Alexie Aaron's Blog

Time off?

Someone recently asked me, "Now that your book is in the hands of your editor, what are you doing with your time off?" After I stopped laughing, and apologized for laughing, I tried to understand the concept of time off?

I don't read when I'm writing, so I do stick my head in a few novels. The wonderful thing about books is that they don't spoil. Books have a wonderful shelf life.

A few of my friends get long awaited for letters, and the others, apologies. When a book has a hold on me, I don't do much else but ponder and write. I try to keep up with Goodreads and Facebook but my posts are unimaginative and droll. I want to tell my readers about what I'm writing, but that falls under spoiler alert!

Recently I conversed with a reader via FB messages while I monitored my sump pump. I lead such an exciting life!

I have a chore list that needs attending to and then there is taxes...

So what do I do in my time off? I think about writing the next book.

Christmas Letter

Dear Good Readers,

I have been so busy writing and rewriting that I decided that I better employ a ghost writer or this Christmas letter would never get finished. So I decided to travel to the cold barren forest (which is my mind) and look for Stephen Murphy. Murph is an axe-wielding ghost in my “Haunted Series.” A hundred and a half years ago he made his living as a farmer-forester before being struck down in his prime by a falling tree. He assured me he was an educated man and knew his way around a composition book. I found him clearing out the dead wood. His axe sliced through the trees as easily as my editor paints red ink all over my manuscripts.

“Murph, if you have a moment, I’d like to discuss my Christmas letter.”
Murphy looked over at me and pushed his hat back on his head and smiled. He is normally a man of few words (a rarity in my family), but I had confidence that he would be able to find his tongue and be able to discuss this project with me.
“Do you have the notes I sent you?”
Murph nodded and pulled out a tattered yellow piece of paper. From my position I could see that he had made edits to my list of things I had done in the last year.
“Problem?” I asked.
He nodded, drew out a number two pencil from his overalls, invited me to take a load off, and sit down at a conveniently placed picnic table in the middle of the woods. “Just wanted to clear up a few things, mind you,” he said affecting a slight Irish accent.
“Okay, shoot.”
He raised an eyebrow and indicated he didn’t have a firearm just a damn pencil and an axe.
“Figure of speech…” I tried to explain its origins but he waved me off.
“Your nephews got married?”
“Yes.”
“Is that legal?”
Flushed with embarrassment I informed him, “Not to each other! They each married two beautiful, smart women and invited me to their weddings.”
“I heard you crashed.”
“I was invited,” I insisted.
“These girls married willingly into your family?”
“Yes.”
“Had they met you before?”
“No, well, one at her bridal shower.”
“That explains it.”
“Explains what?” I asked insulted.
He ignored me and tapped the paper. “Who’s this niece who visited from Germany? You make her up?”
“No, Sara is my eldest brother’s daughter. She flew into Chicago, and I went to see her. I met her husband for the first time and…”
“He married her before meeting you too. I’m sensing a trend.”
I ignored him and told him about the wonderful day I had meeting Zach for the first time and their wonderful, well behaved children Sophia and Ozgood.
“Must take after his side of the family,” he said penciling notes on the paper.
“Any other questions?” I asked looking at my arm, noticing I haven’t worn a watch in ten years and thinking it was time to buy one.
“If you mention all these weddings, won’t people wonder whether your kids are married?”
“They aren’t.”
“Any grandkids?”
“No, I’m too young to be a grandmother,” I insisted.
He lifted an eyebrow and asked, “You want me to count your rings,” twirling his axe.
“No,” I said feeling a bit uncomfortable. Changing the subject, I brought up the reasons one sends a Christmas letter out to their loved ones. “It’s to catch them up on what I have been doing…”
“To brag,” Murph interrupted. “It says here that I’m to humbly mention all the e-books you wrote and published this year. How in the world can I do this humbly? Anyway, I thought Alexie Aaron wrote these books.”
“I’m Alexie Aaron,” I insisted. “It’s my nom de plume…pen name.”
Murph raised his pinky finger miming a hoity-toity lady at tea.
My teeth on edge, I snatched the paper and scratched this off the list. I read over his other notes and noticed he had underlined Jim’s name. “You have a problem with Jim?”
“Oh, he’s okay; just no one ever sees him but you and the kids. I’m beginning to think he’s just another character…”
“He’s a character alright.” It was my turn to laugh. “Speaking of characters, I received your request for me to describe you differently.”
“Well, yes. You said I’m thin, reasonably good looking with graying hair and…”
“How do you see yourself?” I asked curious.
“Tall, dark, handsome, with muscles and a mustache the gals would die for.”
“That’s Tom Selleck.”
He raised his axe in a menacing way. I acquiesced, “I’ll do it, but my editor’s going to be pissed. Speaking of which, I’ve got to run, she’s waiting for this, and if I don’t get it to her before her tea is finished I’ll be out of luck. Just tell everyone that I appreciate their love and friendship and wish for them the best of years to come.”
Murph nodded and tucked the paper back into his pocket. He picked up his axe and tipped his hat to me before disappearing into the forest of my mind.

