Thirteen Moons Over Miami received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Alex Chapley.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
It’s called Thirteen Moons Over Miami and was published in September.
What’s the book’s first line?
“And … send!” I said matter-of-factly, as I touched my screen and the email with the video attachment went out.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
A Zen Buddhist vigilante’s friend is killed by a gang of misandrist serial killers, so the vigilante becomes obsessed with getting payback. But he then has to work with the quantum nature of reality, and the interplay between his psyche and the signs and synchronicities which guide him.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
It occurred to me, “What if Quentin Tarantino wrote a literary novel inspired by Dexter? I would like to read such a novel. Since it doesn’t exist, I’ll write it myself.”
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
If someone is into multi-level satire, and has a fondness for the high-brow (metamodern literary) and low-brow (street language), they could really dig this book.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Lou Murcia is a bass player who quit organized crime when he discovered Zen Buddhism, and now prowls Miami as a vigilante in his spare time. But he doesn’t kill anymore. He is deeply against killing: he distresses predators, to teach them tough lessons, but doesn’t kill. He’s a sort of cross between Dexter, Philip Marlowe, and Flea.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Somebody along the lines of Ryan Reynolds, Tom Hardy, Javier Bardem, or Ryan Gosling. My dream director would be Quentin Tarantino.
When did you first decide to become an author?
For years, I’d written short stories, unpublished, just for my friends to read. But in 2014, I decided to write this novel.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I’m a therapist specializing in healing trauma (PTSD).
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
For this book, I wrote anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours a day, about three to five days a week. But it could be anywhere, anytime – weekdays, weekends. I’d have my journal with me and could be at home or sitting in a coffee shop and just start writing.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part is the amount of creative control, and the hardest is the lack of significant marketing support.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
Be daring, develop your craft, have fun. Write what you enjoy, enjoy what you write. If you do, there’s bound to be some people out there who enjoy it too.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I’d be open to it. But would need to keep the right to approve any final manuscript. A great editor can enhance your writing but a bad one can suck the soul out of it. There’d be no point to my writing if they turned it into that bland “writing by committee” we sometimes see.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
The creative process, contributing something to the planet that prior didn’t exist. Not interested in fame or fortune, as such, but of course would like my writing to be read.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I absolutely can’t pick just one, but it’s between Roberto Bolaño, Ottessa Moshfegh, Philip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler, and Thomas Pynchon.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
I love literary anomalies like Under the Hill by Aubrey Beardsley or astonishing masterpieces like Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon.