I was lucky to get an interview with Alex C. Pierce, the author of The Blood of Crows, and one of this year’s #SPFBO8 semifinalists.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
Growing up, I always wanted to be either a writer or a world-renowned thief. Deciding between a career of morally grey choices, complex planning, difficult execution, lies, and misdirection, or breaking the law and potentially going to jail? I went with writing.

I grew up, and still live, in a small-town/middling city in Canada. No, it’s not always cold. Yes, we apologize a lot, even when we don’t mean it… Sorry.

When I’m not writing (which itself isn’t done as often as it should be), or doing my day job, I’m reading, playing video games, and procrastinating from writing in other ways.

What was the first thought that popped into your mind when you found out you had made it to the semifinals?
Wait… What?!?!? I’m a semi-finalist? That’s awesome! And terrifying! And… I’m gonna go fall apart in a corner now, if that’s ok with you?

Alex? Alex?
You have to get up now and answer the rest of the questions. (Waits for Alex to get up...)

Alex, why did you decide to take part in the SPFBO?
A good friend of mine mentioned it on Twitter about 15 minutes after submissions opened. I hadn’t heard of it before that. So, with the clock ticking, I put together a submission packet and got it in there. In truth, I didn’t give myself time to think, because if I had, I might have chickened out.

Why should we buy your SPFBO8 book?
It’s a dark Fantasy that starts with a heist, rolls into several murders, and doesn’t let up until the main mysteries are solved. There are friendships, loss, found family, and the main character, Ren, trying to keep it all together when everyone thinks he’s the bad guy.

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I’ve always been a story-teller, I blame it on an easily bored mind and an over-active imagination.

In early grade-school my mum was summoned to a meeting with the Vice-Principal of the school to discuss the contents of my daily journal, which was supposed to chronicle the boring mundanity of a six- or seven-year-old child in a rural town, but instead contained stories of spaceships, dragons, and monsters, and possibly a story or two about stealing art from a “Group of Seven” exhibit we’d seen on a field trip.

I continued writing through my teens, then I got a “real job” in tech after school and the writing just… stopped. I didn’t pick it up again until in around 2013, when I started to take it seriously enough to finish and revise several novels.

The Blood of Crows is the first one I was happy enough with to get edited and publish.

Why did you choose to write fantasy? And why pick this particular fantasy subgenre?
Simply put, because I love fantasy as a genre. I read more fantasy than just about anything else, and I love how it allows for a sense of wonder, even when things are at their most harrowing.

As for the particular sub-genre? I tend to gravitate toward darker fantasy (though I’m loving the “Cozy” movement), without going full grim-dark, and building worlds on the cusp of change, with all the turmoil that brings as an added layer is fascinating to me.

Oh, and because Sci-Fi is terrifying to write, because for me at least, the science has to “work”.

Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson’s earlier work, especially Mistborn, and Scott Lynch’s “Lies of Locke Lemora” series has crept in and stolen a great deal of my appreciation and adoration. I’m not half the writer either of them are, but I can’t deny that they’ve influenced me.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?
That first time you get to geek out about your story with another person. Seeing someone else excited about your characters and asking questions about the plot and the world is absolutely amazing.

What’s the hardest thing about being a writer?
Letting someone else be the first to read your work.

How do I get into the semifinals? Just kidding! Or not? Do you perhaps have a tip, scrap of wisdom, or perhaps an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
Beta-readers, editing, and being open to criticism, growth, and improvement.

What new projects are you working on?
My priority at the moment is the sequel to The Blood of Crows, currently titled The Blood of Queens, which I’m planning to release next year.

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
Keep your stick on the ice.

Good advice and best of luck with The Blood of Crows and of Queens! A big thank you for doing the interview, Alex.