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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

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Today's Substack, thanks to Jeanne Wright: questions about my writing process. alexbledsoe1.substack.com/p/q-and-a-ab...

Questions and answers, which are mostly opinions

Q&A about Writing

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Hey, give me a topic for substack. Writing related, movie related, raising heathen children related. Anything.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

On Substack I talk about two remakes of classic films and novels that I feel might've missed the point of their inspirations: Jackson's KING KONG and del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN. open.substack.com/pub/alexbled...

open.substack.com

Frankenstein and Kong: Two Remakes

Did Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson miss the point?

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The recent news of suicides, plus just the news in general, have gotten me so deep in a hole that I can't write, can't focus, and can barely function. I'm seriously not made for the world we've got now; nothing I'm good at is valued. I feel as if I serve no purpose. Anyone else feel this?

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

I've been reading a collection of essays and interviews with Michelangelo Antonioni, as well as immersing myself in his films. I knew I liked him, but when I ran across this, I understood my affinity even more. We share the same favorite painter. :-)

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Latest: urban fantasy crime thriller WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS. The Tufa series: The Hum and the Shiver Wisp of a Thing Long Black Curl Chapel of Ease Gather Her Round The Fairies of Sadieville The Eddie LaCrosse series: The Sword-Edged Blonde Burn Me Deadly Dark Jenny (continued)

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Finished up my expenses for my taxes. The fun part? Damn near every receipt from our trip is a) in Euros, and has to be converted to not just $, but to the conversion rate at the time, and b) in Italian, so I have to look up what some of these places are since many receipts aren't itemized.

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

At my Substack today, I go through the Spotify playlist for my new novel, WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS. Videos for all the songs and links to the playlist, too. alexbledsoe1.substack.com/p/music-from...

A breakdown of my Spotify playlist for my novel While the City Never Sleeps

Music from the City

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

All right, y'all, it's a) release day and b) my birthday, so I bet you know what present I'd like! Available in kindle, audio, hardcover and paperback editions. If you like it, leave a review on your site of choice, and share the word! www.amazon.com/While-City-N...

amazon.com

While the City Never Sleeps [Bledsoe, Alex] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. While the City Never Sleeps

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Since there's ONE MORE DAY until my new novel, WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS, hits. I thought I'd share some more of its influences. Link to order in the next post! alexbledsoe1.substack.com/p/influences...

Influences on While the City Never Sleeps

The book series and movie that shaped my latest novel.

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

We have a Chevy Volt, and for the most part it's a jewel. But on ice? Not so much. I mean, we also have an SUV, and with a full tank it's heavy enough it does pretty well. But the Volt? Turns out a fully-charged battery weighs as much (or as little) as an empty one. And it ain't enough, baby.

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Since there's a general strike tomorrow, AND my new novel comes out next Tuesday on my birthday, I thought I'd share a brief excerpt to give you a taste of what you'd be getting if you decide to try it. Let me know what you think! alexbledsoe1.substack.com/p/chapter-on...

Chapter One of While the City Never Sleeps

In which you meet the Lightning Girl and the Mendicant on a rooftop in Ratway

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I know there are fans of Stefan Rudnicki on here, because I'm sure one of them. The audiobook of WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS is now up for pre-order at Barnes and Noble. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/while-the-...

barnesandnoble.com

While the City Never Sleeps|Audio MP3 on CD

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Last night the Siren hit herself in the lip with the rim of her metal water bottle. I didn't see this, but heard the "Ow!" Me: Are you all right? What happened? The Siren: I was taking a drink and missed!

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

The Brokenwood Mysteries. I'm not kidding.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I was re-reading Andrei Tarkovsky's diaries and came across this. Not bad as a statement of purpose for any creative types: "All that I wanted was to tempt into life things that wanted to come out of me."

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Addendum to my earlier post. My novel WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS also has a character named "Tom Asiago," taken from the menu abbreviation for tomato asiago quiche at Sjölind's Chocolate Shoppe. 😁

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

How can you resist a novel with character names like: The Mendicant Grimy Tim Apocalypse Joe Mummadabba  Lobotomy Eyes Harry the Less Artie the Dodger and the Lightning Girl? You can't! Well...I hope not. Pre-order WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS below! falstaffbooks.myshopify.com/products/whi...

falstaffbooks.myshopify.com

This is a preorder item. Ebooks will deliver on 2/5/26, and print books will ship after inventory arrives in our warehouse. Remember, any time you order a print book from Falstaff, you get the ebook D...

