite. If you write a good book and you can get a few people to read it, it’s fun to watch them tell their friends, families, Facebook contacts, etc. I also think it’s effective to print some postcards with the buy links included on them, and pass them around.
2. What do you like about your publisher or why did you decide to Self Publish?
Beautiful Monster is published through Damnation Books, a publisher I’m very pleased with. They have a great team of editors and cover art designers, and they’ve been wonderful about marketing this book.
3. What do you have under your bed?
(I actually got up and looked… but I didn’t want to!) Let’s see… a few cat toys… and the yellow highlighter I spent an hour looking for a few days ago! Thanks, Sally!
(I aim to please and get you to exercise.)
4. Are you a plotter or a pantser when you are writing?
Somewhere in the middle. I like to have a basic roadmap, but not so much instruction that there’s no freedom to take a surprise left turn now and then.
5. Do you write in a bubble or do you prefer critique groups, writing buddies or other companionship during the process?
I’ve never had luck with critique groups. I tried, but it just wasn’t my thing. I write alone but I have a couple close friends I discuss things with.
6. When do ideas come to you and how do you capture them?
Most of my ideas come to me, oddly, when I am writing. This is convenient because I have files that I can add to on my computer. Occasionally, an idea hits me in the shower or just as I’m teetering on the edge of consciousness at night. I have a file in my phone that I’m always adding things to. People accuse me of texting too much but nine times out of ten, I’m not texting anyone. I’m recording ideas.
7. What is your favorite word processing program and what other tools do you use, pen, notebooks, white board, index cards, finger on fogged bathroom mirrors?
I use Microsoft Word… and whatever I can get my hands on otherwise.
Bio
Alistair Cross was born in a small town in the western United States.
He grew up on horror novels and scary movies, and by the age of 8, began writing his own stories. In 2012, his first novel, a collaborative effort called Beautiful Monster, was published by Damnation Books, LLC. under the pseudonym Jared S. Anderson.
Alistair is now hard at play on several other works, including a macabre little project with acclaimed horror novelist Tamara Thorne.
His influences include, but are not limited to, the works of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, John Saul, Tamara Thorne, Ira Levin, and William Peter Blatty.
Email, FB, Twitter links or addresses here…
Twitter: @crossalistair
Blurb
What happens when the man of your dreams becomes your worst nightmare? College student Brenna Carlson has fallen madly in love with the new man in her life, Sterling Bronson. When she awakens, naked and chained in Sterling’s basement, his deviant plans for her become clear. Brenna must choose between playing along with his savage game, or risking her life to escape.
Buy Link(s)
Damnation Books:
Barnes & Noble:
Amazon:
Excerpt
“The officer smiled and there was something about it that I didn’t like. I sized him up. Despite the thickness of his neck, I was confident that I could get a good enough hold to crush his windpipe if I had to. He held my gaze a few seconds and then pulled a photograph from the folder in front of him. In the picture, Number Six smiled back at me in a slutty red dress. She held a puppy toward the camera as if trying to make sure the photographer could see its entire face.
“We’re pretty sure you know who this is,” said Latham, his strange smirk still set in place.”
Beautiful Monster is available at:
Damnation Books:
Barnes & Noble:
Amazon:
Contact Alistair at:
Twitter: @crossalistair