Alice James interview about her vampire mystery novel “Grave Secrets” (Solaris, 2020)
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Alice James interview about her vampire mystery novel “Grave Secrets”
Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2R2nXI6
Interview Timeline
Alice James has followed a fascinating path to writing and publishing her first novel. She’s worked in the coroner field, been a financial reporter, worked in public relations, and is a silversmith. Now she has published a vampire mystery set in the English countryside in which she grew up in. We spoke about the book, about vampires, about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and about how she was able to find and agent and get published.
0:31 – Alice talks about why she wrote Grave Secrets.
2:10 – Alice talks about the elements of the book and it’s light-hearted approach to the paranormal.
3:28 – Alice talks about the main character being very English.
4:55 – Alice talks about the cozy mystery element of the book.
6:42 – Alice talks about the horror and gore elements of the book as well as the gothic elements.
7:49 – Alice talks about how familiar she is with the English countryside which is the setting of this book.
9:08 – Alice talks about how she is a trained silversmith and how fiction books always get smithing wrong.
10:41 – Alice talks about growing up as a coroner’s daughter and her knowledge of that work.
12:33 – Alice talks about how delicately coroner work was dealt with in the small town she was from.
15:05 – Alice talks about the random country life facts she knows because of her upbringing.
17:55 – Alice talks about loving fantasy and loving anything with dragons when she was young.
21:10 – Alice talks about how she loved the Hobbit and Smaug.
22:55 – Alice says the book would have a gothy Sisters of Mercy type of feel to it but also with a lighter tone.
23:31 – Alice talks about her approach to writing.
25:15 – Alice talked about being a geek and studying computer science. She also talks about how she wasn’t a very good engraver.
27:53 – Alice talks about attending reenactment fairs.
29:17 – Alice talks about still doing a little bit of smithing.
30:47 – Alice talks about accidentally becoming a financial reporter.
33:10 – Alice talks about trying to work in PR for a hedge fund.
34:20 – Alice talks about how she ended up getting published.
36:10 – Alice talks about how she developed her creative writing skills.
37:45 – Alice talks about writers whose style she enjoys.
40:37 – Alice talks how much she wrote before getting published.
41:38 – Alice talks about how she approaches writing.
44:09 – Alice talks about how she wanted a magic barge when she was a child.
47:35 – Alice talks about she was able to get an agent.
52:24 – Alice talks about the time span of the series and the world building.
54:36 – Alice can be found on twitter @toniwindsor and at alicejames.co.uk
Links of interest
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Grave-Secrets/Alice-James/9781781088616
https://twitter.com/toniwindsor
Contact Information
For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.
Guests: Alice James
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: audio interviews, author, books, fiction, mysteries, podcast, Solaris, the occult,
Check the book out here https://amzn.to/2R2nXI6
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