Ask the Author: Alex Gabriel

“Ask me a question.” Alex Gabriel

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Alex Gabriel You ask the difficult questions! :-) As a reader, I completely sympathize with your wish to know what kind of wait you are dealing with here. Unfortunately, as an author who is prone to being sidetracked by Life, I don’t want to disappoint anyone or make promises I can’t keep. I know this is not a satisfying answer, and I really am sorry for it…

I am very glad you enjoyed “First Contact”, and that you’re looking forward to a sequel. I hope the wait will not be too long or too frustrating.
Alex Gabriel "Learning How to Lose" grew out of my interest in the Asian popstar / idol industry and the dynamic between the two main characters, and quickly took on a life of its own. There was no book (or other fictional medium) that inspired me to write about Hiro and Ryuu; I’d say that more than anything, the question “hm, I wonder if these particular guys can be brought together in a way that really rings true to me” is responsible. ;-)

So you’ve hit the nail right on the head – this is a story that resulted directly from my love for relationships between very different characters. Basically, I felt that their very differences would make these two perfect for each other, if only they could be brought to push beyond the initial dissonance and understand and appreciate each other. And I wondered how exactly that might work, and what kind of pressures and friction would have to be involved… and before I knew it, what was initially meant to be a short story grew into one of the longest stories I’ve ever written.

As for recommendations of books featuring very different main characters, that’s actually a bit tricky, but: I feel “Captive Prince” by C. S. Pacat features this kind of dynamic between its princely leads. The fantasy novel “The Fire’s Stone” by Tanya Huff isn’t primarily focused on romance, but has a very interesting constellation of characters as well; I should really read it again. If you also read m/f, the scifi novel “The Gate of Ivory” by Doris Egan is lovely.

I also find myself wanting to recommend the fantasy “A Fall of Princes” by Judith Tarr for this, but you’d have to stop reading halfway through, as the author makes some choices that I find extremely objectionable later on in the story. I still love the original constellation of characters, though, so…

I don’t know if any of this will fit the bill, since my mind seems to be very focused on fantasy - and princes in particular – today. If you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them, too. :-)

Sorry for rambling! I’m so glad you liked “Learning How to Lose”. Thank you for letting me know!
Alex Gabriel First of all, thank you for reading "Love for the Cold-Blooded", Kudrat - I'm very glad you enjoyed it enough to want to read more about Pat, Nick, and the trials and tribulations of being in love with a superhero (or part-time evil minion, whatever may apply). :-)

I hadn't originally planned a sequel, but I've been asked this question by many readers, and I do agree that there is definitely plot potential, both in terms of what will happen in the world around Pat and Nick, and how their relationship will change and evolve. The only problem is that I have three other books that I want to write first, and am not a fast writer. I am definitely not ruling a Cold-Blooded sequel out, but I really can't promise anything, either. Not an entirely satisfactory answer, I'm afraid!
Alex Gabriel Most definitely! I haven't begun writing yet, thanks to Life (it's like it conspires to prevent me from writing) - but I've been plotting, and ideas are ambushing me all the time.

I fully intend to spin this tale further. I started missing Drakjan and Hraban the moment I finished "Still Waters". There is so much of their tale left to tell!

Also: It's great to hear that you liked the story enough to be interested in a sequel! :-)
Alex Gabriel When I began writing the series, I considered alternating Ryuu’s and Hiro’s points of view; in the end, I decided not to because I felt that Ryuu’s journey of self-discovery and his quest to navigate through the relationship with Hiro would be less interesting if Hiro’s thoughts and feelings were clear all along. The tight, limited point of view – so I hoped – would make for more suspense in the way things unfolded.

Of course, when it comes to reading people and coming to correct conclusions regarding their thoughts, feeling and motivations, Ryuu is… well, not a natural talent, shall we say. I don’t actually think that Hiro IS a terribly mysterious and unknowable person; the fact that Ryuu often has no idea what’s going on with him has just as much (or more) to do with Ryuu than Hiro. Ryuu does get a fair number of indications of what Hiro is feeling and thinking – he just doesn’t know how to interpret them, or ignores them, or downright misinterprets them.

