Get a Substack she said.
This is not the kind of launch with countdowns over loudspeaker or cheering crowds. This is a night time launch from an unassuming location with only a few hopeful eyes looking skyward. Maybe we’ll disappear into the inky void, but I hope that if I keep an eye on things and am not afraid to use those course correction boosters, I can turn this into a place where stories flourish.
Half baked ideas.
I go by many names. Here I am Alexander Leslie, but in certain corners of Substack I have apparently been referred to as Mr. Cakes. What I do by day is irrelevant here, because for the last few years I’ve been trying to continually devote time and energy into writing fiction. I want to get better, I want to write stories that someone will pick up and feel a connection to, either in their lives or the dreams of the life they wished to have for a moment. And I don’t want to stop. I don’t think I even could if I wanted to.
My wife is an incredible baker (if I am Mr. Cakes, do I call her Mrs. Writes?) and as she shares her talent with the internet she has also been updating her fans with my ideas, my struggles to get them onto the page and then the even more monstrous task of trying to edit it into a readable piece. She tells me I should have my own space to share these things, and I couldn’t agree more. So consider this that space. You may even get a few pictures of cakes on here from time to time.
The Master Plan
I have stories, so expect to hear about them. I’d love to share these so excerpts, chapters and updates will primarily be around my current drafts or works in progress. The editing pen demands her tribute so there are no promises that what you see (plot holes and the odd typo included) will be the same as what I hope to see in print one day. Besides the written word I may also occasionally offer an audio of myself reading some of my work. And as I live with a number of pets also expect this space to have updates on their antics and the drama of their lives as they become unwitting models to provide us with pictures (hint: I’ll be starting that right now!)
For now I appreciate the support that comes when that subscribe button is hit, and look out for some of the first examples of my style soon. There will probably be dragons, as I believe deep down they make everything better.
Welcome