My Exclusive Interview with Author Alma Alexander
June 2005

Q:  The Secrets of Jin-Shei came out in hardback last year, and in paperback this spring. Tell me more about its success. How many countries has it been printed in and in how many languages?

A:  I've just signed the contract for the Turkish edition, to be published sometime in 2006, as will Czech, German, Spanish and Catalan editions. So far the book is out in the English-speaking world (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), Italy and Holland. It is out, or will be out, in eight languages so far - and the number of countries, because the Spanish edition will be distributed in South America, is now probably pushing 20 or so.

Q.  How long did it take you to write? How did you feel when you were done?

A:  190,000 words in three and a half months - but that was extraordinary. I don't think I'll ever write anything at that speed ever again - I didn't write this book so much as channel it, taking dictation from some fairly insistent characters who wanted their story told and told NOW. It was quite a roller coaster ride. When I was done? When I typed the last words I was merely exhausted, in an exhilarated kind of way. After that, it was a gamut of things, many of which would be very familiar to any mother waving a child off into the rough and scary world out there.

Q:  What has the response been from readers around the world?

A.  Fantastic. There have even been instances of readers making jin-shei vows to their friends in the same manner as I wrote about in the book. I've had emailing emaling me from Holland, the UK, Australia, Germany (where the book isn't even OUT yet!) People are writing about it in blogs all over the Internet, too. It's been wonderful.

Q.  On the heels of the novel's success, what projects do you have in the works now?

A.  I just finished writing a follow-up to "The Secrets of Jin Shei" which is with the publishers at the moment. My next writing project is a Young Adult trilogy, to be published by Harper Collins in 2006/2007, the first book of which is now entering its final editorial stages. After that...well, there are plenty of ideas...

Q.  What advice would you offer to a budding novelist?

A.  Read, read, read, read, read. Anything. Everything. And then write.

Cultivate patience and a philosophical resignation about the fact that there will be more rejections than acceptances, at least in the beginning. Accept those as a rite of passage and don't let them bury you in despondency and despair.

Get a cat. Nothing will keep you humble better than having a superior being whose every whim you will have to pander to.

Q:  You have also written under the name Alma Hromic. Why the pen name Alma Alexander?

A:  The publishers felt that "Hromic" was too hard to spell, to remember, and thus to proffer to booksellers when eager fans sought the book in stores. People who have asked about it tend to think that "Hromic" is more memorable and unusual and would therefore be a better name because it would stick in people's heads far more than the more generic vanilla "Alexander" - but I'm not too unhappy with it, I think, on the whole.

 For more information about the author, visit her Web site at www.almaalexander.com.