And since Ryuu is the reader’s only window into the story’s world… yeah. Tricky.

But long rambling reply aside, to finally answer your question: I currently have no plans to write a story from Hiro’s point of view, although I am happy to talk about what I pictured he felt at any point, if you do want to hear my take on it. (I’d also love to know what your take is, actually. So would Ryuu, come to think. Just help the poor man out here.)

I hope you enjoyed the books despite the mystery! ;-)
Alex Gabriel There were three real Jpop groups that served as inspiration for ONYX and 7Heaven – oddly enough, two of them were conflated into a single group for the purposes of my series. I am fascinated (and sometimes a bit chilled) by the way the Japanese and Korean idol industry works, so the idol milieu as a whole was definitely part of the reason behind the novels.

Still, while the idea of writing something set within that world appealed to me, it was the characters – Ryuu and Hiro – who actually inspired me. I love romances between very different people, and bringing these two together in as real and believable a way as possible was my main goal in writing Learning How to Lose.

I hope you liked the result! :-)
Alex Gabriel My most recently written book is "Love for the Cold-Blooded", and the short version of where I got the idea for it is: creeping chastity, articles about the serving heart, and the intrinsic charms of flying people with capes.

The long version is long, and so to be found here: http://alexgabriel.net/2015/02/22/fal...
Alex Gabriel Hi Meep, I'm very glad you enjoyed Pat's (mis)adventures as a part-time minion and accidental hoagie boyfriend!

I hadn't originally planned on a sequel to "Love for the Cold-Blooded", but you're not the first to suggest one, so I have found myself thinking about the possibilities. :-) Still, I have two other books on my immediate to-do list, and two more waiting in the wings...

So unfortunately, the answer to your question is an unsatisfyingly vague "maybe, but". I'm sorry I can't give you better tidings!
Alex Gabriel Hi Lee,

unfortunately I can't promise it, but I can promise to try! There really is a lot more to tell in this universe, and with these characters. I'm a bit swamped by two other projects right now, but I haven't stopped thinking about Rick and Jon.

Thank you for your interest!! I hope you enjoy First Contact.
Alex Gabriel I'd love to, but unfortunately, I'm not sure it's feasible for me right now. I won't lie, though - I've thought about it before! It'd definitely be a wonderful thing... especially since I'm just getting into audiobooks myself, after a lifetime of reading exclusively.
Alex Gabriel It sounds odd, but what inspires me most is writing. If I sit down and work at it regularly, my mind will fall into a writing state of mind and automatically come up with more and more ideas. If I am too busy with other things for a while, though, my inspiration will dry up and I will be left fearing I'll never be able to write again.

There is no drama like that of a writer fearing the loss of their inspiration. ;-) Fortunately, by now I've learned that no matter how bleak the situation may feel in the moment, it will improve once I get back into the writing groove. I've mostly gotten over the "oh noes, will I ever write again??!!%&%&$$%%§$" vapors by now.
Alex Gabriel Right now, I have four books lined up, including a sequel to First Contact. Before I get to that one, though, I want to finish another m/m urban fantasy I'm already about a third of the way into.

The urban fantasy in question is a dystopian story featuring demigods, various religious cults, organized crime and shadowy governent agencies. It's not necessarily a good thing to have divine powers, as my hero can tell you... and as for the gods, you'd better hope you stay under their radar.

A second m/m fantasy that is as yet in the planning stages is a world-hopping fantasy with a twist, a non-heroic hero, a lot of identity issues... and a devil along for the ride. ;-) I realize this is very vague, but the plot has yet to come together properly in my mind, and I don't want to jinx it. I'm superstitious when it comes to writing.

I'm very enthusiastic about this second story; writing it should be a lot of fun. I hope things fall into place in my head soon.

Lastly, there's a mainstream-ish science fiction epic that I've been working on, on and off, for a decade or so. I do want to finish it one of these days, but it's not a high priority.

And of course, there's always the chance of random story ideas ambushing me out of the blue. That does happen rather a lot...
Alex Gabriel The best thing about being a writer is that you get to write the books you want to read. The other best thing is that you can create whatever kind of world and characters you want, and the story will turn out just the way you want it to.

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