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Alexander Ferrar

Goodreads Author

Born

in Miami, The United States

Website

http://www.alexferrar.com

Genre

Thriller, Humor and Comedy, Crime

Member Since

October 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/alexferrar

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After using his considerable wealth to stockpile arms and raise a private army, Alexander Ferrar led an exodus of coed college students into the Amazon rainforest. There his followers have established a sustainable farm/nudist colony and worship him a la Colonel Kurtz. He is scheduled to return after the inevitable collapse of western civilization, at which time he will seize power and usher in the first era of true world peace. In the meantime, he continues to write novels that are delivered to his publisher via drone--okay, no, he doesn't.

He lives in Antigua Guatemala where he owns a restaurant-art gallery and a very popular exotic ice cream shop, and he has a beautiful wife. His grass is plenty green.

He is also the author of twenty novel ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Alexander Ferrar I know she'll love me eventually. She has to.…moreI know she'll love me eventually. She has to.(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Alexander Ferrar There are two types of writers, Plotters and Pantsers, and they both seem to look down on each other. Plotters do outlines and write scenes on index c…moreThere are two types of writers, Plotters and Pantsers, and they both seem to look down on each other. Plotters do outlines and write scenes on index cards, laying them out on the floor and agonizing over them, and pantsers just make it up as they go. They write by the seat of their pants.

I find that writers who plan out their whole book before writing the first word, often write the predictable, formulaic books I’ve come to hate. Ah, here we are on page 20. This must be where the conflict will be introduced. Ah, here is the character our protagonist doesn’t like, but is forced to spend time with because of some obligation, like work. See how quickly their unlikely romance blooms. Aaaaaaand boom. The simple misunderstanding that they could easily explain if they’d just listen to each other for five seconds. Now begins the sad part where they miss each other, but are too stubborn to reach out, until the big public event that one of them ruins by proclaiming their love. And everyone claps, instead of telling them to get lost.

But then, there is the problem with pantsers. They just make it up as they go, doop dee doop dee doo, and a pig jumps out of the cupboard and bites off the female lead’s face.

Now, you might remember me from such books as By The Sword, Friends Like These, The Kettle Black, Thy Neighbor’s Wife. Fans loved them because there were twists that kept them guessing. And in By the Sword, the book started with a high-speed car chase, first sentence. I didn’t even know what the book was about. I found out who the characters were while writing the second paragraph, and the story took form as I wrote it. I didn’t know anything about them until I wrote them, and they came to life beneath my pen. And that’s why I write this way. I want to find out what happens! If I already know, I lose interest.

From that one car chase, eight novels were born. A five-part series, and then a spin-off trilogy. But did I just make it all up as I went? Was it easy? No. Twice, I wrote myself into a corner and had no idea how to get out of it, so this is what I did. I do this for all my books, and it serves me well. The thing is, the book’s already written in the depths of my mind. I just have to bring it out.

In World War Two, cryptographers realized the value of the subconscious mind in solving problems. They’d study an enemy code for a long time, then take a break and go wash the dishes, play cards, whatever. Take a nap. Then they experienced what the French call “esprit d’escalier,” or “the wit of the staircase.” They call it that because, when do you think up the great comeback, the thing you should have said to that jerk in the bar? When you’re going upstairs to bed that night. And you think, why am I thinking of this NOW? I needed it hours ago!

It’s because your subconscious mind knew you needed that answer, and got to work on it. It just took longer to sift through all the possible responses. Sometimes the answer to your problem manifests itself in a dream. That’s because you just happen to be asleep when that little ticket pops out of the slot. Ding! Here’s the answer. Even though you’re completely unaware, your dark and murky subconscious is working away at it, and the answer will come when it comes.

So, here’s what I do when I have exhausted all the possibilities. I take a break. I go do something else. Sometimes, like right now, I am writing two books at the same time. I switch from one and focus more on the other. Or I abandon the both of them for a week. Then, I get myself some free time, turn my phone off and hide it in a drawer, and read my story again from the beginning, with fresh eyes.

There, I will find what they call Chekhov’s Gun. Anton Chekhov said about writing that, while describing a house, don’t bother mentioning the rifle hanging above the mantlepiece if nobody, at some point, is going to take it down and shoot it. Nobody needs to read a bunch of description if there will be no pay-off later.

