# Please introduce yourself and your book(s)!
Alexandra Ivy is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over 90 romantic suspense and paranormal romances. She has also written Regency historicals under the name Deborah Raleigh. A five-time RT Book Award Finalist, Ivy has received much acclaim for her Guardians of Eternity, ARES Security, and Pike, Wisconsin series. She lives with her family in Missouri and can be found online at www.AlexandraIvy.com.
# What are the biggest mistakes you can make in a book?
Bore the reader! You can break rules, you can have an unusual style or voice, you can challenge the reader with your storytelling. You can do ANYTHING except give the reader a reason to put down your book and never pick it up again. It’s the one certain way to ensure that they will never buy your book again.
# How do bad reviews and negative feedback affect you and how do you deal with them?
The best piece of advice I ever received was to never read my reviews. Good or bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love to get reviews, they’re vital to any writer. But they’re written by readers for other readers. My ulcer went away when I accepted that there were going to be people who love my books and people who hate them. All I can do is stay true to my voice and hope for the best.
# How has your creation process improved over time?
I’ve discovered that I have to constantly work on my creativity. It’s like a muscle that needs to be honed and used to keep it in shape. I love to go to conferences and learn from other authors, or during the lockdown, I used Masterclass to keep me inspired. And not just from writers. I like to hear how actors create their characters or musicians use beat and tempo to control emotions. It all goes into my process and keeps me excited about what I do.
# Do you have any creativity tricks?
I’m not sure it’s a trick, but I write all my books in stage play format. Nothing but conversation and a few stage directions. I think it’s because I started out as a theatre major with the intention of writing for the stage and screen. Plus it keeps me focused on the characters of the story instead of getting lost in the plot or background information. I love to do research and sometimes I get carried away with adding unnecessary facts to my books. After I have the backbone of the story written, I go back through and add in the action and set the scene. Lastly, I go through to weave in the emotions.
# What are your plans for future books?
I have several more books in the pipeline including more of my paranormal series THE GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY and several suspense novels. I’m always seeking to challenge myself for there will no doubt be new genres and new adventures in the future. You can keep up to date here: Coming Soon | Alexandra Ivy
# Tell us some quirky facts about yourself
I live in the country and you can often find me tromping through the mud with my dogs or in the garden where I love to spend the afternoon weeding and talking to my plants.