A Conversation with Alex Wolf, Best-Selling Fantasy Author

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Alex Wolf illustrates fantasy-style portraits and draws commissioned pet portraits. Alex started writing back in 2010 when she was at college. During her Art courses, she would illustrate her characters and then write their backstories at the same time.

She started by posting these on random online forums that specialised in M/M (Male x Male/ Gay) romance. Soon she grew enough confidence to self publishing her first book in 2016. Since then she has continued to write about the characters featured on this website.

Writing and drawing have always been her passion since she was five years old. When she is not creating, she is either working her day job or reading various genres such as romance, true crime and dark fantasy.

Let’s get started with a quick rapid fire.

Q1.If you could be transformed into one animal, which one would you choose?

A cat, they have the best lives. Or a hawk, I have always wanted to feel what it was like to fly.

Q2. Finish the phrase “the way to my heart is…”

Books or food.

Q3. Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?

Introvert.

Q4. Do you watch shows one episode at a time or binge whole seasons?

Binge whole seasons! I do the same with books when I can!

Q5. Would you rather travel to the past or to the future?

Past, though I would last very long being a woman that is tattooed and has blue hair!

Q6. What is your last Google search?

Whether its 3-course menu or 3 course menu – for my marketing day job.

Q7. What object do you misplace or lose the most?

My journal, I take it everywhere with me to write in.

Q8. What is the kindest thing someone ever did for you?

Taking the time to review my books 🙂

Q9. If given the chance to start your life over, would you take it?

No, I like where I am and I worked hard to get here.

Q10. What is the best present you have ever received?

Recently, my trip to Harry Potter world. I had never been and I am such a big fan it was a crime to have not been sooner.

Q11. Describe your style in one word.

This is hard! Connection.

Q12. If you were to devote the rest of your life to philanthropy, what cause would you choose?

I think solving the global climate crisis. I care so much about this floating orb we call home.

It’s time for a more detailed conversation, Alex.

You’ve answered our rapid fire brilliantly, Alex. Now, it’s time for our readers to know more about the person behind the book.

Q. There’s a grand stage surrounded by fifty thousand people listening to authors introducing themselves. They are bored and restless of listening to introductions all day. It’s your turn. How would you introduce yourself?

I would howl like a wolf…

AHHHHHWOOOOOO I am Alex Wolf, a Fantasy author that writes LGBTQ+ friendly stories defining adult challenges through the art of writing as my voice. Alex Wolf is a pseudonym that I created in order to make myself part of the fantasy genre that I have written myself into. I wanted a name that was androgynous and something that used a name I liked to be called in games as a kid combined with an animal that I identify is very ‘writerly’ in terms of how isolating it can be on this writing path but together we can be a mighty pack

Q. Well, that will keep you in our thoughts. So, what books did you grow up reading?

I was really attracted to the horror and creepy books as a kid. Goosebumps by R.L.Stine and then the vampire series by Darren Shan. Then in my older teens it was Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles that I was obsessed with. These books were the reason why I write today, they made such an impact on my life and sparked my imagination.

Q. Interesting. Has writing and publishing a book changed the way you see yourself? 

Definitely. I have a voice and an imagination worth sharing with the world. That people actually like my writing and its not just for me anymore, I write for others. Also as I have a day job not being a writer, it does encourage me to see myself as an actual writer without relying on it financially.

Q. Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know (yet)?

I usually come up with the characters before the actual story. And their ‘story’ that I tend to write is basically me finding out how they are the way they are. I have mostly discovered my characters through my fantasy illustrations first. Also before I wrote novels, I did originally write small handwritten letters to my characters in order to get to know them better (like a penpal).

Q. Now comes the most anticipated question that every author must answer. How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?

Firstly, I tend to only read reviews when I feel I can take critique. Then I do look for the practical advice which some do offer. If there is none then I try to discard as them not being a ‘reader’ of my work. You can’t expect everyone to like your work.

Q. What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Aha I answered this above, indeed it is the characters. They can either swoop in initially as a side character from another’s story or just a burst of inspiration. I believe the reason for this is that even the plot is very character focused. Its about their journey and how they become who they are, the lessons they learn, the challenges they face. Without knowing the character I feel I can’t give a story much depth.

