More From This Author
Books & Stories
Yung Lich and the Dance of Death
My drabbles (100 word stories)
Author Notes
I'm just really excited to be apart of this, and I hope everyone enjoys my story!
Story Art Sneak Peek
Amazing Artwork By Daniela Rivera
"Old Awakenings"
Anthology: The Devil Who Loves Me
Release Date: June 23rd, 2023
Preorders: Paperback | Kindle
About the Author: Alex Fox hails from the wintry Northeast, USA. She writes to explore unknown and forgotten landscapes. She has work in Martian Magazine and forthcoming work in Apex Magazine's "Strange Libations: Dark Cocktails" collection. You can find her on twitter @afoxwrites.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2023
Preorders: Paperback | Kindle
About the Author: Alex Fox hails from the wintry Northeast, USA. She writes to explore unknown and forgotten landscapes. She has work in Martian Magazine and forthcoming work in Apex Magazine's "Strange Libations: Dark Cocktails" collection. You can find her on twitter @afoxwrites.
Q & A
How does it feel to have this story published for the first time?
It feels awesome! I wasn't sure it would ever find a home.
What inspired the idea for your story?
I was reading “The Faithful Executioner” by Joel F. Harrington, a book that details the life of German executioner Franz Schmidt, and thought writing a fictionalized portrayal of an executioner would be a lot of fun and right up my macabre alley.
We know that writing can be a tumultuous journey with a lot of obstacles, what is your kryptonite as a writer?
Finishing stories. I'll often be quite critical of my stuff, or not enjoy the execution of the story I'm telling, and just drop it. It's something I'm working on, though.
Clearly, you’ve succeeded at writing a captivating story for GrendelPress, but we all start somewhere. What advice would you give yourself as a young writer?
Write what you enjoy writing. Seems obvious but it's easy to get caught up in appealing to certain market tastes, etc, when you're new (or, it was a trap I fell into at first), and ever since I started working on more pieces that appeal to my taste, I'm happier for it.
We’d like to argue that every good story makes both the author and the readers feel something. What perspectives or beliefs have you challenged with your story?
I suppose I wanted to tackle the idea of grappling with one's heart and sensibilities in the face of dark magic. Sometimes it’s better to heed your sensibilities over the the heart?
What do you love most about your story’s genre?
To be honest I didn’t pay much attention to the genre of the story when writing it, but I suppose in retrospect, I enjoy how the ending doesn’t necessarily have to be a happy one 🙂
Tell us about your favorite author. What about their book(s) call to you and how do they inspire your own writing?
Cormac McCarthy is the reason I got into writing in the first place, "Blood Meridian" specifically. Something about his language, authoritative voice, his visceral and precise prose. He paints an unflinching picture and I admire that and aspire to it.
For this story, I was very inspired by the aforementioned “The Faithful Executioner", but also by a book called "The Wake" by Paul Kingsnorth. It's written in this faux Middle English style that seems illegible at first, but it really works at transporting you to the time and place (England, during the Norman Conquest). Once you get used to the style (the audiobook can help), there's an undeniable cadence to the language, and the voice is heightened with the stylistic choices, which is something I tried to do in my story but to a much smaller degree.
For this story, I was very inspired by the aforementioned “The Faithful Executioner", but also by a book called "The Wake" by Paul Kingsnorth. It's written in this faux Middle English style that seems illegible at first, but it really works at transporting you to the time and place (England, during the Norman Conquest). Once you get used to the style (the audiobook can help), there's an undeniable cadence to the language, and the voice is heightened with the stylistic choices, which is something I tried to do in my story but to a much smaller degree.
What are some other genres you’d like to break into and why?
I have experimented in a few genres, I would like to try my hand at more Sci fi stuff, though Fantasy/Fantasy adjacent realms are my main jam.
If you had to pick another story of yours to share with your readers, what would it be?
Hmm well I have one short story out in the wild right now, "Yung Lich and the Dance of Death", very different tone-wise, but it's about an undead rapper who can finally follow his dreams (of being a rapper), complete with raps and beats if you listen! (And I highly suggest listening to it, the narrator/reader Eric did such an amazing job). It's an ode to my love of hip-hop.
