Today we have the pleasure of hosting Alex Granados !
Welcome Alex, so great to have you here with us. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
If you are reading this, then by
now you’ve heard that I have a novel out. It’s called “Cemetery Plot,” and it
is the result of years of labor. Ok, that’s not, strictly speaking, true. I
actually wrote it in a month and revised it over six, but the process of
writing a novel was years in the making. I had to get over numerous doubts and
fears, and I had to dig deep to find the perseverance to keep going no matter
the odds. That’s how you find my book available for purchase today.
“Cemetery Plot” isn’t exactly
horror. It’s got zombies, so the word “horror” applies by default, but it’s
more of a sci-fi rumination on the possibilities of the future. I’m not saying
there are going to be zombies in the future — that would be ridiculous. But I
do find it interesting to contemplate what happens in a long enough time line
with all the bodies we so carefully preserve these days. They can’t stick
around forever. Do we eventually start digging up old bodies to make room for
the new? Or will burial be reserved for the rich, leaving the rest of us to go
the cremation route? I don’t know, but “Cemetery Plot” imagines a world overrun
with graves, and eventually, zombies. So I used horror as a way to examine a future
that interested me.
The book is also sci-fi. I’m a big
sci-fi fan. My favorite writer is Kurt Vonnegut. I didn’t even know he was
sci-fi until I saw the classification on a chart or page somewhere. I just
thought he was awesome. But I have since discovered that anytime you deal with
time or space travel, you’re solidly in sci-fi territory. Incidentally,
“Cemetery Plot” deals with time travel. In fact, time travel is integral to the
plot and its resolution.
Do real life events find their way into your
stories?
Yes, though not so much in Cemetery Plot. I find that I’m
able to more vividly capture scenes if they are based on something that
actually happened to me. The one scene I can think of in Cemetery Plot related
to this is when the zombie and the living dead medium have a conversation about
“Hawaiian” pizza. The description of how the zombie came to love it mirrors my
own experience.
Do you ever mimic family members or people you
know when you choose characters?
Again, I do, but not so much in Cemetery Plot. It was more
of a complete fabrication, though in my more recent novels, I find myself
modeling characters more and more on the people I know.
Do you find yourself going back to the same
inspiration for each story or is it always something different?
It’s usually something different. I go to different parts of
my life for inspiration. If I want to write something that’s more realistic,
I’ll go to times in my life when I was feeling particularly out of control or
troubled. I find it makes for good drama. If I’m trying to do something more
horror related, then I’m likely to stick with fears that I’ve had throughout my
life. For my more science fiction type stuff, I draw from all experiences. They
can all fit into some weird future, it that’s what I need.
When do you write? Early morning? During the day sometime or all
day? After the kids go to bed?
It really depends on when I have time. If I have more time
in the morning, then I like to write while I’m drinking my morning coffee. More
often though, I have to wait until I go home, and then I try to write before
dinner. I hate writing at night. I like sleeping more.
How do you feel about marketing your book?
I got to say, I don’t like it much. I like to write. I was
never particularly interested in the “getting-myself-out-there” part, but I
guess that’s an essential component these days.
What social sites do you feel work best for
marketing?
Facebook is the only site I use, and I only joined that a
few years ago because I had a crush on a girl who wanted to “friend” me. I have
since become a Facebook addict and, in fact, only have the job I have now
because of Facebook. That said, I don’t particularly think it works well for
marketing. I think there are diminishing returns to publicizing yourself on there
— A high probability of message burnout.
Do you like to pitch stories to your publisher or
do you wait until you have written the story and have a final manuscript to
turn in?
I write novels and then I pitch them. The stories are the
stories, and I’m going to write them whether they get published or not.
Is there any other genre that you would love to
try writing? If so, what is it?
I don’t know. I’ve done science fiction, horror, crime…
maybe one day I’d like to try my hand at whatever “literary” writing is. But
I’m still trying to figure that one out.
