Hello, and thanks for stopping by.
This used to be my blog. I’ve since outsourced that function to Livejournal to tap into the community there, but this site remains as a central information point for me and my work. I am Alexandra Erin, and I’m an author. A professional one… my work as an author is my sole source of income. Unlike most professional authors, though, I work almost exclusively in the area of self-published cyberfunded ongoing literature.
Some people would hold that this means I am not a “real” author, or at least not a published or professional one. They may have a point, as professional published authors don’t make a living from their writing.
I do.
Over the years, I’ve been advised to strike the phrase “aspiring author” from my vocabulary, for two different reasons: one is the idea that it’s the language of the wannabe, a hopeful sounding euphemism for “unpublished” or even “failed”. The other reason, which I heard more often as I wrote more, was the idea that since I am in fact an author… one who auths on a regular basis… I should not describe myself as “aspiring” any more.
Well, I am an author, but I still have aspirations.
Thus, I am an aspiring author.
It’s a good phrase. “To aspire” literally means “to breath for”. Isaac Asimov is reported to have said that he wrote for the same reason that he breathes: because if he stopped he would die. He was an aspiring author to the end.
I am currently at work on the following stories:
Tales of MU, a story set in a world that resembles the modern age in the same way that the standard issue fantasy setting resembles the medieval age. The main story concerns one Mackenzie Blaise and her day-to-day college life, but there are many side stories woven in and around it. This story has strong erotic elements and an overarching plot whose progress may be difficult to discern without use of time-lapse photography. It’s a very character-driven piece.
Star Harbor Nights is a mosaic story set in a superhero world. The focus in most cases is personal and emotional, with occasional adult elements. Again, very character driven.
Void Dogs is a comedic fantasy space opera with a plot held together by bailing wire and duct tape. It does include sexual references, but little in the way of explicit depictions.
Tribe: Fantasy In Miniature is an ongoing literary experiment set in a city that harbors many secrets. Each installment is exactly 333 words long. More or less appropriate for all ages.
The 3 Seas is a nautical fantasy adventure story. More story-driven than my other work, and also more or less appropriate for all ages.
My work is supported partly by advertising, but mostly by the generosity of reader patronage. If you’d like to contribute money either in a one time donation of any amount or by signing up to be a recurring sponsor, please visit this page. The idea is for each reader to pay what the work is worth to them, modified for what they can afford to give. If that’s too much, you can take 50% and pretend you found it on sale. But ultimately, no one person has to pay anything, so don’t feel guilty if you can’t… just point your friends to a story you think they might like.
Even if none of them have anything to contribute, if they bring in their friends, and they bring in their friends, then sooner or later someone will come along with five extra dollars in their pocket who will say, “Yeah, this is worth five bucks.”, and that’s what keeps me going.
Anyway, thank you, and enjoy the stories.