Author Interview: Alexandra Webb

For the next couple of weeks we will be doing Author Interviews with the writers at the Twisted Tales Blog. The blog is contributed to by 7 authors, all giving their own takes on some classic fairy tales. The stories posted so far are Aladdin, Alice In Wonderland,  Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. New chapters are posted every other week for each tale. If you are interested in reading these twisted tales, please be advised that they may contain graphic content .

http://wickedlytwistedtales.blogspot.com/2013/02/welcome-to-twisted-tales.html

Today we interviewed Alexandra Webb creator of The Self-Publishing Experiment and who is also writing the tale of Alice In Wonderland at Twisted Tales.

(from The Alice Page at Twisted Tales)

Blurb: Alice

Alice falls down what she thought was a rabbit hole, only to end up in the world of the Fae, the place she calls Wonderland. Forget off with her head. Entangled with the curse that has come over the land, Alice has no choice but to face the Red King, the collector of hearts. Literally.

Interview:

1) What got you started on writing?

          I’ve been telling stories since I can remember. I used to tell mystery stories in grade school during recess. When my life hit a hard spot I started to put my stories onto paper. I spent the majority of my childhood grounded so the computer (when we had one) wasn’t an option. I fell in love with telling the stories of the characters that I had no choice but to continue with it.

2)Are you non-writing friends and family supportive?  Or do you get the "author/writer...yea... okay..." response?  

          Most of my family thinks that writing is simply a hobby for me. They don’t know about the things I write, nor do they ask about it. Some of them are to the point of judgmental that I won’t tell them when I publish something because I don’t want to deal with that. It’s just how I am.

          Friends on the other hand, they are all very supportive, even if they don’t like the type of writing that I do. (The BDSM aspect of it) They still encourage me and joke around about what we’ll do when I hit it big. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my friends on this adventure.

3) Why did you choose your particular story for the Fairy Tale Blog.

          Why did I chose Alice in Wonderland? I loved the world of the book, the possibilities of it, even though I feel that the book has no plot. (I know there are people out there who will argue with me on this), but the world is amazing. I wanted to be able to take that world and put my own twist on it and the characters.

4) Why you took it in the direction you did?

          The direction I plan on taking is one that I mulled over and over. In the end I decided to let the characters run amok and do whatever the fuck they wanted. I wanted Wonderland to be the Fae world because in my mind it was the only supernatural world that would have such wondrous and horrifying things in it. I love working with the world of the Fae because there are so many things that can be done within it.

5) What elements are you going to keep the same as the classic version and why?

          The wonder of discovery is something I’m going to keep the same, other than that I’m really taking some liberties with this. Alice’s curiosity is something in the book that I admire. I really want to portray this in my adult Alice.

6) Do you prefer to write in silence or with the TV going or with music?

          I can go either way. I like music that reminds me of the character or that inspired the scene. When I’m writing sex I need something without words and when I’m editing I need silence. There is no if ands or buts about that. No music while writing. The TV I can get away with having it on, but I get so distracted so work tends to go slower. Much slower.

7) What is your dream writing space?

          My dream writing space would be somewhere with two monitors for editing, a wireless keyboard so that I can sit cross legged without having to worry about wires. A window with a beautiful view, where it is warm, but not too hot to work, or that ‘I want to take a nap’ warm that can happen, that needs to be somewhere where I can see it. It needs to have endless coffee and snacks. Maybe a mini fridge for cold drinks. Or man servants to bring stuff to me. ;)

8) What do you do to put yourself in the mood for writing graphic scenes like sex, violence or debautchary? 

          Ahhh sex…that needs mood music, maybe some sexy pictures to inspire…with being a BDSM author I actually have to research things so that I don’t get hounded by the masses about things not being accurate. (Though things that are not lifestyle based I do take some liberties with.) A lot of time that alone will get me in the mood to write a scene for the characters. As for violence I need anger music. I pull upon the anger and urges in me to write them. You know those urges, the one that makes you want to punch the stupid people? Yeah those ones.

9) If your life was a novel, what would the title be and who would write it?

          This is a hard question. I’d have to say the title would be something like “Hidden Beneath” or “Beyond the Mask.” As for the author I’d have to stay Janet Evanovich. Yep pretty sure my life is a comedy of shenanigans.

10) Who helps you through this crazy journey of writing?

          As I mentioned before I wouldn’t be anywhere without the support of my friends. Most of them act as my beta readers where some cheer me on from the side. I’m taking this journey with Mia and I have to say it’s been great having someone side by side with me, struggling, researching, and writing. She knows exactly what I’m going through with this. Eventually I hope to have fans going on this journey with me.

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Click the links to follow Alexandra Webb on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and at the Alice page on Twisted Tales for updates and chapters that will be added to Alice’s story.