Do you always/ever see yourself as the
heroine/hero when you write a story?
No, I actually think it’s more fun if whichever character I
relate to is an asshole. It keeps me humble.
Just for fun, I have a few personal
questions,
Favorite 5
1) Favorite
Male Actor - Paul Giamatti
2) Favorite
vehicle – Jeep Wrangler
3) Favorite
way to relax – Reading
4) Favorite
ice cream – Chocolate
5) Favorite outfit – I really like this fishing vest I
have. It’s got like a million pockets, and I always carry a lot of junk
around.
And for a bonus:
If you could pick any place in the world to live, besides where you are
now, where would it be? (Of course,
without the hindrance of jobs or money needed)
Where can our readers find
you??
Is there an upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and where can we find it?
Cemetery Plot
EXCERPT:
“Hi. My name is Nathan Mickels. I guess I could
tell you about the end of the world, and being one of the last remaining humans
on earth or some of that apocalyptic crap. But the truth is that the world
hasn’t changed much since it ended. Sure, the dead are walking and people are
dying. But there’s still money to be made.
“Take me for instance. I specialize in a
particular trade. You see, these Living Dead, they’re not the brightest
creatures. Any mother hoping that her little Annie was going to come back and
sit at her knee had a rude awakening. Little Annie was much more likely to bite
her and turn her into a zombie than give her a hug.
“Nevertheless, people find out that the dead are
coming back to life, and they just got to see. That’s where I come in. It’s my
job to hunt down the Living Dead. Specific ones. If your uncle Andrew died last
year, you might hire me to find him and bring him to you. Of course, if you
were smart, you already checked out the graveyard. You probably only come to me
if you find a hole where your uncle should have been.
“So out I go, and I track down your uncle. But
what good is he going to be to you as a grunting hulk of shit for brains? None,
that’s what. I have a unique talent that I get paid for. I’m kind of like what
people used to think mediums were like. You know, they figured they could talk
to the dead and all that crap. Well, I can talk to the dead. It takes some
doing and some concentration, but leave me alone with a walker for a good six
hours, and I can start getting something intelligible out of them.
“Mind you, it’s not what you’d think of as
intelligible, but it’s a language of sorts. Some kind of guttural, grunting and
wheezing that resolves itself into meaning in my head. Well, you don’t believe
me? Ask me anything? How old was Uncle Andrew when he lost his virginity? What
did he really do to lose that sales job? Was he really just being friendly with
his niece that time you caught them together in the bedroom? (Here’s a hint.
No. You ought to kill that bastard all over again.)
“Anyway. That’s me. The Living Dead medium.”
Here is the blurb:
Vanessa Hawthorne is a zombie. . .at least that was the plan. Miserable
with her life, she agreed to participate in a fatal ritual that would transform
her into one of the Living Dead. Instead, she wakes up decades later alive, unaged
and living in a world overrun with graveyards.
But when a real estate tycoon finds out about Vanessa, he will stop at
nothing to discover how she cheated death. He hopes that this knowledge will
give him the power to resurrect the dead. The money he stands to make is
incalculable. And he is willing to do whatever it takes — kidnapping, assault
and even murder — to get the job done. Luckily for Vanessa, she has Mark
Nimocks and his friend Emily to protect her. . . but at what costs?
A zombie apocalypse is in the
works, and it will take a medium from the future to find a way to undo the end
of the world. But can he actually help change the past? Or is the world fated
to be destroyed no matter what?
Amazon
Amazon
Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com/
Alex, thanks so much for sharing a little about yourself and about your new release!!
Readers, make sure you don't miss out on this new book by Alex granados, Cemetary Plot!
Until next time, happy reading !!
Krista
Alex, thanks so much for sharing a little about yourself and about your new release!!
Readers, make sure you don't miss out on this new book by Alex granados, Cemetary Plot!
Until next time, happy reading !!
Krista
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