Interview with Alex Moisi

In addition to being the most-read story of August 2008, Alex Moisi’s “With Love Forever Yours” is one of  EDF’s all-time highest-rated stories. We are delighted that this very busy writer and college student was able to make time for an interview.

Interview with Alex Moisi

EDF: What should people expect when they see a story with your byline under it?

AM: Although I have been writing for quite a while and was first published approximately a year ago, I am still a very inexperienced author and I am still looking for a voice that fits my stories best. In other words, almost everything I write is different in tone and execution. If I had to choose one general trend, it would be the fact that my stories tend to have twist endings or unexpected conclusions. Also, if we’re talking about my horror stories, you can be sure there will be spiders in there somewhere. I can’t imagine anything scarier than spiders.

EDF: “With Love Forever Yours” is a departure from your usual genre of speculative fiction; could you tell us what attracts you to speculative fiction as a genre, and what prompted you to make this literary departure from that realm?

AM: I never decided to become a writer in one genre or another; often I don’t even decide what kind of stories I write. I recently spent about three months trying to write a mystery story, ending up with a dark sci-fi.

To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t matter how much time I spend crafting outlines or planning what I want to happen. More often than not, the characters and the plot take on  a life of their own and I just describe what is going on.

For example, “With Love Forever Yours” started as a very depressing piece about insanity; three or four re-writes later I realized the characters were actually in love and quite happy together. Who was I to take that from them?

EDF: You’ve been writing since the age of five, but you were about eighteen before you started writing in English. What can you tell us about your experience of being a bilingual writer and creating fiction in a language other than your first?

AM: To be honest, writing in English is much easier for me. Sure, I need to have my work edited for grammar, but the ideas seem to flow much more freely. I believe it has to do with the quality of the languages: Romanian, my native tongue, is a romance language, perfect for poetry and song. There is a certain melody to it that makes for very lyrical writing. On the other hand, I feel that English is more suitable for narration and speculative fiction. It just feels more natural to write about zombies or aliens in English.

EDF: How do you balance the demands of your junior year of college and your social life when they conflict with your writing?

AM: When I decided to become a writer I made a commitment to myself: To write something every day. Even if it’s just a few lines jotted down at the back of a notebook, I never let one day go by without thinking about my next project and contributing something to it. There is simply no other way to improve and grow. Of course, this means that I often have to make sacrifices and hard decisions, but the satisfaction of seeing my name in print or receiving positive feedback makes it all worth while. Also, I tend to sleep very little, that definitely helps.

EDF: What has been your best moment as a writer so far? Your worst?

AM: If I had to choose one , I’d say my best moment was being accepted into the Desolate Places Anthology.  The acceptance came at a moment when I was having doubts about my writing and whether I was good enough to be published in print. Being accepted by Eric Reynolds convinced me to continue writing and submitting.

My worst moments are the times when I miss a deadline. I had one editor comment on how well written my story was but rejected it because i was late by one hour because of the time zone difference.

EDF: Where and when do you write? What music or other background noise do you prefer, or silence? And does the physical / background environment influence or affect your writing?

AM: I have two stages to my writing: the creative process, when I just pour my ideas onto the paper, and the editing. During the first stage, I am usually so caught up that I hardly notice anything around me. I can write anywhere and have any background noise, it doesn’t really matter. However, when it comes to editing, I need to be in a quiet place where I can mumble to myself as I read the story out loud.

EDF: What is next for you as a writer?

AM: My next two stories entitled “True Love” and “The Caves of Goose Rock Beach” will appear in Northern Haunts alongside other fabulous writers including a few that have had stories published on EDF.

Also, I am considering a collection of short stories involving giant spiders and crazy grandmas. As I said, if I write horror it will somehow involve spiders. Also, if anyone is interested in keeping up with my irregular updates you can check my blog: www.dracken.co.nr.

EDF: Thank you for your time.

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