Author Interview: Alexander R. Davis

1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!

I love stories, movies and books alike. I learned many of my morals from the heroes in books and movies when I was younger. People have teased me about being a knight, more than once, haha. Because I saw how much of an impact stories had on me, I wanted nothing more than to be able to do that for someone else!

​A story has such power to change. There is something about them that can touch hearts in a way that simple facts could never do. Textbooks are great, but they don’t hold a candle to the books that teach lessons through stories. I realized early in my life that stories are the best way to really teach and have an impact on lives. Think about some of the greatest speeches you have heard. Think about the lessons that really stick with you. Very often there is a story tied in that drives the lesson home. Even look at some of the greatest teachers. Look at Jesus, Gandhi, or even the best school teachers. They have a message and they share that message through stories.

​Knowing the impact I could potentially have I looked into becoming an author myself. I wanted it so badly, but for over a decade I had done nothing with it. I searched in the self development world for the answer. After a lot of study, I found that I had a belief that told me: “dreams are something to look forward to, but not have. They are something to see, but not touch.” Wow. When I came to this realization, it changed everything!

​I worked on this belief and cleared it away. As soon as I was free of that limiting belief, my dreams became reality. In a decade nothing, and then in a year and a half, I published 6 books! Can you believe that? If I hadn’t experienced it, I would have laughed if someone told me what was going to happen.

​At first, I had only planned to write fiction, but because of my journey in the self help world, I began writing in that realm as well. Both adventurous stories, and real life teachings had helped me, so now I share my knowledge and imagination.

​You may ask: why should I care about all of this? I have an answer for you. If this young guy from a little town could reach his dreams, then so can you. You CAN and WILL succeed!

Standalone or series?
Series all the way. with a series you can actually get to know the characters really well. With a stand alone it’s hard to really get into much depth with any one character. It helps them feel more real and let’s you relate to them more. Plus, if it’s a really good one then it doesn’t end after only one book/movie and leave you wishing there was more. Imagine if something like star wars, lord of the rings, or the office, only had one book or one season. It would indeed be a travesty. 

Hero or anti-hero?
From a tactical perspective, anti-hero may be the way to go, but I have to stick with the traditional hero. Heroes have always fascinated me, not because of some power or ability they may have. not because they may be a better fighter or luckier than the next guy or anything else like that. The reason I’m drawn to them is because of their characters. They are genuinely good, wholly and truly. Their morals are what I really am attracted to. So though they may have more weaknesses to exploit than an anti-hero, I still have to stick with the traditional hero.

Plotter or pantser?
You know, I have tried to be a plotter, more times than one, but it never works out for me. As I am trying to plot things out, I just can’t help going into a lot of detail and then just wanting to keep writing from there. So I defintely jive more with the pantser. In fact, I wrote a three book series and did almost zero plotting. I just let the writing take me where it would.

Morning or evening?
The evening is where it’s at. For whatever reason as soon as the sun goes down, I typically get less tired. My brain starts rolling and the creative juices often get flowing better. I remember one night I couldn’t sleep and stayed up writing. In that single night I wrote close to 30 pages of a novel I was working on. Plus there is always the bonus that most people are off of work in the evening, including me. Haha.

3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?

An uncorrupted hero in a corrupt world. A good example would be a story like the Dark Knight. the hero, batman, never kills, regardless of what is done to him or the ones he loves.

4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!

I am all over the place to be honest. I have inspirational, relationships, coaching and fantasy books. But fantasy will always hold a special place in my heart, because the first fantasy book I picked up was the book that made me realize that reading didn’t just have to be a chore issued by school. What I am focusing on now is a series (Omeron: The Hero’s Chronicle). The first book has been published for a little over a year and after a little break I am coming back to continue writing the next book.

5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!

The most recent release is the one I mentioned above (Omeron: The Hero’s Chronicle). This book was born out of my fascination for heroes and what makes someone a hero. more than just powers or abilities, but who someone has to BE to be considered a hero. Here is the teaser.
“If you could stop all of this, would you?” the hero asked.

Randrum knelt before the hero, who was adorned in his bloodstained armor. That armor had once been bright and gleaming, but no longer. Randrum only lifted his eyes, too weak to stand. He hardly noticed the blood red snow, or the still bodies around them, which he himself would soon join.

“Of course I would… but it’s too late,” Randrum said before going into a fit of coughing. Once he recovered somewhat he raised his eyes to meet the hero’s gaze. “No one can turn back the hands of time….”

The hero crouched down before Randrum, still holding his gaze. “But what if one could?”

Randrum licked his lips. The blood loss must have been getting to him. He actually considered the question, even though it was impossible. “If it were… possible… I would sacrifice anything to change this.”

The hero smiled and held out his hand. “’That’ is the right answer.”

Randrum hesitated, then reached for that hand.

If a murderer was given the choice between death and becoming a hero, something so contrary to everything they know, would they? Even if they did, could they actually change? Could they fight their nature and become a true hero?

6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!

Some of my driving inspirations have been: The Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings.

7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!

I’ve tried many different ways, but right now I’m set on time. I give myself a set amount of time to write. It doesn’t matter how much I write in that time period as long as I am writing. At the same time I also listen to music because that helps me to write. My typical music is just music mixes without words. I go to youtube and type in music mixes. Two steps from hell, and audiomachine have some good mixes.

8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?

Don’t dwell on criticism. Give it a look to see if there is any value in it, then throw it away. dwelling on the negative feedback only sets you back.

9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!

https://www.srabooks.com/https://www.facebook.com/alex.r.davis.9https://twitter.com/davisRalexander
https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-R-Davis/e/B07V5VY6VV/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1