We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful A.L. Davidson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with A.L. below.
A.L., thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on has been my debut novella, “When The Rain Begins To Burn”. It was a passion project, one that was only made possible because of my lovely backers on Kickstarter who believed in my strange little story. The novella is an odd mixture of genres that have since become staples of mine that bled over into follow-up projects. When people read the words “queer ecohorror romance”, eyebrows immediately cock and they get pretty confused. So the fact people took a chance on such a weird story means the world to me. It follows a couple, Judah and Noland, who find themselves trapped in their RV during a supernatural rainstorm. It’s meaningful for a lot of reasons: it’s my debut, it was nominated for several awards, it defied the odds and sold over 200 copies in the span of half a year, etc. The biggest reason it means so much to me, though, is Noland. He’s a bit of a proxy for myself as an indie author struggling to find his footing and place in the world, dealing with anxiety and his identity, as well as life as a Type 1 Diabetic – like myself. T1D rep is not super common, and it was cathartic to have those elements be woven into their narrative, especially in a horror situation.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is A.L. Davidson (she/they), a disabled and queer hybrid-indie author specializing in heartwarming and haunting horror romance! I have about an 80/20 split of self published and indie published works both available and forthcoming. I’ve always wanted to be an author, telling stories has been something I’ve adored since a young age. I wrote and finished my first novel (a whopping 92 pages long, mind you) at the age of ten and completed six YA style books by the age of fourteen. I picked writing back up with the goal of getting published and making a career out of it in March of 2020 once I lost my job due to COVID. Since that first WIP was started in this new phase of my journey, I’ve written over 2.5 million words of fiction (and that’s just what I’ve saved!) ranging from tiny flash fiction to 250,000 word space operas.
My library of work focuses mostly on themes of ghosts, grief, queerness, ecohorror, space exploration, disability rep, monsters, and the human condition. I love writing cozy genre-blending web novels, intense horror romances, and massive space operas. My biggest goal is to have a variety of authentic disability and queer rep in my stories, focusing on realistic romance and human connection that transcends barriers and time. I was a 2023 Indie Ink, Queer Indie, BBNYA, and Pushcart Prize nominee. My debut novella, “When The Rain Begins To Burn” was brought to life via the support of my lovely backers on Kickstarter. My first full length novel, “The Scientist, The Spaceman, and The Stars Between Them” recently came out and has been praised for its heartbreaking conclusion and queer representation. My most popular series is “The Night Farm”, which is a cozy horror web novel that’s been likened to “Stardew Valley” meets “Halloweentown”. Its second season launched at the end of May and the first season is coming to print later this month, and it has a wonderful fanbase. I am also known for my “R-PNZL: A Futuristic Fairytale” short story series that takes classic fairytales and gives them queer sci-fi makeovers.
I have a variety of works releasing in 2024 and 2025 across the various sub genres of horror with a heavy dose of romance and the occasional sci-fi goodness. I love telling stories, it’s my passion, and it’s helped me find a wonderful community of artists and authors that have not only become peers but friends. I love working with other authors, chatting about tropes and sending memes, and being a unique voice in both the horror and romance indie writing communities. I’ve had several agents and publishers tell me that my books are too weird and original to ever be accepted in traditional publishing spaces, and I’d like to think that makes my stories unique. I’m also the Webcomics and Manga Editor for Comic Book Yeti, so I’m deep in the world of indie comics and a lot of those elements (alongside a lifelong love of anime and manga) bleed over into my work. I try to partner with indie comic artists for my covers as often as possible, too!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Between the glamorized aspects of publishing in media, the fast-fashion style trends of BookTok, and the loud voices in writing communities on places like Twitter, it can be so easy for new authors to get lost in the mess of conflicting information on how to “make it” in publishing. When I was starting out, I was inundated with so much advice that made it seem impossible to ever get my books in the hands of readers. You HAVE to have an agent, you that you HAVE to follow the trends, you HAVE to pay your way to success, etc. and I believed all of it.