So, what I do, is start reading again, and find some detail I’d forgotten about, some gun, and pick it up and shoot it. Here’s an example. In Friends Like These (spoiler alert, if you haven’t read it yet) the main character’s girlfriend turns out to be a narc. She gets shot, her blouse is torn open so they can find the wound, and they see the wire and microphone. The main character, Simone, makes a snap decision to betray her friends, and rescues her, gets her to a hospital, and then never hears anything about her because the cops take her to an undisclosed location. Since Simone was part of the organized crime ring, she’s never going to get info about the undercover agent who would’ve sent her to prison along with the others. So, she has to lay low, because both the cops and her ex-partners are looking for her, and that’s where I was stuck. What then?

I waited a few days, started reading again, and a lightbulb went off over my head in Scene Three. Simone had gone to her regular bar, where the bartender told her the same story he always told. He’d been on another blind date, and it was a disaster. See, this was how he explained never having a girlfriend. All his dates were with crazy chicks. I had her go back to that bar, and talk to the bartender I had forgotten all about, after enough time had gone by. The audience has been set up to have an expectation of a certain outcome. A reversal of it, then, is a twist.

When he tells her he was recently on a date, she expects it to be another horror story, him making excuses that he probably sits around inventing in his down time. But, surprise! The date went well. She is half-interested, and asks about the lucky lady. And the more and more she hears, it becomes obvious that it’s her girlfriend.

Now that the fiction of her deep cover has ended, she’s trying to resume her normal life, and the bartender is her rebound from her first-ever whirlwind lesbian romance. But it’s a clue, and Simone follows it. Asking about the next date, what movie they’re gonna go see, and she lies in wait so she can see them, and stalk them, and the story takes a turn I never would have expected.

And the audience thinks I knew what I was doing the whole time. So, I hope this helps you write your own story, and I look forward to reading it when it’s done.(less)

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Alexander Ferrar’s books

Average rating: 4.16 · 37 ratings · 2 reviews · 60 distinct works

	Thy Neighbor's Wife ~ free preview 3.29 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Friends Like These it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince of Foxes (The Great Reset Book 1) 3.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Factory of Lies (The Great Reset Book 2) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Arrow & The Cross: a Memoirs of a Swine collection really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Variety is the Spice: the art of Alexander Ferrar it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	By The Sword it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heresy Volume I: By the Sword it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Heresy Volume III: The Kettle Black it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Icarus Volume I it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Alexander Ferrar's Blog

In Shining Armor ~ Chapter 1

I

“I've been very near death. And you can't imagine the wild elation of those moments—it's the sudden glimpse of the absurdity of life that brings it
—when one meets death face to face.”
—Andre Malraux
The Royal Way (1935)

The second most horrible moment of Chandler Tuttle's life was the first time he played Russian Roulette at age seventeen. The second time wasn't as bad, a week later, but it was Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 12, 2014 07:21

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Alexander Ferrar rated a book it was amazing The Sunnyvale Firing Squad by Alexander Ferrar (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Alexander Ferrar rated a book it was amazing The Prince of Foxes (The Great Reset Book 1) by Alexander Ferrar (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 15, 2025 09:28AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Prince of Foxes by Alexander Ferrar. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Prince of Foxes by Alexander Ferrar <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alexander Ferrar rated a book it was amazing The Factory of Lies (The Great Reset Book 2) by Alexander Ferrar (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Alexander Ferrar and 2 other people liked Gina Whitlock's review of The Prince of Foxes (The Great Reset Book 1): "This writer has a great imagination. It's a conspiracy theory about why the world is as it is today. Who controls the money controls the world. Not literary fiction but a fun read for a book club."
Jul 25, 2024 07:57AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Prince of Foxes by Alexander Ferrar. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Prince of Foxes by Alexander Ferrar <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Alexander Ferrar (?)

“A reader has recently described the Heresy novels as "Dan Brown meets Guy Ritchie" and "I am constantly telling people about the awesome movie I'm watching, and then correct myself. Book. Book that I'm reading.”
― Alexander Ferrar

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