A.R.- Hello Alex, do you mind if I call you Alex or
do you prefer Alexander?
Alex: My friends
call me Alex. You can call me Alex.
A.R.- It’s a pleasure to have you as a guest on
DoD’s. I’d like to start off by getting to know a little bit about you as a
person.
Alex: Well, I grew up in California, Los Angeles to
be exact, and part of the time in Maryland and Dallas. My dad (now retired) was
the manager of an international bank and every few years we were moved to
another location. My love for books began at an early age, my mother used to
read to me, and I've been reading for as long as I can remember. In high
school, the writing bug bit me hard after I watched Stephen R. Donaldson do a
book reading for The One Tree at the library of my high school. I don't
remember what he told us exactly, but ever since, I've wanted to become a
writer. I recently got in touch with him to thank him for inspiring me. I have
a lot of interests and hobbies, I had a career in radio as an on air
"personality" and as a studio/live musician. I play bass,
piano/keyboards, blues harmonica, and some guitar. My passion for the horror
genre began early. My best friend's older brother had horror comics like
Nightmare, Eerie, and Vampirella, and I used to LOVE reading those! I'm not
into terribly violent and gory, bloody horror, For the most part I prefer more
of a paranormal, psychological kind of terror. I do like weird.
A.R.- If you had to describe yourself using three
words, they would be…
Alex: A loyal
friend, a good father (single father since my daughter was 4), and fairly
creative (my fuel).
A.R.- Name one funny trait you have, that you would
like others to know.
Alex: I can move
my ears, independently, too!
A.R.- What's your motto in life?
Alex: Trying to
live the moment as much as possible instead of allowing yourself to be
overwhelmed by what hasn't happened yet.
A.R.- Do you have any pets?
Alex: Three cats:
Harry, Kwai Chang Caine, and Seamus. One dog named Oliver. All rescues. All
boys.
A.R.- What’s your favorite food to order in a
restaurant?
Alex: I love pasta, Carbonara
specifically. All kinds of Chinese, Thai, and Indian foods, particularly curry.
Whenever in England, I hit the curry houses hard!
A.R.- If you could have any superpower, what would
it be?
Alex: Even though I have
tinnitus I also have heightened hearing, it's weird, but I can hear tiny noises
most people can't. Because of my tinnitus I've been to tons of doctors, so this
has been tested. It's a blessing and a curse, because sometimes little noises
bother me, I ask if anyone can hear the buzz, or beeping, and they can't, so I
have to track it down, and it's always something in a drawer, or some kind of
malfunctioning electronic device. My dog Oliver ran away once and we were out
looking for him, and just as we were about to give up, I heard his dog tag in
the distance, no one else heard it, so we started heading in that direction,
found him, and brought him home. So if I could have ANY super power, I'd like
to be Super Handsome! Because I'm only extremely handsome. Anyway … I'd like to
be able to fly. This is a very serious reoccurring dream I've had my entire
life, and in some kind of alternate reality, I believe I can fly.
A.R.- Have you ever had the feeling you were being
watched?
Alex: Yes on
occasion. And sometimes I'm right, too.
A.R.- Now on to your current release. Why the name
Charla for both your book title and character name? Is there meaning behind it?
Alex: No deep
meaning, I just felt the book should be named after her since she's the
powerhouse in it. My next novel out this Fall will be called "Doll
Face", and I have a short coming out on Kindle soon, tentatively titled
"Tiny Thing" (or just "Sandra") Maybe all my books will
have names or nicknames for titles. You can see a very early cover of
"Doll Face" on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/alexandertberesford
You're all welcome to join me there.
A.R.- How long did it take you to complete writing
Charla?
Alex: It took me
four months to write a first draft, then another three or four months to
rewrite it. My first drafts end up needing a lot of work, but without question
they are the most fun for me. I don't enjoy rewriting nearly as much.
A.R.- Is there anything you’d like us all to know
about Charla?
Alex: She's deeply
misunderstood :) Her personality is loosely based on people I've known in my
life, one of which is still close to me. I know that sounds frightening, but
people much worse than Charla are out there. In case you're wondering, it's not
my mother who still is a wonderful, loving mother, and one of the kindest
people walking this earth.
A.R.- What's your next project?
Alex: The most
exciting thing going on right now is the movie version of Charla. I can't talk
about it much right now, but it's been keeping me busy since I've been helping
with casting and preproduction. We're right in the middle of all that actually
and this is the first time I've mentioned it publicly. For now it's an
independent production to be tentatively released in 2014, but in the film
business anything can happen. We will be shooting a teaser trailer within the
next couple of months. More to come. Coincidentally, I already have a director
interest in my next novel "Doll Face" (coming this Fall) which I've
been told will make a great horror picture. We'll see. Maybe there's a pattern
being developed here with Alexander Beresford novels. I can only hope so. I
love the movies.
A.R.- Thank you so much for being here. I hope
you’ll come back again for a visit or too chat some more!
Alex: I really
appreciate this opportunity to share with readers, writers, new friends. Thank
you very much.
