Interview with Author Alexander Alten
Alexander Alten
I am thrilled to have interviewed author Alexander Alten, who shared with us details of his writing life, his book ‘Ignition‘, which was released on 24th October 2024, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.
Alexander was born and raised in Dresden when Germany was divided. He was part of the peaceful resistance that helped reunite the country. After reunification, he joined the German Air Force and saw the start of the Afghan war and the Balkan conflict, all while continuing to write poems and songs during his 12 years of service.
After leaving the military, Alexander moved into the tech world, building tech startups to enable AI. He lived in Palo Alto, CA and Austin, TX before returning to Europe and finally moving to Malta.
He’s a dad to two gorgeous daughters and has been married to his second wife for over 12 years. But he never lost his sharp tongue and unfiltered quill, not always to the amusement of his wife, who loves most of his dark humor and sarcasm, sometimes. Alexander has loved telling stories and writing lyrics, short stories, and poems since his youth. His writing is engaging, direct, and unique, immediately pulling readers into the worlds he creates.
1) Where did the inspiration for your book come from?
From research. In my current startup, we do research about data platforms and agent systems. In 2020, I stumbled upon a research publication discussing biotechnology, especially nanobots and CRISPR. I dug deeper and found fascinating research about stem cells and what they could do. The idea for the series was born.
2) How did you plan out the plot?
Short after the idea about the current series was born, I started to gather data, insights, and drafted first a series plot, then broke it down into five novels, and created the blurb for every book. But to be honest, that all changes when I actually write 🙂
3) When did you choose the title for your book?
Before I started the series, the series title and the novel titles should match, reflecting a known paradigm. The cascade effect is like a chain reaction that starts at the top and sets off a series of steps, each one impacting the next in ways you can’t always predict. As it moves down the line, the results can sometimes grow bigger and more intense.
4) How did you come up with the names for your characters?
Researching cultural aspects, how names are tied to the certain culture the current novel plays in. In IGNITION, we start in China – all Chinese names have a special meaning, related to the story. Jade, the main character besides Xiu, as example.
5) How did you go about researching the content for your book?
From science papers over public resources like Wikipedia, talking and interviewing people I know, even joining social media groups to get a glimpse of the social life there. And I travel and traveled a lot; some of the descriptions in the novels are real. Then I talked to folks I know and who are in research biotech and nanotechnology. I also checked the outcomes I wrote about with actual medical folks. It should be SciFi, but so real that we feel the impact.
6) What made you choose this genre?
DNA engineering, though sounding sci-fi, is actually reality and unbelievably sophisticated.I use thriller elements and combine that with action and sci-fi.
7) How long did it take you to complete your book?
From 2020 to 2024, I finished IGNITION and wrote the skeleton for CATALYST and DECEPTION. For each novel, around 110,000 words, I need up to six months from the first draft to master edit.
8) Can you describe your book in three words?
Don’t trust anybody.
9) What’s the hardest part of being a writer?
I can only speak for me, I don’t feel or have any hard parts or blockers when I write. I think that comes over the years, this series is the first I release under my name, and not using a pen name. Writing needs discipline, maybe that’s the hardest part.
10) Why should our readers pick your book up?
When you love a fast-paced thriller with a science aspect that makes you question our knowledge, read it. It’s a fusion of Jack Reacher and Altered Carbon. I use female heroes and anti-heroes as protagonists in a world where power requires subtle manipulation and ruthlessness, not pure violence.
The Cascade Effect Book One
Pages – 401
Release Date – 24th October 2024
Format – ebook
Synopsis
What do they really want from Jade?
A mercenary pilot. A revolutionary drug. A deadly betrayal.
Former special forces ace Jade thought it was just another mission: steal and transport a game-changing genetic drug. But when her plane crashes in the Gobi Desert, survival becomes a race against time—and the shadows hunting her. Stranded, hunted, and betrayed, Jade realizes she’s not just a courier—she’s the experiment.
In the high-stakes world of crime, biotech, and political manipulation, loyalties shift and survival knows no rules. Love dies, trust is rare, and the ruthless hunger for power will stop at nothing—no matter the cost.
Fans of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Richards K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon will love Ignition, the opening novel in The Cascade Effect series.
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Fun Questions
1) Do you have a writing buddy (i.e. a pet)?
Yes, our dog, Henry. He’s old, twelve years now, and partially grey as am I 🙂
2) Do you have any writing quirks?
Yes, please silence and a cup of coffee when I start.
3) Where do you write?
I write in my office, on my messy desk.
4) Your book has been made into a movie, you’ve been offered a cameo role, what will you be doing?
One of the chopper pilots. I was a pilot once in the military.
5) A talking owl has just finished reading your book, what’s the first thing he says to you?
How the heck you came up with that? (In fact that’s what ARC readers said, if that’s okay.)
Author links
Goodreads
Website
A big thank you to Alexander Alten for sharing his writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.
