Ask the Author: Maria Alexander
Answered Questions (8)
Maria Alexander
Hello, Dr. Jasmine! And thank you for your question.
Dark fiction explores what scares us. It shines a light on things that would rather moulder in the shadows. As a writer, I love the feeling of finding that dark, terrible, unspeakable thing and showing a character conquer it. Psychologically it's a wonderful thing. Emotionally, too. I think there's a misconception that horror only dwells on the negative. While there's generally a price paid when one conquers the bogeyman, horror should show how we come out of it on the other side, how facing our demons transforms us. Horror can be a meditation on faith, as well. Take Mike Flannagan's MIDNIGHT MASS. He explores various religious faiths as his characters face a deadly menace. It's absolutely beautiful.
So, I'd say the feelings I get are everything from dread, disgust, and excitement to healing, awe, and joy. You know -- all the feelings of being a human.
All the best,
Maria
Dark fiction explores what scares us. It shines a light on things that would rather moulder in the shadows. As a writer, I love the feeling of finding that dark, terrible, unspeakable thing and showing a character conquer it. Psychologically it's a wonderful thing. Emotionally, too. I think there's a misconception that horror only dwells on the negative. While there's generally a price paid when one conquers the bogeyman, horror should show how we come out of it on the other side, how facing our demons transforms us. Horror can be a meditation on faith, as well. Take Mike Flannagan's MIDNIGHT MASS. He explores various religious faiths as his characters face a deadly menace. It's absolutely beautiful.
So, I'd say the feelings I get are everything from dread, disgust, and excitement to healing, awe, and joy. You know -- all the feelings of being a human.
All the best,
Maria
Maria Alexander
I'd love to visit the world where Agent Pendergast exists. He's sort of like The Doctor, but Gothic, from New Orleans instead of Gallifrey, and drives a Rolls instead of a TARDIS. You might not be safe with Pendergast, but his companions don't tend to suffer the terrible fates that those of the Doctor do.
Maria Alexander
The best way to deal with writer's block is to keep writing. Let it be ugly, wrong, batshit awful. Eventually, an ember of inspiration will emerge that will burn away all the chaff.
Maria Alexander
No, I can't. Because the angels held me down last night, thrust a knitting needle into my eye socket, and scrambled my brains.
Maria Alexander
Before I was born, my mother was friends with a British psychic named Mrs. Steele. Just after my birth, Mrs. Steele moved abruptly back to the U.K. and was killed. But before her death, she wrote my mother a detailed letter about me that was lost for many years. What if my family found that letter and it contained a clue to the psychic's unsolved murder? A clue related to me...?
Maria Alexander
I have two answers for this, and I think it's because I have such wide tastes in literature. I love Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood from Austen's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, mostly because I'm a huge fan of the Colonel's steadfastness. His whole demeanor is very attractive, and I enjoy that Marianne eventually awakens to it. But second, I also love Pie'oh'Pah and Gentle's relationship in Clive Barker's IMAJICA. Pie is a shape-shifter and Gentle is an artist. The idea of loving someone no matter what form they take, knowing it's "them" inside is utterly beautiful.
Maria Alexander
Hire a publicist, be a friend to bookstores, and stay professional in all situations.
Maria Alexander
Absolutely, although it's closer to my short story process. I spend more time planning structure, researching and developing characters before writing a book. My characters drive the plot, so I have a really good idea who they are before I even start. Generally with short stories I know the ending and something about the protagonist, but not always more than that before I start writing. I very often don't need to research for my short stories because they tend to be more autobiographical.
Poetry is another creature altogether. Almost always I have a snapshot in my mind – an image, vivid and emotional. The words and structure flow from that. And those images come during intensely emotional moments. I'm not as disciplined about my poetry those other forms of storytelling. I can go years without writing a single poem, and then suddenly – a cataract.
Poetry is another creature altogether. Almost always I have a snapshot in my mind – an image, vivid and emotional. The words and structure flow from that. And those images come during intensely emotional moments. I'm not as disciplined about my poetry those other forms of storytelling. I can go years without writing a single poem, and then suddenly – a cataract.
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