An Interview with Alex Avrio
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest book started as a small exercise in a writing group, creating two people in a certain place. The two people were so interesting that I wanted to learn more about them. It suddenly fitted in with another idea that had been simmering at the back of my mind, and is now rapidly developing into a fully fledged novel. Of course, me being me, it has evolved into a three layered story set in three different timelines separated by thousands of years which all interlink. So what started out as a relatively simple modern fantasy quest has developed into a complex storyline. The closest I can think to describe it is Indiana Jones meets Lost without the island.
Do your stories have an underlying theme?
Many of my stories would be classed as dark fantasy, and cover diverse times and places. However, I think of the underlying theme as "Darkness lurks beneath the surface". They are often set in our world, or a similar world to the one we live in, where people are living normal everyday lives, with normal, everyday problems. But there are unseen dark forces lurking in the background, controlling things, or trying to break through into our world. These unseen dark forces take many forms in my work, but I would say that is my underlying theme.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I was around 10, and had a half-baked idea about a Lord who was showing a precious diamond to his guests at a party, when the lights went out and the gemstone was stolen. Suspicion fell on his son, who was banished and had to go on a quest to deepest, darkest Africa to make his fortune and find a similar diamond to bring back to his father. It was to be a rip-roaring old fashioned adventure, in the Haggard style, although unfortunately it didn't get past the first few pages.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
My mum used to tell me stories, and would combine characters in strange mixtures. For example, the Greek heroes would meet Spiderman and Dick Turpin. This was great for igniting the imagination of a young child, and inspired me to want to make up my own stories to tell my mum.
My latest book started as a small exercise in a writing group, creating two people in a certain place. The two people were so interesting that I wanted to learn more about them. It suddenly fitted in with another idea that had been simmering at the back of my mind, and is now rapidly developing into a fully fledged novel. Of course, me being me, it has evolved into a three layered story set in three different timelines separated by thousands of years which all interlink. So what started out as a relatively simple modern fantasy quest has developed into a complex storyline. The closest I can think to describe it is Indiana Jones meets Lost without the island.
Do your stories have an underlying theme?
Many of my stories would be classed as dark fantasy, and cover diverse times and places. However, I think of the underlying theme as "Darkness lurks beneath the surface". They are often set in our world, or a similar world to the one we live in, where people are living normal everyday lives, with normal, everyday problems. But there are unseen dark forces lurking in the background, controlling things, or trying to break through into our world. These unseen dark forces take many forms in my work, but I would say that is my underlying theme.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I was around 10, and had a half-baked idea about a Lord who was showing a precious diamond to his guests at a party, when the lights went out and the gemstone was stolen. Suspicion fell on his son, who was banished and had to go on a quest to deepest, darkest Africa to make his fortune and find a similar diamond to bring back to his father. It was to be a rip-roaring old fashioned adventure, in the Haggard style, although unfortunately it didn't get past the first few pages.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
My mum used to tell me stories, and would combine characters in strange mixtures. For example, the Greek heroes would meet Spiderman and Dick Turpin. This was great for igniting the imagination of a young child, and inspired me to want to make up my own stories to tell my mum.
Your writing often contains strong female characters. Why is this?
I get fed up reading the portrayal of "strong" females as nasty, bitchy characters, and I try to portray females with a steely inner strength, and the ability to look after themselves, without the need to resort to underhand means. OK, so they may occasionally use their feminine wiles to influence male characters, but this isn't their only way to get what they want. I also try to make them human. They do fall in love, often against their better judgement, and have to deal with the consequences. I don't see this as implying an inherent weakness, or out of place in the genre that I am writing in.
Tell me more about the romantic elements that occur in your tales.
Romance, love, lust, are all powerful forces in life, that impact all of us, and why should our characters be any different. They are thrown together in all sorts of stressful situations, and bonds of friendship and romance are bound to develop. As in real life, not every male-female relationship turns into romance, with strong friendships more akin to brother-sister relationships also developing.
How do you approach the process of writing?
Usually an idea comes to me from a combination of things that have been bubbling around in my mind for a few days, and I'll wake up one day with it everything having fallen into place. Often they are inspired by things that have happened to me, for example, after an unhappy experience with a door-to-door salesman, I wrote a piece about a similar dodgy character getting his comeuppance through supernatural means. For larger pieces, after having the central idea I find it very useful to make a plot outline. Sometimes, even though I know what I'm intending to write in a scene, the characters take over, and things start to move in unexpected directions. I like to let this flow, as often new plot twists develop from these unplanned developments.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Even though it requires effort, to me writing doesn't feel like work. I also love it when people tell me that they've enjoyed my work, and the reactions I get when people draw a breath at the end of a cliff-hanger and say "What next, what next??!!" On a recent long bus journey I was telling my sister the plot of one of my latest stories, and I could see people around listening in. When I got to the climax my sister shouted "No, you can't do that to the hero!". That's the kind of reaction I'm aiming for!
I get fed up reading the portrayal of "strong" females as nasty, bitchy characters, and I try to portray females with a steely inner strength, and the ability to look after themselves, without the need to resort to underhand means. OK, so they may occasionally use their feminine wiles to influence male characters, but this isn't their only way to get what they want. I also try to make them human. They do fall in love, often against their better judgement, and have to deal with the consequences. I don't see this as implying an inherent weakness, or out of place in the genre that I am writing in.
Tell me more about the romantic elements that occur in your tales.
Romance, love, lust, are all powerful forces in life, that impact all of us, and why should our characters be any different. They are thrown together in all sorts of stressful situations, and bonds of friendship and romance are bound to develop. As in real life, not every male-female relationship turns into romance, with strong friendships more akin to brother-sister relationships also developing.
How do you approach the process of writing?
Usually an idea comes to me from a combination of things that have been bubbling around in my mind for a few days, and I'll wake up one day with it everything having fallen into place. Often they are inspired by things that have happened to me, for example, after an unhappy experience with a door-to-door salesman, I wrote a piece about a similar dodgy character getting his comeuppance through supernatural means. For larger pieces, after having the central idea I find it very useful to make a plot outline. Sometimes, even though I know what I'm intending to write in a scene, the characters take over, and things start to move in unexpected directions. I like to let this flow, as often new plot twists develop from these unplanned developments.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Even though it requires effort, to me writing doesn't feel like work. I also love it when people tell me that they've enjoyed my work, and the reactions I get when people draw a breath at the end of a cliff-hanger and say "What next, what next??!!" On a recent long bus journey I was telling my sister the plot of one of my latest stories, and I could see people around listening in. When I got to the climax my sister shouted "No, you can't do that to the hero!". That's the kind of reaction I'm aiming for!
