Interview with Aliya Leigh: A Look into the Writer's World

How did your passion for writing develop?

When I was young, my mother made my brother and I read classic novels and Shakespeare plays. She would always encourage us to read books, write essays and short stories. I always had a knack to tell the most boring stories with flair and excitement. I'm a big Edgar Allan Poe fan and by reading his stories, I got into the passion for writing horror and mystery.

What kind of writing do you enjoy?

Mystery and psychological horror. The mind can make a person see an event distorted, unreal or normal... but what is normal? That's the point. It's so amazing to me, how the mind works; it can make any story weird, insane and mysterious. I also love VC Andrews novels, even though each book ends the same way. VC Andrews brings the drama to life. Her stories are so wicked and drama driven, the reader can see the words come to life. Anne Rice brings out the darkness of a normal human being, which makes life real; we all have an evil side to us.

Can you tell me about Mystery?

Mystery is an adult novella which I can proud of. The story has heart, soul and how to survive the past. It deals with domestic violence, real love, fun, excitement, mystery, horror and survival.

The story came to me in a dream while I was going to school for Engineering. One of my classes was English and the class had to keep a journal. The story flowed on the pages of my journal as if I experienced domestic violence, pregnancy and true love.

Mystery is about a young black woman with crystal blue eyes, who needs to flee her violent boyfriend. She finds Jeremy, a playboy who needs a serious vacation and is planning to take a road trip to Las Vegas. Fate makes them meet in a diner in Pennsylvania. Jeremy meets the sad Mystery and invites her on his road trip with no strings attached. He falls in love with Mystery to the point he wants to marry her in Las Vegas. During the trip, Mystery becomes a mystery in her own skin and in the end, she needs to take her own journey, as she leaves Jeremy with a broken heart and a child.

How does this piece compare to your other work?

It has more heart and soul. It has feelings and you care more about the characters. In the story, it was like Mystery entered my body and wrote the story herself. The story doesn't fit in any category, which was so hard for my agent to accept. I mostly write young adult novels, but this was my first short adult novel, something out of my character.

One reason why Mystery has crystal blue eyes, is because my aunt from Denmark had crystal blue eyes and was killed by her husband. She never had the chance to see her two boys grow up and become married men, plus she never got a chance to meet her granddaughter.

This story was for her too. Domestic violence effects everyone.

The story is about how to deal with a bad situation, how to survive and see beautiful side of love, peace, trust and victory.

Why did you choose to publish Mystery on your own?

Mystery did not fit in any category and my agent didn't think it was commercial, meaning it would not sell to a mass market. For example, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Dr. Dre can sell their music to a mass market because it's popular; while Enya and Loreena McKennitt aren't popular so their music won't sell to a mass market.

My agent knew my name won't carry the book because my name wasn't popular at the time, so I decided a long time ago to self-publish and to split the profit of the book to battered women shelters. Women need to know they can survive the past.

What difficulties have you faced as your own advocate?

One thing authors don't do is fight to be number one. Most authors write a book and then wait around to be picked up by an agent and publishing company. With music, new musicians start their own label and get their name out there. Soon the new musician has their own label, famous and their music is well received.

Authors need to be their own company instead of waiting around and hoping to get picked up. Authors need to take charge of their careers and market themselves. I have found when an author is well-known, they are taken seriously by the agents and publishing companies.

Agents, top publishing companies and some authors believe if you self-publish a book, you're not considered an author and then you're looked down in the industry. In my mind, I don't care. I care more about my writing then the politics of the writing industry. It's hard to break into writing because everyone is telling you, "You can't do it this way", "This is not proper", and "You have to follow the industry standards." I got to the point where I said, "I don't give a damn." I'm a good writer, maybe not the best, but I'm good, in order to land two agents, sign a contract with a Hollywood management company, my books are being well received and my film script I Love You was optioned.

Where has the process brought you?

Because I'm rebel in the writing industry, I'm starting my own publishing company called Striving With Pi, LLC. I love math and almost became a Math Engineer. I believe Pi which is equal to 3.14 is the most perfect number in the world and I strive to be the most perfect person in the world.

With my publishing company, I'm planning to publish my own novels, stories and a graphic novel line. I'm also going to open the publishing company to other authors who writes books. Books with heart and soul, unique and won't fit into a category.

There is a lot of talented authors out there and because of their unique style of writing, they get lost in the mix and you never hear about them. For example, I read a book called, The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. The book won three awards and a great story, but it's not popular. This is what I mean, good stories fall by the way side. So, I want to publish books which are different and from new authors.

How do you market your work?

Market yourself every chance you get. I use social marketing, networking, associations, friends, and also my distributor. Authors need to join associations and become active members in that association. For me, I'm a board member of the National Writer's Union. It's a labor union for freelance writers, authors, writers and editors.

Authors need to enter contests, target an audience, market themselves and their style of writing, be social, talk to fans, blogging and also thinking outside the box. Thinking outside the box will help advance any writer's career.

Every author needs to study how musicians and actors get their success and copy it, and don't care if the industry doesn't like. If you are getting paid for your work, who cares what other people think. Think for yourself and success will always follow.

What projects do you have in the works?

Mystery and Mercy Me are available on Amazon as e-books. Mercy Me will be turned into an indie film soon. I Love You will be my first major film. My adult novel about the drama and mysterious entertainment industry in Media. My first young adult novel will be out soon and it's about hacking, video games and horror, called Cyber Pirates.

I produce a podcast show and blog called "Aliya Leigh Live" (http://aliyaleighlive.libsyn.com), the is about my opinions on the media, lgbt community and my life. You never know what I'm going to talk about. Plus, thinking outside the box, I do my own voice over show called "Wonderland" (http://wonderland.podbean.com). Wonderland is an unscripted show about fairy tales characters who are a royal pain in the ass.

I want to thank Aliya for speaking with me and giving her insight. She can be reached at aliyaleigh@gmail.com.