Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandra Hale. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alexandra , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?
I’ve always loved creative writing but it was something I only did for myself. In 2021, we moved out of state and into our dream home. My husband and I agreed that I’d stay home with our two young children instead of going back to a formal job. I’d been toying with the idea of publishing but when we got settled it seemed like the perfect time to really explore the process.
My passion has always been in writing romance and I dove deep into finding authors and stories that resonated with me. I made lists of things that I liked about the pacing, characters and their time on the page, different kinds of series, the kind of feelings I’d like to provoke and so many more. I asked authors questions about their process, advice they had and things to keep in mind as I started my own writing.
I got involved with bookstagram and created an account where I could make my own edits and flat lays for the books I was reviewing. I became an ARC reader and learned about the process as well as the differences between Alpha and Beta reading. I asked as many questions as I could and tried to formulate a plan that would help me launch my author career in 2022.
In December of 2021, I had a good portion of my debut novel complete. I asked a friend that I’d met in a reader group to be my alpha reader and she provided feedback as I continued writing. In the new year, I reached out to an editor and by the end of January had completed my very first novel.
My release was scheduled for mid May but there was no time to rest. While my manuscript was with my editor, I worked on finding a cover photo and then with a designer, I created author accounts for social media and book review sites, set up my preorder with Amazon and began a mild promotional campaign to launch my debut novel.
The process was exhausting but incredibly rewarding. I continued to do little ‘check ins’ with myself about the way things were headed. I’d made the decision early on to stay as true to myself as I possibly could. There will always be concessions you have to make to stay relevant as the market grows and changes but I wanted to do that on my own terms.
That philosophy has kept my growth organic and I’m very proud of the progress I’ve made since publishing by debut in 2022. It’s been interesting to see the way trends and other factors have shifted the romance market and community and I’m excited for all that’s to come in the future.
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.
I am a self published, open door, contemporary romance author. I’ve always lived in a small town and have created fictional towns based on many of my own memories and experiences. I love the feel of a small town – the friendliness, the cliches and all the feeling of ‘coming home.’
I try to create balance in my stories, to make them charming and realistic without feeling overdone or forced. I grew up being an only child and was well acquainted with concept of found family before it related to romance stories. Even as an adult, I embrace friends as family and have created a village full of love and support. It’s a theme that resonates in my writing and is something my readers comment on frequently.
Early in my career, I was asked what my goals were for being an author – if things such as rank, pages read, followers and so on would be my focus. It was a difficult question to answer at the time. I was just excited to have put my debut out into the world. It wasn’t until a reader messaged me to tell my that my book had helped her through a dark time that I was able to verbalize what my goals would be.
Sure, rank and monetary gains are incredibly wonderful and help continue a career but at the heart of my writing, I want to bring joy to my readers. I want them to feel like my story is a warm hug, a comfort read, a book they want to get lost in or a palette cleanser after reading something dark or heavy. I like putting good into the world and to have those things resonate with my readers is the ultimate compliment.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
My writing process is a bit unusual. I’m emotionally driven when I’m writing so I often jot down scenes that are vividly in my mind or flow easily despite where they land in the story. I jump around in the time line, usually writing most of the middle or the end. When I’m about fifty percent finished with the book, I’ll go to the beginning and start filling in the gaps and put in all the little pieces that have to be planted along the way to make the characters and story complete their arc at the end. I often have multiple stories open at once to make sure that little elements in the current book are noted in the following ones as the characters find their own happily ever afters.
After I published my debut novel, I began talking about my process and it was not always well received. It was suggested I look into some writing classes to help me learn to plot in a more linear fashion. I tried and it stifled my creativity. I couldn’t get myself to follow the worksheets or the mapped out plans because I need to explore the characters in all stages of their growth in order to make them what they need to be.
It took a while for me to realize, and accept, that my process is perfectly fine. It’s something I make sure to encourage in other authors when they’re stuck or beginning their writing journey. Courses and trainings are wonderful resources but they’re not a one size fits all. You have to embrace the parts that bring you joy and hone your craft as you go – it’s a learning process but you should never let your creativity suffer just to follow one way of doing something.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had planned to move onto a small town series set outside of a city after finishing my first series. I’d plotted the first book and believed it would be an ‘easy’ transition. I was still embracing a small town feel but with a city twist. The heroes would be in more high powered or celebrity type jobs instead of the blue collar ones I leaned into in my first series. I’d already set up a side character from that first series to be a main character in the second. The whole process should have been fairly seamless.
It wasn’t.
I struggled with many aspects of the story and even though the feedback from my alpha reader and editor was insightful and straightforward, I couldn’t make the necessary edits happen. It felt like a failure because I love the story and it will be a good one – it just wasn’t the right time.
After lots of back and forth and a fair amount of guilt, I decided to table that story and series. It didn’t feel like the right time and I didn’t want to put a story out into the world just for the sake of publishing. Instead, I pivoted back to the original series and looked at some of the side characters. I had plans for several that I wanted to write anyway and decided to give it a try.
The characters and location were already familiar and I was able to expand and create a world adjacent to the first series with plenty of cameos and quirkiness I’d been missing. It was a humbling lesson and one that reminded me to trust my gut in the future. I knew that other story wasn’t working and I was forcing something that wasn’t bringing me joy. We don’t always have that luxury, but when we do it’s important that we lean into it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/authoralexandrahale
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoralexandrahale/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alexandra-Hale-Author-1061812354
- Other: Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alexandra-hale
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22378957.Alexandra_Hale
TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@authoralexandrahale
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Pinterest: https://pin.it/3eHb6V9
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alexandra-Hale/author/B09YKTR375
Image Credits
Character art done by Atlee Breen Designs (first photo)