Interviewing Alice James
Hellooo!
I’ve been a huge fan of Alice James’ two fantasy novels Grave Secrets by Alice James and Grave Danger by Alice James that tell the tale of Lavington ‘Toni’ Windsor both estate agent and necromancer in a world where Vampires and magic is real. They’re funny, sharp-witted, well plotted and have been surprising in the topics they cover under the surface of these tales. The next in the series Grave Suspicions comes out next month. I was very lucky to have the chance to ask Alice a few questions about Grave Danger and a few other things.
How do you like to booktempt Grave Danger?
I always want to focus on the mashup content - paranormal AND romantic AND a whodunnit AND kind of and Aga saga. I also want to stress how it's angst free; paranormal romance is often so very, very dark, and that’s not really what I am looking for in a beach read. Authors have a tendency to fill this genre with death, loss and a lot of rape. I decided very early on that if any of my characters decided to shag, they would be completely into the idea and have a very nice time.
This story's stakes seem less world shattering but also a lot more personal for Toni. Was that a conscious choice?
That’s a good observation, and yes, it was definitely a conscious choice. I do very much want to move away from world shattering arcs and destiny-steering heroes and focus more on the characters. I loved I Zombie and True Blood a lot more when they were about the people and not the total collapse of society. I think fantasy can really blossom when it's character led rather than deriving from ambitious world building.
Toni's relationship with Oscar is a key part of the plot and unusually we see a toxic relationship play out in this tale. What made you want to explore this in a fantasy setting?
Yes and no! I hated Oscar from the moment I started to write him. He is the quintessential toxic masculine hero, so I just went with it and knew I would have to deal with it book two. I hoped readers would hate him as much as I did and hang in there until he got his comeuppance. I promise he will, though he’s still hanging around in Book 3 like a bad smell! His story definitely comes from specific individual people I encountered in my life and his influence is just as negative in its own way as that of the “opposing forces of evil” that we encounter in the series. He wasn’t an intentional choicer, but just as soon as his character began to develop he was such a jerk and I was enjoying working with that… so I just shifted the story arc to embrace that.
With a longer series do you have a fixed view of how the wilder world will develop or is it more of a surprise?
No, I don't. I think it's got to come organically for me. I will hit a question about "how would this work" and answering it will drive the next evolution. We will all have to find out together. That said, there is a long story arc that we have to move through. I do know exactly how the series ends for our key characters; they have to end a story that started before the first book ever began and I hope that it will feel very satisfying when it comes.
What three words would you use to describe the next book?
Hot undead summer.
What else can we look forward to from you in the future and where can we find out more?
I’ve had three fantasy shorts out in the last year, had my first SF short in Andromeda Spaceways, and my agent has my first full-length space opera and my first young adult fantasy book on her desk! Book 4 of Toni has Nazi vampires and undead giant squids so I think I still have plenty to offer! I have my own websites (alicejames.co.uk and lavingtonwindsor.co.uk) and I am on Twitter (or X as it is called until the law suits roll int) as @ToniWindsor, but in terms of social media I am not sure where we will be in a few months’ time given the upheaval in the social spaces.
If there was one book, not your own that you wish you could get everyone else to read, what would it be and why?
I think the answer to that question changes every single week! I am currently raving about a book of short stories curated by Charles Prepolec: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaslight-Grimoire-Fantastic-Sherlock-Holmes/dp/1894063171 It's a mashup of Sherlock Holmes with various SFF tropes and it's brilliant and there’s a whole series of them. Charles is also a lovely person, and this book deserves all the readers.
