SPFBO Author Interview: Aldrea Alien
What inspired you to write your SPFBO entry? Is there a particular story, personal experience, or idea that sparked this book?
Tracking Trouble comes largely from my desire to write more of the Main Character’s backstory. Tracker’s first appearance was as the love interest in the original In Pain and Blood, but he didn’t have a pov then (he does now that I’ve rewritten the story). He’s also from a guild of mage-hunters, known as King’s Hounds, who are born capable of sensing magic and as well as being unaffected by it. I’ve wanted to show how hounds did their job as well as why the kingdom fears spellsters as much as they do, all things that couldn’t be shown or explained during In Pain and Blood because of the events within that story, and what better person to show that than him? Plus, it lets me delve into the pov of another elf with their heightened senses, because the closest I’ve gotten is a short story and they didn’t do much interacting with humans.
How would you describe your writing process? How did it evolve during the creation of this book?
My process is slow, roughly 300-600 words a day (no NaNoWriMo for me anymore), which I’m generally doing between other tasks throughout the day. It has pretty much solidified itself at this point.
I generally start off with a rough outline of what’s happening and where I’m heading, then go from there, mainly attempting to write chronologically, but also jitterbugging all over the story as the Muse demands (and she’s very demanding when it comes to Tracker). Extra scenes inevitably rear their head. It’s common enough that those who’ve followed me for a while know that any beginning claims of “the book will be this many chapters” never match the final tally.
What challenges did you face during the writing or publishing process, and how did you overcome them?
Writing it to stand on its own whilst also not bogging down explanations for those who’ve read other books in my Spellster Universe was definitely an interesting exercise, but nothing I hadn’t already done. What took the longest was writing the more horror-like scenes, especially the Pit nightmare and the cottage. I had to take several breaks to mentally centre myself before continuing.
Who are your biggest literary influences and how have they impacted your writing style?
A lot of my literary influences are quite old. Robert Jordan, Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey and David Eddings. Various TV series, games, webcomics and movies probably have more of an impact on my current writing nowadays, especially when it comes to the darker elements.
How do you approach world-building in your fantasy novel? What elements do you think are essential for a compelling fantasy setting?
Well, for starters, I kinda did it backwards.
See, I’ve been building the Spellster Universe since 2015 and certain elements hadn’t truly set at the time I published the first version of In Pain and Blood, mainly how two things worked: hounds and a magic-nullifying metal. Both very important. Wouldn’t have mattered if it was a standalone, but I was two books deep into another series set in the same world when I realised I now had a massive plot hole at the end of IPaB. That was half the reason why I started the rewrite (the other being I wanted to add Tracker’s pov) and how I got Tracking Trouble in the first place.
You’d think I’d learn after a while, but nah! Plucking a completely random detail out of nothing then backtracking through the lore and building around until it makes sense is half of the fun. I literally screamed when I figured out the origins of the elves. The current ones had always been descended from refugees dating back always two thousand years, but the reason for their fleeing was never defined until years later. Then, of course, there’s their evolution that helps me make sense of the quirks in their physiology (from superficial things like long fingers and pronounced canines, to lungs that can work independently of each other with dual larynxes and even more explicit changes) but literally none of the modern-day elves know about.
That being said, it’s not the best way to go about it.
If you could give a piece of advice to the main character in your book at the start of their journey, what would it be?
Don’t go in the cellar. There’s nothing you can do and it’ll just haunt you.
As a self-published author, how do you navigate marketing and promoting your work?
I’ve cut back a lot of promoting and schedule where I can so everything runs smoothly without taking up all my time because there’s just me. That being said, there’s a new post every day on my main social medias. Fri & Sun, I share group promos or giveaways. Tues is for excerpts of published works. Weds & Sat are when I share pieces from what I’m currently working on, except for the first Weds of the month which focuses on a bit of worldbuilding for the Spellster Universe as a whole. Mon and Thurs are a mixed bag, mostly of memes.
Other than newsletter swaps, group promos and the occasional paid-for promo, I don’t do much else anymore. Having an unwell seventeen-and-a-half-year-old cat who needs daily meds, special food and regular check-ups kind of trumps anything that requires money.
What made you decide to participate in the SPFBO competition? How do you think this experience will benefit you as an author?
Honestly? Because it’s fun. It’s not my first time and it’s unlikely to be my last, so long as it’s still going by the time I have another book that qualifies. I enjoy the camaraderie of the group and discovering both new novels and new authors. The most I hope to get out entering is maybe a snippet of a review. Although, I have had one of my books not even get that much, so the bar for my expectations isn’t even off the ground.
If you were to win SPFBO, what impact do you think this would have on your writing career?
Winning ain’t even on my mind, but… maybe a handful of sales? I like to keep expectations low.
What's next for you after SPFBO? Are there any upcoming projects you can share with us?
I am currently in the middle of writing In Love and Death, the second novel in the Spellster and the Hound series and the latter half of the old version of In Pain and Blood (the original really was a behemoth). The series itself follows Tracker and Dylan as they travel across the kingdom in an attempt to get Dylan somewhere safe whilst catching feelings along the way, and trying to deny it until it comes to a head.
In Love and Death makes a very confusing time for Dylan, he’s not only discovered his home is destroyed, but he likes men and it doesn’t help that one of his other travelling companions is growing more hostile or that there are other people looking to kill him. But it’s fun to write. Or rather, rewrite. Bit of both as this new version diverts drastically from the old. More of the main cast get stabbed.