I was overwhelmed by the what-ifs, the querying trenches, and the pressure of having to do XYZ to be successful in an oversaturated market. No one tells you how tiring, expensive, and emotionally taxing it can be trying to break into the industry and it destroys a lot of new authors, which is heartbreaking. On top of social feeds being flooded with statistics of trends becoming old news overnight, most books dying on sub, editors missing vital elements to push books out quickly, agents quitting before book gets sold, predatory vanity presses that seem so appealing, it can feel like all of your hard work is for nothing. Writing rules seem to change daily and everyone has something to say. The “vague tweets” and constant barrage of other authors doing “better than you” can be so defeating. The threats of “you need an agent or you won’t make it” and stigma of “self published books are trash” can deter beautiful journeys and throttle the life out of books that the world needs, that trad publishing wouldn’t normally accept. And I believed ALL of it, I was doing everything I could to query as often as possible and was losing not only my joy for writing, but my sanity.
Things culminated in a $17,000 ER visit from the stress of trying to find an agent and I had to step back and reevaluate the advice and stigma of the ever-changing to-do list. I chatted with fellow Indies about their journeys, got advice, and figured out the steps I needed to take for me and my health. When I really wrapped my head around the fact that I had a self published debut that sold 65 preorders, gotten a publishing contract later that same month and a second a month and a half later, and was nominated for several awards, it dawned on me that I was doing just fine on my own. To me, having the creative control for my health – both mental and physical – meant that self publishing was the right journey, so I withdrew multiple submissions to agents and started fresh. As the year has gone on, I’ve seen more and more people do the same.
Realizing that there’s no one proper way to write, to edit, to get published, to get seen, was really life changing. You don’t need an agent, you don’t need to be in Barnes and Noble, you don’t need to sell a thousand copies to be a successful author. If you’ve written a book, you’ve done it. Celebrate it, you’ve finished a freaking book. So many people want to do it, very few have the tenacity to follow through and type “The End”. You’re enough, and your journey is your own. Take advice from authors you trust, be kind to yourself, and try every avenue before throwing in the towel. You self publish that bad boy. You make a cute little author website and put your ebook up for $.99. You find a small press. You get an agent. You do what’s best for YOU, and that’s enough.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Sharing my weird little stories of romance and terror has been such a life changing experience. I never expected to hear the impact my characters have on people when I began releasing books. It’s a special moment when a story leaves your head and ends up in the hands of readers, when someone sees the cover and is drawn to it enough to dive into the pages and they find themselves engrossed in your little world.
Seeing DMs pop up on social media from people who randomly found my books through a Queer Your Horror sale or an ARC campaign has brought me to tears on numerous occasions. I’ve cried in the Target parking lot after seeing the kind things someone sent about how my book moved them. I’ve laughed until my sides hurt when someone said they’d be charging me their therapy bill after finishing my novel. I’ve stayed up worrying about whether or not my subscribers will be happy or upset with some of the story changes I’ve made in my web novels. Knowing that my beloved characters stick with the people who read their stories means so much.
With my web novels, knowing I’ll get a handful of notifications from my regular readers chatting and theorizing about the newest update every Friday starts my weekend off on a good foot. Having readers tell me that the queer rep in my novelette made them feel seen, understood, and represented is immensely impactful. When your stories go from thoughts in your head to paper, and other people begin to share in that joy, can be so fulfilling. That’s one reason I love being an indie author, I’m able to chat with my readers, respond to questions and elaborate on narrative pieces. To know that these strangers love my characters and worlds as much as I do, that they help them feel seen, will never not move me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://disturbancesbyalycia.weebly.com
- Instagram: MaybeMockingbird
- Twitter: MayBMockingbird
- Other: I’m MaybeMockingbird on BlueSky, TikTok, Tumblr, and Threads.
