USU student to have novel published
The fear and rejection that discourage so many writers could not halt Alec Bryan, junior in range management, in his quest for success. After submitting his work multiple times to magazines and online publications, succeeding with six of his short stories, Bryan decided it was finally time to publish one of his books. “Night on the Invisible Sun” will be published by Aqueous Books.
“I had to be really proactive throughout the whole process. I did whatever I could to become familiar with publishers, book editors and journalists. I don’t have an agent, so I’ve had to be responsible for all of my own advertising,” Bryan said. He created his name mainly through writing short stories and submitting them online.
Bryan has three college degrees already: Two bachelor’s degrees, in English and geology, and a master’s in English.
“I change my mind a lot about what I want to do. Even now I’m not sure if I’m headed in the right direction,” Bryan said.
Bryan said he didn’t start writing until he was 21. His first piece was a memoir about his Grandpa’s death, which will be published online in January.
Bryan said the book has been in the works for six years. He has written three other novels that he says are “waiting to be published.” Publishing his first novel will be a catalyst toward that goal because “published books show that you have an audience,” he said.
Bryan said Cynthia Reeser, editor-in-chief of the online journal “Prick of the Spindle,” and Publisher of Aqueous Books, became acquainted with him and first published parts of the book online before deciding to publish the whole thing.
Aqueousbooks.com describes “Night on the Invisible Sun” as an allegorical masterpiece. Bryan categorizes the novel into three different genres: allegory, myth and literary fiction. He said the allegory refers mostly to the contrast between life and death, and light and darkness.
“The yin and the yang are in constant motion in all of my works. It’s a theme in life, even,” Bryan said. “We’re always faced with opposites. It has to do with darkness being the opposite of light, and the difference between presence and absence.”
Bryan said the book is a picaresque, where the narrator is not the main character but the story is really about the people he or she interacts with. Each character is in a different stage of life. The stages are defined within the novel.
“I have a fascination with death. It must be a constant for life to be a constant. Without death you would have no ritual – wedding ceremonies, and birthdays wouldn’t mean anything, death makes life beautiful,” Bryan said. “You die to live, and you live to die. This is the idea my book explores.”
Bryan said this particular contemplation began with the death of his grandfather. At that time 12 years ago, he felt he needed to get out on paper all the feelings he and his family experienced, and now, he said, “I have so many ideas and thoughts that eat at me until I have no choice but to write them down.”
Bryan said the authors or works he is most influenced by are Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice,” Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” Franz Kafka and Marcel Proust.
“Utah isn’t really a hotbed for writers. But I feel like there is a rising generation for artists here, especially because of the counter-culture forming in Salt Lake City,” Bryan said.
Bryan said if you want to be published you must stay very active. He encourages meeting new people, Facebooking about things, creating a website, reviewing for a publisher and submitting work until you find a publication that it meshes with.
“I don’t do it for the money. The main person you care for when you write is yourself, of course – but when you’re published it feels like a validation for your hard work. Especially when you see it on a shelf somewhere,” Bryan said.
Bryan’s book can be pre-ordered on www.aqueousbooks.com, and in a month will be available on amazon.com in paperback and for Kindle.
– kmarshall222@gmail.com