Interview with Alexes Razevich, author of Ice-Cold Death

What can you tell us about your new release, Ice-Cold Death?

It’s the story of Oona Goodlight who shows up for a hockey practice one morning only to discover the dead body of someone she slightly knows on the ice. An empathic psychic, she sees the murder in a vision and later is asked by a wizard investigator to use her abilities to help find the killer.

This book was great fun to write. Three of my favorite things are magic, murder mysteries, and hockey. With Ice-Cold Death I got to mash up all three together.

I also wanted to explore how people with magical gifts might navigate their world. Oona is psychic and an empath. Her gifts have made living a normal life nearly impossible. The wizard investigator has his own issues to deal with. How they work out ways to live in both the magical and ordinary worlds was a challenge and a joy.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

That’s a hard question. Different books move us in different ways. For sheer story-telling craft, three I really like and have read multiple times are Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, and The Road by Cormac McCarty. I’m a big fan of C.J. Cherryh’s Morgaine Cycle, Helene Wecker’s The Golem and the Jinni, and almost anything by Ursula Le Guin. Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys is another favorite.

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?

Hogwarts. It would be endlessly interesting.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

William Shakespeare. The first question would be: Who really wrote all that stuff—you or someone, or maybe several someones, else?

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I love to travel, to immerse myself in various cultures, seeing and experiencing ways of life that are different from my own. Writing lets me do that without leaving home. I love experiencing all those different people living their unique lives in their own places.

Plus, it’s just fun.

What is a typical day like for you?

Most days I get up early and write for three or four hours, six days a week. We have a new dog. He’s half Pit Bull, half Siberian husky, and all energy. I usually take him to the dog park or a long walk for an hour or two every day. I listen to an audio book during his walk/play times. I just finished Anne Bishop’s Written in Red and am working my way through The Dresden Files. Then I come home to write some more and take care of the business side of being an author. I play hockey Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

What scene in Ice-Cold Death was your favorite to write?

Probably the early ‘getting to know you’ scenes between my main character, Oona Goodlight, and the wizard who drags her into the murder investigation. She’s an empathic psychic so she often knows what he’s feeling and thinking—and calls him on it.

The scene at the tattoo parlor was great fun to write. Neither The Gate nor Gil were planned characters. They just showed up. The Gate, being who he is, took over and dominated his scene. Then he demanded to be in the next two books as well.  Pushy little beggar.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Treat everyone with respect and do no harm.

Alexes Razevich is the author of the new book Ice-Cold Death

Connect with Alexes:
 Author Website