Today we’d like to introduce you to Alan D.D.
Hi Alan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I come from a Syrian family, born and raised in Venezuela. Because of that, I was bullied for 11 years, from Primary to High School. In the middle of that nightmare, I discovered a love for books and writing, which became my first and steadiest outlet for what I felt. Although I wanted to study Literature when I went to college, many adults advised me to go for Social Communication. So I did; I became an independent journalist at 17 and hated many of the classes I had to take. I was not satisfied working in newspapers, TV, radio, or the news. I felt my work was valuable, for sure, and essential in a country like Venezuela, which was so unstable and destroyed by a dictatorship still standing today, but my passion was elsewhere.
While completing a master’s in the same field, I discovered something else I enjoyed: academic writing and research. Going through papers to analyze and propose was heavenly for my autistic brain. I fell in love, first, with Gothic and Horror Studies and then with Comic/Webcomic Studies. I came to the US on November 10, 2020, looking for asylum after I was almost killed twice for being a journalist. I fished my brother and mother out of Venezuela as soon as possible, and we found a new place to call home in Salt Lake County, Utah. Never once have I stopped writing, and that’s still out of the question, working full-time as a case manager for forcibly displaced women, studying English, and planning on volunteering.
For me, writing is mighty; it’s powerful and sacred. It’s an extension of my spirituality as a Pagan witch, my work in communications, my healing journey, and the manifestation of everything I enjoy. I like to say I write “social fantasy” because, in the middle of magic, vampires, witches, shapeshifters, and more, I always include social issues such as mental health, religious trauma, homophobia, found family, and so on. I’ve self-published for a long time, always aiming for traditional publishing, so I’m restarting my career now that I have a defined voice, style, and identity. Writing is more valuable than breathing, and I wouldn’t have it anyway.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Initially, my family didn’t understand or even support my desire to be a full-time writer. Being an immigrant, I know how important it is to secure income and bread on the table, and now even more as an immigrant myself. But there has never been any other plan to reach that point. Dealing with depression, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, trauma, and (here in the US) psychosis episodes has made this road much, so much more complicated. Not to mention, I lived in a city where we could have blackouts for around 10 hours or more. There was a time when we had a national 7-day blackout, and shortly after, we had a 10-day. I went to and came back from Colombia, finished a master’s, started from scratch in a new country, and did my best to evolve with the writing industry. Only now do I feel I’m going somewhere after overcoming all that madness.
Thanks for sharing that. Please tell us more about your work.
I’m a writer before anything. I thrive in that sweet spot between Young Adult and New Adult, full of monsters, magic, and fantasy, but also diversity, representation, awareness, and heritage. There’s a lot of my spirituality in my books, so I want them to be a safe space for readers who want to/can explore them. Ironically, the book I’m most proud of is not fantasy. It’s a coming-of-age romance set in Venezuela with two Goths falling in love with each other. I don’t like the idea of the robust and brave knight in shining armor. Real men are not like that! I was raised with so many toxic ideas about masculinity the damage is still present. Like many, I was told, “Boys don’t cry,” but I failed to find that in books, so I wrote them. Alterno Nerva is close to my heart because of that. Edgar, its male protagonist, is similar to me in many ways. I wanted to show what it felt like to grow up like I did: autistic, insecure, darkly inclined, in an environment that saw you and treated you like a sickness. I plan to re-edit and translate it into English!
Close to that one is Nightmare Fairytales. Right after finishing that novel, I needed fantasy. I felt that compulsion to write more and more and more about toxic masculinity, but now with all kinds of creatures involved. I love fairytales and legends, so I took all my favorite ones and turned the princesses into princes or just male peasants (Rapunzel ended up being one with a talent for dancing, for example). What started as an anthology became a novel as all the stories got interwoven. That’s another project I’m proud of. I’m publishing a non-fiction book with a big publisher at the end of this year, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Everyone’s journey is different. Just a few days ago, one of the biggest names in the independent author world, Freydís Moon, was tied to a controversy even bigger in impact. It was discovered this person, who made a career as a trans, disabled, Latinx author, was a white person in brownface. Not only that, they also wrote under many different names, around 8 or so. As a Latino myself, I felt betrayed and hurt because I looked up to and had as a reference, as a standard and example, “I want to be like that,” but I’ve accepted the fact that everyone’s process is different. Now, I look up to cases like Anthony Nerada, who got a book deal after insisting for 10 years, Melisa S. Ramonda, who delivers books of the highest quality as an independent author, and Kathryn Purdie, who has one of the most beautiful writing styles I’ve seen so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alandd.4 and https://www.instagram.com/alan.ddalul/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-d-dalul-783a67244/
