I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Today we are joined by Alexandra Fleder. Alexandra worked in “big law” as a litigation paralegal for over fifteen years. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Earthquake Warnings and Crystal Woman, both published by Bottlecap Press. Today she is a full-time writer as well as a native plant enthusiast. She lives with her two blind cats in her native Los Angeles.
Why do you write?
Because I have to. If I don’t write, I feel
like I’ll spontaneously combust.
How do you celebrate when you finish writing a new book?
I go somewhere for a margarita! But not the mind-altering
kind a fake astronaut makes.
Describe your book in three words.
Woman follows hunch.
Describe your book poorly.
Astronauts are just actors. A woman can be a
paradox—both a mother and a punk singer. The truth masquerades in front of us
in a gaudy costume. Patriarchy is a predator. The standard American Diet is
SAD. Gravity is just an agreed-upon concept. A woman’s howling voice can take
down an empire.
Summarize your book using only gifs or emojis.
💃🌴🌴🌴👃🚀🎥🌎🪐🌝📺🕶️🎭🎬🔮🔮🔮🪬🍹🏳️🌋☢️📡👠🔦🎱
🏜️ ☠️⚡💥👄💅 💵📚🤯 🧓🔫🕵️🍾🙆🏼♀️🦋🌙🌲
What’s the single best line you’ve ever read?
“Let San Andreas yawn down there in the
butchered plateau.”
What’s on your literary bucket list?
To read Infinite Jest cover to cover.
It would be fun to brag about at dinner parties.
Do you think you’d live long in a zombie apocalypse?
Yes, because I’ve been prepping for several years now. I have an anti-zombie plan that includes seeds, soil, shovels, tarot cards, a generator, books of prayer, protective crystals, several bottles of good wine, and an understanding of how to manipulate negative energy. It’ll be rough for a while, but through enough spell work and meditation, the zombies will self-destruct and it will be safe to leave the bunker again.
What is under your bed?
Dried cat vomit, cat hair, a misplaced sock
with a hole in it, and a bag of desert rocks.
What scares you the most?
A world without books. A world without
trees. Newspeak and thoughtcrimes like Orwell warned us about. AI and Big
Brother always watching from your pocket.
She Writes Press
Releases 8/11/26
Perfect
for fans of Mona Awad and Maria Semple, this gripping, offbeat journey
through modern-day Los Angeles is a genre-blending, darkly humorous exploration
of suburban life, conspiracy theories, and spiritual awakening.
A
page-turning psychological trip for anyone who’s ever wondered if all their
crazy ideas . . . might actually be right.
Joan
is a middle-aged punk rocker turned housewife who’s seen too many TikToks to
trust the official narrative. The moon landing? Faked. Weather? Controlled.
Food? Poisoned. Her suspicions ignite when a strange new neighbor—possibly a
dead astronaut with ties to secret ops—arrives on her block.
As
Joan spirals deeper into the rabbit hole, she begins to question everything:
her marriage, her sanity, and her soul’s purpose. Armed with a mystical book
and a fading voice that once shook LA punk clubs, she sets out on a spiritual
journey through canyon trails, desert portals, and shadow realms to expose the
truth—and reclaim her power.
“Fleder’s
novel is dark, funny, sometimes ridiculous, and endearingly human. Its expertly
paced plot is appealingly offbeat, with just enough emotion to ground the
proceedings and connect readers to its complex protagonist.”—Kirkus Reviews
?“The
novel stayed with me long after I finished, not because of dramatic twists, but
because of how vividly it captured the quiet, unsettling encounters that can
reshape a life.”—Los
Angeles Book Review, 5-star review
“Timely
storytelling at its finest, Joan of the Arcane invites us to consider the truly
wild moment we find ourselves in as a species. A fun and provocative read, this
book opens unexpected possibilities about our world we may not see coming. To
that end, Joan of the Arcane is an essential addition to any reader’s
library.”—Danielle
Dulsky, author of The Night House and Founder of the Hag School
“Joan
of the Arcane is a hypnotic fever dream. Arresting and absurd, it offers a
piercing examination of suburban malaise, forced conformity, conspiracy theory
rabbit holes, and the dangers of masquerading as someone other than your true
self.”—Emily
Jane, USA Today best-selling author of On Earth as it Is on
Television
“Joan of the Arcane is a must-read for anyone who has ever doubted the veracity of official announcements. . . . [The] plot will entice anyone who has ever hovered over an absurd title on an internet video and wondered, “Really, could that be true?”—Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review
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