Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #3 (3 of 3)

A showcase with @TheAlixDavenport, author of Taming the Hellbeast

WinterSpell awards winner

1 what inspired the idea of your story?

  I mostly write mafia romances, but I read a lot of books online. Many were werewolf stories, and I liked the concept, though I was getting a bit tired with the overused tropes of a beaten and insignificant female lead, and the overly confident and macho alpha male swooping in to make her feel complete. I'm not knocking those who write that, I've read beautifully executed stories with those tropes, they were just not for me to write. I came up with my book to counter those and give it my own spin. I wanted a strong female, a leader, somebody who did not pine for a man to save her, but a man for love where she would still be powerful in her own right. And I wanted the male lead to be flawed. Yes, powerful and macho (I'm a sucker for alpha males) but not traditionally so. More of a washout and failure with issues turned reluctant hero kind of thing.

2 what is something you struggled constructing with your story?

 I think it was the inner dialogues with the werewolves' beasts. Jax, the male lead, has two beasts inside his head instead of one that's the norm. I wanted three distinct personalities. Jax, the confused man who wanted to do better but always made a mess of things because of his beasts and ignorance. Phoenix, the deadly beast with a sarcastic streak and a 'kill first, ask questions later' mentality. And Acker, the diplomat and conscience of the bunch, who mediates between the other two. Writing them in a way for the reader to be able to differentiate between them, without having to use a dialogue tag every time, was a challenge. It was fun, though, and very interesting to deal with their personalities.

3 what did you enjoy writing most of your story?

    I enjoyed the development of the characters as they got more knowledge and learned from their mistakes. There were many times where I had to acknowledge that the characters had moved beyond what I had expected, and that was thrilling because they came to life and had a mind of their own. I loved writing the emotional scenes, and fight scenes. Wolves fighting with teeth and claws is a lot more 'in your face' than a un fight.

4 what's the overall response of your story from your readers?

  I've had a lot of positive feedback from my readers. Probably because the story is different and they have no idea what's really going on. They like the steamy bits, I can't help it, there has to be sex in my books. But they like the characters and their interaction, and that makes me happy with what I've created.

5 is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series ?

 Well, It can be read as a stand-alone. When uploaded fully, it'll be a finished story with no lose ends in terms of the storyline the readers have followed in the book. That being said, I already have spin-offs from Taming the Hellbeast in progress. Blood Sworn is one about another pack situated on The Eternal Mountain. And I have one, not yet published, about the dragons of the book. The story holds many side characters, and some deserve their stories told. How many I'll manage to write about, time will tell.

6 what would you like your readers to take away from your story?

 Taming the Hellbeast does ring like it's a story about a brutish male who needs a woman to tame him and become what he was meant to be. I even had a judge knock me down a peg about that, because the title had been misinterpreted, and she called it generic. In actuality, it's a self-reflecting title. It's about Jax, the male lead, learning to tame the beast inside and his powers. About him realizing what he can do, good or evil, and then decide for himself which route to take. That's what I want the readers to take with them. That it's easy to succumb to self-hate and depression over what you've done in the past, but your past does not equal your future. Look for the opportunities and grab onto them. Be better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Ok, that sounded a bit holy, but I just want the story to give a lift to those who feel burdened by their pasts.

7 what advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story?

 Well, I'd say write your heart out. Seriously, write when you have the time and the creative spirit comes to you. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect, nothing is in a first draft. But you can always edit something to become good. And a real editor can help you make it great. But you can't make anything out of nothing, and keeping it in your head will amount to nothing. Write your story, and then breathe life into it afterwards by tweaking and polishing it. There's no time frame and no rush. Your story is yours, and only you can tell it. If you're new, outlining can be helpful, I personally don't outline, I mull everything over in my head until it becomes clear and then I write. Each approach is different, and there's nothing wrong with that.

8 does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

 Haha yes. Jax is a bit of a loner due to his social awkwardness. I'm not socially awkward, but I do like to be alone most of the time to write. Other than that he likes to go out to observe other people, and he likes his alcohol and random horizontal adventures, I feel called out here, just saying.

9 what is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers?

Hmm I hope the story itself. That it's different from many other werewolf books. I hope the mystery of Jax's past and what he's meant to do will become a journey they can dive into and relate to in a way that keeps them invested in seeing Jax succeed. And definitely his relationship with Santine, the female lead. But I hope the thing about Jax having several beasts and their internal banter will be something they'll like.

10 do you have any future projects?

 I always have projects going on, I think I have 16 different stories on my desktop and plenty more in my head. My mafia story Russian Roulette: Family secrets was completed in the spring. Currently, I'm uploading the sequel to that. Russian Roulette: Flashbacks. After that, I'll finish uploading Taming the Hellbeast and then move on to the third Russian Roulette book. I have plenty of more stuff I'm writing on, but there are only 24 hours in a day.