He’s angry about the war in Iraq and prisoners of war being tortured. These are the kinds of issues that preoccupied me in the decade following 9/11. It was a period that changed the way I thought about myself in relation to my country. Writing the book was a way to channel my own anger into something else.
Alex Miller – 1 December 2013
The Back Flap
Osama bin Laden is Dead is about growing up in a sad little town in the middle of nowhere. It’s about going to high school with a bunch of rich kids who hate you because you buy your clothes at Walmart. It’s about your parents manipulating you into enrolling in a creepy Christian college where morons go to be brainwashed. Osama bin Laden is Dead is about Mark, a high school senior who can’t imagine how his life could ever stop being pathetic. Mark is neither happy nor well adjusted. He likes to pretend that Osama bin Laden is some kind of anti-Christ superhero who can save him from the bleak hellscape that his life has become. Osama bin Laden is Dead is about all of Western civilization crumbling and collapsing on top of you. It’s about war and terrorism and making out with your best friend’s girlfriend on a sticky couch in her basement. It’s about finding a new way to live.
About the book
What is the book about?
The book is about an American teenager who is obsessed with Osama bin Laden. He’s on the verge of graduating from high school, so he’s trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. He looks at all the adults around him, and he sees sad people living pathetic lives—people who punch time clocks five days a week, people who work in cubicles. He doesn’t want to end up like them, but he doesn’t know how to avoid it. He feels like the whole trajectory of his life is leading him somewhere bleak and hopeless. The book is about his attempts to escape—to find a better way to live.
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing it about four years ago. The first few drafts were a lot different than the final product. They were a lot longer. At one point I had a novel-length manuscript, and from there I started chopping away at it, taking out all of the passages that didn’t hold up. I ended up with a very tightly written novella.
Where did you get the idea from?
I’d been thinking about writing something like it for a long time. The main character is very angry, and not just about typical high school stuff. He’s angry about the war in Iraq and prisoners of war being tortured. These are the kinds of issues that preoccupied me in the decade following 9/11. It was a period that changed the way I thought about myself in relation to my country. Writing the book was a way to channel my own anger into something else.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Beginning the book wasn’t easy. I write a lot of short stories, and I guess it was scary to think about trying write something book length. But the more I wrote, the easier it got. There’s a different rhythm to writing a novel than there is to writing a short story. Once I found that rhythm, everything got easier.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Some of the characters were inspired by real people, but the longer I worked to develop them, the more fictitious they became. I’d start with a few details from a real person, just enough to sketch out the skeleton of a character, and then I’d flesh it out from my imagination. The people I’ve known in real life are nicer than the ones in my book.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I’ve always been impressed by the strength of the narrator’s voice in The Catcher in the Rye. There were times, especially in the early drafts, when I consciously tried to imitate that voice. But I’m a pretty terrible imitator, so what I ended up with was something unique and interesting.
Do you have a target reader?
I guess the most obvious readers would be troubled young people trying to make sense of their lives. But I think it will also appeal to anyone who lived through the post 9/11 years and was troubled by the actions the U.S. took.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I’m not a very complicated writer. Basically I just sit down and try to write for a few hours, a few times a week. I try to get inside my characters’ heads and write in the ways they would think or speak.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I do some bare-bones outlining because I like to know where I’m going and because I don’t want to forget anything important. But in between the points plotted on my outline, I like to give myself a lot of space. My best writing happens when I’m actually writing.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
When I sit down to write, I usually start by editing whatever I wrote the night before. But it’s a light edit. Mostly I’m just reading to get my head in the right place to start the next chapter. I don’t get serious about editing until after I’ve finished a first draft of a manuscript.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I usually don’t. I need silence when I write so I can focus. Every once in a while I’ll listen to Lana Del Rey, because her music makes me feel bleak and hopeless. The other way to write from a bleak and hopeless perspective is to suffer some kind of debilitating personal tragedy. But, if you’re in a hurry, you can just listen to Lana Del Rey.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents? What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
My book is novella length, so I knew that the big publishing houses wouldn’t be interested. Instead of trying to find an agent, I submitted it to some indie houses, and I was surprised how quickly it was accepted.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
The publishing company handled the cover. It turned out well, really captured the book. It’s a lot better than anything I would have done. If I’d done it myself, it would have been puzzling and awful.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I don’t have a marketing plan. I’m not even sure what a marketing plan is. I’ll probably just badger my Facebook friends until they get tired of it and quietly un-friend me.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Get a marketing plan.
About You
Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Tennessee, close to Nashville. Now I live in Daytona Beach, Florida. Florida has better weather than Tennessee. Better beaches, too. But Florida has alligators and jellyfish, so it’s a tradeoff.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a novel about Hawaii. Specifically it’s about a group of white tourists who visit the island and mess everything up. It’s about how crappy life can be, and it’s about our dreams of escape.
End of Interview:
For more, visit Alex’s website or follow him on twitter.
Get your copy of Osama bin Laden is Dead from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.
