Derrick Ferguson: Who Is Bex Aaron?
Bex Aaron: That’s
a great question! Bex Aaron is actually something of a chameleon – I’m a little
bit of everything. A long time ago, when forced to describe myself, I came up
with, “I’m a lover, a fighter, a poet, a dreamer, a dork and a smartass…not
necessarily in that order.”
Basics: I’m
a 32-year old divorcee, who’s completely satisfied with that status. I’m an NBA
historian (I seriously know more trivia about NBA/ABA than most guys I know,
and I can quote stats like a pro), a Clippers fan, a Buddhist, a rock star, a
raging smartass, a Mac junkie, an unapologetic smoker, a bullying survivor, a
perfectionist and a master of accents.
If I had my
druthers, I’d be Canadian…and green eyed…and at least three inches taller. But
I must say, I’ve made peace with myself for the most part. It’s taken me some
time to get to this point, so it’s definitely worth heralding.
DF: Where do you live and what do
you tell the IRS you do for a living?
BA: I live
in Texas, deep in the very heart of it (clap, clap, clap). I’m not enthused
about living here. I don’t think I ever have been. I long for colder weather and
more progressive thinking.
As for my
day job, I’m a legal assistant at a personal injury law firm. My job entails
everything from client intakes, setting up insurance claims, gathering
medicals, preparing demand packages, negotiating settlements and finalizing
cases. It’s riveting stuff. Oh, and the phone never stops ringing. It is a very
stimulating environment – there’s never a dull moment, but at times, it can be
very stressful, I won’t lie. The key, at least for me, is to take a moment to
breathe and to remind myself that (in the words of my boss), that never-ending
to-do list is job security!
DF: Tell us a little something about
your background.
BA: I’m the
only child of a single mother. We were kind of like The Gilmore Girls. I had
the cool mom, the mom who not only allowed me to dye my hair pink at 14, she
also did the back because I couldn’t reach it! She is still my most steadfast
supporter and biggest fan. I’m everything I am today because of my mom, and I’m
not ashamed to admit it. My mom was the very epitome of what a mother is
supposed to be – absolutely nothing ever came ahead of me, and that’s the mother
that I someday strive to be.
My life
hasn’t really been that interesting. I dropped out of school in 9th grade, went
back and got a GED at age 19, got married sometime in my twenties, realized
what a profound mistake that was, subsequently divorced and started my life all
over. The past few years have been the most turbulent of my life, but they also
taught me a lot about myself, and I’ve come out much stronger on the other side
of them…which, I guess, is the most anyone can hope for.
DF: What’s your philosophy of
writing?
BA: I find
that writing is a form of therapy. It’s a way to release some of your pent up
tensions, it’s a way to lose yourself in someone else’s misery for a while…it’s
very therapeutic. At the same time, though, it can also be very
heart-wrenching. I am the writer that gets far too attached to their
characters. I talk about them like they’re real people, and I hate the idea of
them suffering…which is really ironic, given that I wrote the most miserable
group of people you can imagine.
DF: Do you write for yourself or for
the readers?
BA: Probably
a little bit of both. I write to be read, absolutely, but I also write because
I love these crazy people and this crazy world I’ve created. I think the
validation trap is so easy to fall into when you are in this position. For me,
personally, I’m far more about feedback than sales. I have given away more
books than I’ve ever sold, in the hopes that it would generate readership and
feedback. I’m a slave to it, which is a double-edged sword. The positive
feedback is a great rush, and a wonderful confidence boost…and the sounds of
silence devastate me.
DF: Are you interested in critics or
criticism?
BA: Yes, as
long as they are actually making a valid point. Those that criticize only to
bring someone else down hold no merit to me. The best critics can balance
positive with negative, and offer suggestions for improvement, rather than a
laundry list of everything that they hate about your books. I immediately
discount anyone that has nothing but negative things to say. There’s just not
room in my life for negativity for the mere sake of it. Not anymore.
DF: What audience are you trying to
reach with your work? Is there an audience for Bex Aaron?
BA: I’d
like to reach fans of small town suspense, gripping human drama and lots of layered
storytelling. Daytime or primetime soap fans. Those that enjoy a book where
there are no easy answers, nor are there any happy endings. Someone who wants
to immerse themselves in the messy, unraveling lives of characters that any of
us could know. That sort of thing.
Is there
any audience for me? Well…I’d sure like to think so. I have found a nice little
core of people, who interact with me through my book’s FB page
(http://facebook.com/havenpark), so I know there are people out there actually
reading these books. I know that audience could always grow, though, and I
certainly hope that it does!
DF: How important is it to follow
your instincts while writing?
BA: Very
important. My best advice to any writer is to know your characters inside and
out. Work on your characterization until they feel like real people. I’ve always
found that if you invest in them, it pays off. They sort of take over after a
while. I’ve learned over time that my characters are much smarter than I am,
and that if I just shut up and let them talk, the end result is much more
satisfying. This is why I’m not really strict with outlines. I never used to do
outlines at all, but I figured if I’m trying to plot a mystery series, it might
be in my best interest to have some idea of how I’m going to go about it.
Still, I always allow for the characters to improvise. It’s more enjoyable that
way and feels more authentic to me…even if it makes the backseat driver in my
own novel at times!
DF: Give us an overview of
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
BA: INDEPENDENCE
DAY is the story of a series of murders taking place in the overheated summer
of 1966. Haven Park, Wyoming (fifteen miles east of Laramie) is the perfect
picture of Americana. Violent crime doesn’t exist there. Everyone knows
everyone else, and there’s a real community atmosphere…but there are also
secrets that come to light one by one as more and more people end up dead.