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Pipes going into the dishwasher motor froze, so it's hand-washing in the sink for a while. Love the way old houses clue you in to WHERE one of the old owners skimped on insulation (it's literally easier to wash dishes by hand than to try to get to the motor and thaw the pipes).

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Your periodic reminder that in next novel, WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS, you get: Gangsters; Rogue cops; Crusading reporters; Child criminals; A snake that guards a tattoo parlor; and a female vigilante who controls electricity. Pre-order now! falstaffbooks.myshopify.com/products/whi...

falstaffbooks.myshopify.com

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Did a tarot reading for the Siren, age 14. As I told her when we were done, it basically boiled down to, "You need to get your shit together." Actually, they all boil down to that, now that I think about it...

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Got some tough news about one of my best friends, and Saturday would've been my son Charlie's 18th birthday. So I may not be on social media for a few days. Y'all behave, hear?

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Now this is the email you want to get from your audiobook reader: "Dear Alex, "Finished recording [WHILE THE] CITY [NEVER SLEEPS] today. "And OMG what a ride. Your mix of modern urban culture(s) and classic mythology is as astounding as it seems totally reasonable. I love it!" Thanks, Stefan!

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Fifty yards from my desk, a garage is getting a new roof. You know what isn't getting done? ANY WRITING BY ME.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I mentioned to my wife that "The Maltese Falcon" is now in public domain, and she suggested a remake starring Steamboat Willie-era Mickey Mouse (also in public domain). SOMEONE MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Happy New Year's Eve to everyone. I hope 2026 is better for all of us, because except for a few bright spots, 2025 was awful. So many deaths of so many good people, and so many bad people still walking around doing damage. May their karma find them heavily and soon.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

My first SubStack is live, all about the inspiration behind my upcoming novel WHILE THE CITY NEVER SLEEPS. Hint: it involves the 80s indie comic boom and a seven-foot talking cat. If you like it, please subscribe! It's free! alexbledsoe1.substack.com/p/the-origin...

The Origins of My Next Novel

To inaugurate my SubStack, I decided I’d write about the origin of my next novel, the urban fantasy crime thriller While the City Never Sleeps, coming in February from Falstaff Books.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

I'm considering starting a SubStack, I'm sure long after it was actually cool. But what the hell. Any requests for topics you'd like me to write about?

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

#RIPChrisRea. I won't lie, this one stings. I've been a fan since the 90s and if you don't know who he is, check out his greatest-hits collection and prepare to go, "Oh! I didn't know he did that." What a loss, and right at the holidays, too, when everyone's playing his "Driving Home for Christmas."

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I've had some annoying earworms lately, but today it's been "Atomic Dog" by P-Funk, and that I can entirely live with.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

The Siren just referred to coasters as "cupholders of lesser importance."

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Over the weekend I watched THE GIRL HUNTERS, in which Mickey Spillane plays his own hero, Mike Hammer. Makes me wonder what movies starring other writers as their characters might be like (and which of my characters I might be reasonably cast as...).

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Film bros, man...film bros. For them, cinema started in 1994 with Pulp Fiction. I just had one tell me on another site that David Lynch's Mulholland Drive was the first move to place emotional experience over linear storytelling. Like...Antonioni? Tarkovsky?

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

A first world problem: when you go for a short drive, the radio plays a song you hate, and there's no time to search for another one. And double hate points when the convenience store is also playing it, but not from the same station because you have to hear it all over.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

I wrote a novel called CHAPEL OF EASE, and to keep track of any online mentions, I set up a Google alert for the title. Unfortunately, the title is the name of an actual type of church, so the vast majority of alerts I get are for funerals being held in a chapel of ease.

Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

There's a dog barking in the neighborhood that, thanks to distance and the fact that I'm inside, sounds like a drunken husband staggering around the yard trying to get his wife to let him in. If he's not named Stanley, it's a shame.

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Going through a VERY thorough copy edit of my next book. Getting called out on a lot of things I've been doing unconsciously since...well, forever. And I learned about the deadliest of text predators, the copula spider. #writerslife

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

It's the last week to help out with this latest anthology of superb writing on film. Check it out, help if you can, and share! www.kickstarter.com/projects/gho...

kickstarter.com

Subversive Sci-Fi Evolution

More Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules

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Alex Bledsoe @alexbledsoe.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Never been an obsessive fan of either Francois Truffaut or Alfred Hitchcock, but I'm currently reading the book of interviews Truffaut did with Hitch in the 60s, and it's fascinating.