SIA Showcase for Readers and Writers discussion

Hi everyone,

My (pen) name is K. Alexis. Please call me 'K' or 'Alexis.'

I have recently self-published a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel, Rogue Ragtimet, on Amazon.com.

If you're interested in a character-driven narrative with a good dollop of action, Rogue Ragtime might be for you. Here is the blurb:

In a world where books are taboo and studying history is forbidden, there are still those who seek the past.

Six years ago, a powerful sorceress cursed Tath, Agra, Mea and Steh because they attempted to steal a 21st-century textbook from her library. She doomed them to a life of searching the globe for inconsequential trinkets ... with death being their only means of escape. Although still alive, the four condemned thieves are tired. They are tired of eating campfire cooking, climbing mountains in the cold and sleeping with one eye open to survive.

However, on their latest quest, one of the group will undertake a desperate gambit to return home. They hope their choice will allow them to cast off their magical chains. Instead, it will set off a series of events that will not only expose the other group members' secrets but also change the fate of the universe.

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If that sounds like something you're interested in, then please feel free to message me (or reply) below and I will do my best to get a free (review) copy. It's on KDP Select at the moment. So the best I can do is gift it to your email address via Amazon.com.

Alternatively, read on if you'd like to learn about me and my foibles.

I used to self-publish back in 2013-2015 and wrote under another pen name, but I unpublished all my previous books around two years ago (as best as I could) because, upon reflection, I wasn't happy with how the books had turned out. Back in those wild days of 2013-2015, I would often jump from genre to genre, sometimes starting new series mid-trilogy but never finishing any of the inspired sagas. And eventually, I drifted away from writing because I needed to be focused on other aspects of my life (such as work and so on).

Anyway, last year I wanted to try and see if I could polish up a (very rough) first draft of a novel I had written during 2014. I wanted to approach it much more systematically than I had before. Effectively, I wanted to determine if I could balance my writing interest / hobby with the demands of being a dad and other crucial parts of my life. I still don't know the answer to that question as writing Rogue Ragtime has left me quite drained. However, this is probably the first novel I have finished (out of the seven or so I have written) that I am quite proud of as I took the time to go through the process of eliciting feedback from beta-readers, checking the written prose against the requirements of a style guide and conducting other quality checks.

I'm at a kind of crossroads with my writing in the sense that it's not "fresh" for me anymore. I understand how much work (and time) it takes to create polished fiction. And, also, I am no longer deliriously "jealous" of other authors because I no longer feel I am entitled to an audience and a job from my writing labor. I do it because I love stories and writing, not for the "huge" dollars. In effect, my adolescent jealousy has turned into a real appreciation and admiration of other indie or published authors.

In saying all that, I don't know where to take my writing from here. After all these years (and novels), I wonder if I am finally competent enough to tell a somewhat engaging story. Or am I still falling short in that regard, and I should look at taking my writing in a different direction?

Anyway, you could say Rogue Ragtime is the re-commencement of my writing journey. My primary goal is to get (at least) ten independent reviews from different readers and see what they think of my writing. Have all these years of toil and heartache while banging words into a document been worth it because I can entertain at least a few others? Or should I pack it in and focus my energies elsewhere?

And while I'm trying to do that over the course of the next year, I hope to support other indie authors by reading and reviewing their work as best as I can.

I don't know where this adventure will eventually lead me, but I've taken the second step and I'm excited to wobble onto my third.

See you around on the boards!

K. Alexis