DF: While reading Book One I
couldn’t help but think that INDEPENDENCE DAY falls into a genre I like to call
The Little Town With Big Secrets Genre. It starts out like “Twin Peaks” what
with a surprising and horrifying murder that shocks the entire town. Then we
move into “Peyton Place” territory. Are you a fan of soap operas?
BA: First
of all, thank you for noticing! I always feel gratified when someone “gets it”,
and you totally nailed it! J
I grew up
watching soap operas. As I said, my mom was the “cool mom”, so I had my own TV,
with no restrictions on what I could watch…of course, we didn’t have cable, so
I couldn’t run across anything too risqué. Still, I spent my days watching soap
operas and cooking shows, when I was about four or five years old. Funny thing,
I can’t cook at all…but that soap opera influence has never left my writing,
even after I gave up on the dismal soap genre.
What I
strived to do with this book series was emulate a classic soap opera called “The
Edge of Night.” For those unfamiliar with daytime, this was a series that
premiered in the 1950s, and in the beginning, it was designed to be a daytime
version of Perry Mason. It had the elements of mystery and classic soap drama
mixed together, and that’s what I was hoping for here.
Now, when I
say “classic soap drama”, I do wish to clarify that I do not mean camp,
over-the-top antics like one might expect from today’s soap operas. I mean the
character-driven human drama that used to be a staple of daytime television.
Forbidden love, dark secrets – this sort of thing. I want to make abundantly
clear that once someone dies in Haven Park, they stay that way! And nobody has
an evil twin! J
DF: Is Haven Park entirely in your
imagination or is it a version of someplace you grew up or once lived?
BA: It’s
all my imagination, really. I grew up in a fairly small town, but nowhere near
that small. I have, however, incorporated elements of my own life into the
town. For instance, the church. I grew up in a Baptist church that was not
unlike the one depicted in the book. The congregation largely consisted of
elderly ladies who liked to backbite and talk about everyone else. There wasn’t
much room for progression or change, and unfortunately, they didn’t have a
pastor like Brett, who actually wanted to buck tradition and try something new.
I quit going there years ago, but I suspect that it’s much the same way I left
it. Cycles like that keep repeating themselves, I’ve found.
DF: INDEPENDENCE DAY is a five part
story. Why five parts? Why not write
just one huge Stephen King sized doorstop of a book?
BA: INDEPENDENCE
DAY actually has roots in webfiction – which, for those initiated, is a genre
where one creates a website and serializes their novel, releasing one chapter
at a time. The story was originally divided into arcs, consisting of ten
chapters an interlude (or, as was the case of arc one, one prologue, ten
chapters and two interludes).
I made the
decision to remarket the story as a book series in 2011, after trying the
webfiction route with little success for two years. At that time, I had two
arcs completed and was laboring over the third. I decided to go ahead and
release what I had at the time, and the arcs became the books.
The plan is
once the story has wrapped up, I’m going to release the complete series as one
humongous book, with paperbacks and electronic versions available. I have no
idea how big those damned things will be, though, because this is going to be
one long story.
DF: Once INDEPENDENCE DAY is done do
you plan to do anything else with Haven Park and it’s good citizens?
BA: Absolutely,
because I have one hell of a time letting go. My plan was originally do a
prequel, but I’ve since scrapped that one. I am planning a sequel now, set 30
years later, in the summer of 1996. It would highlight the characters left
standing, and how their lives have changed in the years that have passed. It’s
in the very early planning stages, so I can’t really say too much about it, but
I think it will be an interesting look at the characters we’ve established in a
new, more jaded and even more miserable light…which, of course, is what I’m
known for, so it should be fun!
DF: Anything else you’re working on
that we should know about?
BA: At this
time, no. I tend to be a writer that has a one-track mind. I wish I could work
on multiple projects at one time, but I always feel disloyal to them when I do
that. I just don’t possess that type of focus…perhaps this is why I just want
one child, because I would never want to shaft either of my children because
Mommy isn’t good at multi-tasking!
DF: What are your future plans for
your writing career?
BA: I want
to write as long as the inspiration as there and there are people still willing
to read my stories. I’d love to eventually hit it big and see big screen
adaptations of my novels – don’t we all want that? I try to be realistic,
though. I just want to reach a few people. I want to provide them an escape, a
world they can get lost in, and a way to forget about their own lives for a
little while. If I can accomplish that, I’ve succeeded.
Derrick Ferguson: What’s A Typical
Day In The Life Of Bex Aaron like?
Bex Aaron: Weekdays:
Wake up, have coffee, smoke, get dressed, go to work, lose my mind in small
increments over the course of the day, come home, unwind and settle into bed
with my phone and Netflix. I’m not much of a partier. I’m a very boring old
woman, actually…but I like my life, and that’s what counts.
Weekends:
Wake up, have coffee, smoke, repeat, listen to Mmmbop (seriously, that is what
I’m listening to as I type this), spend time with my mom and labor over my
writing. I used to be able to knock out a chapter a weekend, but not so much
these days. I need to get back into the habit, especially given that I have a
deadline to meet! INDEPENDENCE DAY: Book Four, Dirty Little Secret, is
coming on May 1.
Did you see
how subtly I snuck that plug in there? I’m so awesome at marketing, as you know.
Slick as all hell, I am! J
