I am a French writer, born in Lyon in 1988, from French and Laotian parents. I began writing stories at 8 years old. I was captivating by the classic 80s films and the writing of Marcel Proust, Albert Camus, Emile Zola and Boris Vian. Even back then, I wanted to write stories combining the plots and characters of John Carpenter’s movies and the writing style and depth of Albert Camus. Of course, at 8 years, I didn’t have the skills. But I kept at it, writing over a hundred ‘Chapter One’.
When I was sixteen, I often ditched school to go watch old classic films at the Cinema Lumières, the birthplace of cinema, in Lyon. One day I met its president, the filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier who gave me the best advice I could get. ‘If you want to tell stories, you need to read every book from every great writer, watch every film from every great director. Don’t rush it, make sure you are ready before you make your debut.” It took me 19 years to ‘get ready’. I’ve taken his advice to heart, and, incidentally missed more school, mainly English, which I failed at my final exam.
Fast forward to 2023. I live in England, having left France to bring my stories to the wider world, in English. I am happily married, with Andrea, from Hungary, where I think we might happily retire one day. I have created two fictional universes, one Space Western, although you if truly ask me what style it is, I’d say it’s purely literature, Realism like Zola, only set in a near future rather than the past. This universe is home to the Raoke Gang series. The first installment will be released on Aug 29, 2023, Andrea’s birthday. A full-length novel, ‘A Wolf In Space’ will follow in the Winter. All installments are based around members of the Raoke Gang. They can all be read separately unless stated otherwise.
The second universe is a Dark Fantasy one. This is still a work in progress, but I know all the trilogies and series will be set on the same world. The first series will be called ‘Luzsferin’ and will centered around the city of the same name. Its origins are inspired by the bell episode of Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rublev’. The end of the series is inspired by Yharnam in the FromSoftware game Bloodborne.
I intend to write both series conjointly starting from Aug 29, 2023, in both novella and novel forms, with 2 to 3 releases per year. Let’s see how long I can go full Beatles, or BTS if you prefer, with this rhythm. I am ready for the ride. Are you?
Alex Valdiers 