Q. How do you develop your plot and characters?

As I started to mention above, I develop my characters by getting to know as much about them as possible. Their back story (even if its not that relevant to the current story), their whole profile and what makes them relatable and memorable. Ultimately, it will be the character that drives me to write their story so I must almost be obsessed with them in order to focus on them for such a long period of time. Also defining the reason why I need to share their story is key to developing it, why I am dedicating so much time to one character.

For the plot, I loosely follow the 3 act story structure and give myself questions to put to the character at each plot point to have guide my story and plot.

Q. What does literary success look like to you?

I am still very early in my writer journey. Therefore, for me right now, every book I publish is counted as a success for me. The entire ambition is purely to share my work and grow my skill and build my fantasy world Lut-Par. I have so many ideas and I cannot wait to bring them into reality via a book format.

Earlier this year my book Élan was put into a school library. It wasn’t even a goal until how good it felt to have it there. To know that a teacher loved it so much she wanted her pupils to read it. That the school library was the first place where I discovered books, and so this may happen with my book, inspiring another too. That is just pure magic to me.

Q. Let’s talk about your book. Tell us about it. No major spoilers.

My latest book is The Prince’s Beast. An adult, queer fantasy romance with featuring an opposites attract romance, courtly intrigue and chaos magick that threatens to destroy peace, lands and love.

This books has two main characters. Nova who is a Dark faerie prince that was told to hide his chaos abilities as it is what killed his mother when he was a babe. Enkil is a pixie who grew up in the vampire court full of arrogance and swagger. When these two meet, they clash despite their obvious attraction to each other.

Enkil discovers Nova’s secret and soon has to choose between his vampire family and his developing feelings for Prince Nova. It contains steamy scenes, devious vampires and plenty of tension. This sensual story holds a lesson on being true to yourself and being accepted for who you are.

Q. What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?

I think it was the middle part. I always know the beginning and ending and so the middle part is always the hardest to tie together. This is where the 3 act story structure is helpful to guide the story through and encourage the plot to stay relevant and interesting the reader.

Q. If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

If I met Nova – I would thank them for being the initial spark for this story and teaching me the importance of fully embracing all aspects of self, even the parts we may not be encouraged to show the world. That I am also grateful for letting me get to know the true depths of him, even the fun, lighthearted side that he rarely shows others. He was a delight to get to know throughout this process. Finally, that I love his dress sense, it was the easiest to write about.

If I met Enkil – I would thank him for giving this book the humorous edge it deserved to contrast with Nova’s POV. Enkil has such charisma and was the most liked amongst my beta readers. I love how he encourages Nova’s fun side and give him the support that he needs in order to embrace himself and his chaos abilities.

Q. What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

I am a hardcore plotter. When inspiration hits I practically plot out as much as I can in depth so that I am able to address any gaps or plot holes early on. Also my process is that in order to fully commit to writing a story I have to know where I am going (but still have the option to deviate if I want) and that I love the story enough to write it out to make it worth it. The plotting process is basically me telling myself the story then transitioning to the first draft is me translating it into a readable experience for others.

Q. Let’s talk about the process of writing. When you’re writing an emotional or difficult scene, how do you set the mood?

The easiest way for me to ‘set the mood’ is by music. Even songs that have lyrics in. I need to vibe with it in order to then see the scene playing out in my head. Alongside that, its a case of a lot of work and visualisation around why that particular scene is so meaningful to the character and how it feels for them in order to immerse the reader.

Q. What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book? 

What has helped – joining a writing community where I can accountable for my goals and have support for like minded people who have similar challenges to me. I love talking writing with others and seeing other accomplish my dream alongside me is so rewarding. Also beta reading for others, I feel like this sharpens my skills for switching to a reader perspective when needed.

What has hindered – giving myself deadlines before finishing the first draft and putting pressure on myself, making my absolute favourite thing no longer fun and more of a serious ‘job’ after my day job.

Q. It’s been fun. Now, before we wrap this up, do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?

I think the most important thing I tell others is to establish the why you write. Whether that is just generally or the story you are writing. This made a huge difference for me, moving from my draft I half wrote three years ago to three books later that I had written in the last two years. This can be such a strong foundation for your writer journey to understand what success means to you vs others and how you can shape smaller goals to achieve that ‘better writer’ status.

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