Many writers have become successful by concentrating on a specific genre—for example, historical fiction, crime, fantasy, romance etc. They often publish whole series based on the same subject matter and main characters. Whereas other writers manage to tackle different genres in an equally successful way, sometimes under different pen names.

As a writer who began later in life and who is still an ongoing learner, my first story is a historical fiction novel, A View From The Mountain—which depicts real-life experiences and is very much character-driven. In a way, it would be easier for me to continue writing in that style, as it feels more comfortable now. But I think I will grow more as a writer by tackling different genres.

In my younger years, I loved reading fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and later titles such as the more realistic interpretation of Robin Hood by Ben Jonson. So, inspired by the magic in fairy tales and the heroic actions of Robin Hood, I combine many of these elements in my current WIP, a YA fantasy novel. Although this story is different to the original Robin Hood and very much my own.

This story has definitely been a more challenging project for me. Delving into a fantasy world offers endless possibilities and consequently so many choices, and because of this, I found it harder to decide which direction to take. Especially when it comes to worldbuilding. But I have managed to finish the last chapter and I’m now in the process of editing it.

In the meantime, in order not to lose drafting momentum, I started on a new project; a crime novel. This time I included real-life characters again (sufficiently altered to not cause any offence) in a setting familiar to me. There is a bit of a dilemma though. Do I use the same pen name or change it to two new pen names? All my social media accounts have connected Alex Dalton to historical fiction. Would it make my life more complicated to juggle all these different personas? I still have to make that decision. In the meantime, I am having a great time delving into different worlds.