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful year to come!


Alexie Aaron and Stephen Murphy

Reviews

I awoke this morning to find another wonderful review on my little novella Eternal Maze Peeps 3.1. This, combined with the first review by the very supportive Jennifer Ann, has enriched me. There are threads that run through a few of the e-book forums about the reviews and comments being only for future readers. That authors should not be reading them, and for heaven’s sake don’t respond to the negative ones! I read them. I am encouraged by the comments, and even though they don’t direct me what I write, they make it a pleasure to do so. Many of us live in a vacuum, just me and the dust bunnies, when we are writing. Getting this kind of important support, suggestions, and dealing with the sometimes hurtful negative remarks, by someone that just does not get your writing, breathes air into me daily.

Writing the Haunted Series came about from a suggestion from my son. At the time I was trying to get someone to publish my mystery books. He said, “Mom, write something different.” I went through the method of What If. What if there was a person who could see ghosts? She has been ridiculed all her life. Things start to settle down, she is tolerated as the town crazy and exists under the radar. Then (yes I used ‘then,’ oy) what if a group of amateur ghost hunters come into her town and stir things up? That’s how Mia, Murphy and the PEEPs came into being. They haunt my days with their stories and my nights with what ifs.

So thank you for the reviews. Thank you for reading my novels and novellas. I will do my best to keep you entertained and the PEEPs happy that their stories are being told.

Sand Trap

I've just finished adding "Sand Trap" to my goodreads library. This is the third of my "Haunted" series. This book was so much fun to write. I always feel odd when I add my own books here. The first time, due to my inexperience, I gave it stars. When I realized that this looked a bit odd, I took them down. Someone asked, "What's the matter don't you like your own book?" I put them back up.

So, if the bravado of me giving my books stars bothers you, it isn't meant to say anything other than I feel that I wrote a very good book, and worked with a copy editor to bring the very best possible quality that an e-book can have.

I hope you enjoy it.
Kind Regards
Alexie Aaron

Stubborn

There comes a point, in writing, when my characters take control. They determine whether or not a relationship is going to work. I may put them through, well, hell, and they don’t complain, but they do want to have a say in matters of the heart.

I point out as a writer I have the responsibility of the plots and the interweaving of them. Mia just pats me on the head and says kindly, stay the @#$% out of my love life, oy.

After 40,003 words I may just let her have her way. Sigh.

To rate or not to rate...

I have had the privileged to listen to Barbara Rosenblat read Diane Mott Davidson's first two books, "Catering to Nobody", "Dying for Chocolate," and now in the middle of "The Cereal Murders." My question is, does this count as reading them? Sigh. I just love Barbara's voice she has brought me such joy with Linda Fairstein's, Barbara Michaels' and Nevada Barr's books.

How do you rate the books? Barbara does such a magical job of bringing me into their pages. The authors are talented women and I admire their body(s) of work.

Sigh...

My thoughts on July 2nd, 2012