Monday, May 11, 2015

#IndieSpotlight of Alice de Sturler Author of Short Stories and Flash Fiction


Name: 
Alice de Sturler

The Title of Your Work:
 "Short Stories & Flash Fiction" 

Where are you from? 
New River Valley, Virginia but originally from the Netherlands.

In what genre do you write?
 Crime/Flash Fiction 

In your own words, what is your book about? 
In this book you will find the first pieces of flash fiction that I ever wrote and two (long) short stories. All deal with crime, regrets, redemption, anxiety, and justice. Not necessarily in that order though. This book shows you what goes on in my mind when I hear or see something. Sounds, smells, and scenes can quickly morph into stories.

What is your writing style? 
I am a writer-in-learning so everything is "write it down as soon as inspiration hits me before I forget." I save it and come back to it later to edit or delete. I am working on getting into a writing routine and having a structure for my next book.

Have you ever written anything and thought; "The world has got to see this!"? 
Yes but that mostly involved unsolved homicide case reviews which are posted on my blog.

Do you have an editor and Cover Designer or do you do this yourself? 
It is all me so you will find mistakes.

Who is your favorite author? Not just someone that you read allot. I wanna know whose book you read that made you suddenly know that if you didn't do this for the rest of your life then you would never be happy. 
I do not have one favorite author. I read a lot of books from various authors whose stories are set in Victorian London before it had a proper sewage system with forensic science in its infancy. So it is pretty much barehanded autopsies and slipping on feces.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? 
Yes, the POV. When I write it down it makes sense to me as I see who is talking in my head. Making that clear to the reader is a real challenge.

Do you write your characters or do they write themselves through you? 
I am not there yet where the character takes over. For the flash fiction and short stories, there were too many different ones in too short a setting. My next book is a full length crime fiction novel and there the characters have started to emerge. For example, the butler didn't want to be the killer so he is one of the good guys.

Do you ever write yourself into the characters? 
Most likely all the characters have something from me but none is a carbon copy of me.

Is writing your full time job or are you "Keeping your day job"? So to speak. 
I am keeping the day job, yes. Being a freelance writer and blog coach is not just a job. It is exciting to see others put their thoughts on virtual paper. I like to help others by proofreading their work or by helping them with plot development. 

If you could go back in time and meet one famous person or legend in history, who would it be? 
There's quite a number of people I'd like to talk to if that was possible. I guess I'd pick King Richard III and ask him what happened to his nephews and whose bones were found under the stairs in the Tower of London. A close second would be the prisoner in the iron mask as described by Alexandre Dumas. What did you do or observe that got the Minister of War all worked up? 

There are millions of new books released every year. What in your mind makes yours stand out from all those millions in your genre? 
Wow, not a clue to be honest. I am an unpolished author. English isn't my first language (Dutch is), I did not study English (I studied Law), and I have no formal training as a writer. The only field training I have comes from my blog about unsolved homicides: Defrosting Cold Cases. I guess that I am a "project" for a reader to keep an eye on and to observe if there is any improvement in later works. 

In the world of Indie, marketing is very difficult, especially if you don't have the funds to pay for it. Have you found a great free way to market your work that you think other Indies will benefit from
If I find it I will let you know, promise.


Links to find, follow and generally stalk Alice's writing:










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