When Maurice isn't writing he can be found cruising around the county on his bicycle, experimenting with DIY projects around the house or building his amateur carpentry skills.
What kind of books do you write?
My goal is to write stories that are character-driven and thought-provoking. Typically they are set in a sci-fi or sci-fan environment because that kind of escapism has been my go-to choice since I was a kid reading the likes of Philip Dick and Isaac Asimov. But I do like to mix in some levity now and then, drawing from my enjoyment of Harry Harrison and Douglas Adams. If I’m not having fun writing, I can’t expect my readers to have fun reading what I write.
Can you describe your writing why?
Honestly, when I was a child, writing just seemed natural. Other people wrote stories that I read and enjoyed, therefore I should be able to write my own so other people could read and enjoy them too. I was also fortunate to have had some great friends growing up with whom I’d have imaginary adventures, each building on the other’s plot points until we had full 3-act stories without even realizing it.
I’m a very visual person, meaning that I think in images first and then break those down into words. This has been the flow of most of my writing since I was in my single digits. I started with a drawing toy I had that let me mix and match legs and torsos to create monsters, and based on those drawings, I wrote simple horror stories until I was twelve years old. That’s when my cousin gave me a treasure trove of sci-fi books, and I fell in love with that setting.
Years later, a drawing that my wife and co-author drew when we were in college became the source for our trilogy, The Trouble With Thieves. Immediately upon seeing her drawing, the three people depicted started telling me their names and backgrounds and how they’d arrived at that scene. By the end of the day, I had a basic plot outline.
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
In this scene, the main character, Kormèr is back on the planet Averia for the first time in six years. He’s received word that a local he’d fallen madly in love with six years earlier is waiting for him in the lounge of the hotel at which he’s staying. They’ve both grown while separated, and it’s their uncertainty as they come back into each other’s lives that really makes me like this scene.
Freshly groomed, Kormèr anxiously strolled into the lounge. He hadn’t felt this nervous about meeting a woman in a very long time. But Sylvestra was no ordinary woman. And he had left her somewhat unexpectedly. The fact that she was here now, that she had come knowing he too would be here was promising. But he couldn’t be sure of the reception; she could be here to start over or just as easily to slap him.
He spotted her perched at the bar, and his heart leaped. Until that very moment, Kormèr’s presence here on Averia had been surreal. Seeing Sylvestra, resplendent in her snowy-white plumage, solidified the reality of the moment.
He approached her from the side, not wanting to sneak up on her. She noticed him almost immediately, her glittering black eyes turning to meet his, questioningly. He realized she probably didn’t recognize him with his moustache and beard.
||Hello, Sylvee.||
She glanced down at the dozen red hwyiite he offered her, then her eyes widened with recognition.
||KL!|| She stood and embraced him warmly.
Tell us about your latest project
We are a team of two, often with multiple works in progress at the same time, so we’re not a fast operation cranking out a half-dozen books a year, unlike some.
We’ve just finished the final edits on a prequel to The Trouble With Thieves trilogy. The trilogy begins with the book Return to Averia. So the prequel, titled The Trouble With Love, tells the tale of our protagonist’s first visit to that planet. He’s younger and rougher around the edges, but no less prone to stumbling into situations that are sometimes over his head, especially when he falls head over heels for a local.
The synopsis is:
Teenage thief, Kormèr Lezàl, tumbles through his inter-dimensional portal to the distant future and into the middle of a fire fight on a far off world. Swept into a web of industrial espionage, an impossible jewel heist and romantic intrigue, there's trouble at every turn, but he'll do whatever it takes to win over Averia's beautiful chief of police... if she doesn't arrest him first.
What is your favourite cake?
Hands down, Italian cheese cake. It’s not as creamy but also not as cloying. And ricotta cheese has less calories, so I can indulge in a larger slice without guilt.
You can connect with Maurice at the following places:
Twitter: twitter.com/mauricexalvarez
On Amazon: amazon.com/author/maurice-x-alvarez
With Ande on Twitter: twitter.com/andeliauthor
On Amazon: amazon.com/author/andeli
Find them on Facebook: facebook.com/Room808Press
Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Kathryn Gauci.
If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.
You can also support my writing endeavours through Kofi and buy me virtual tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!
Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.
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