Alexander, Alma
Entry updated 22 March 2023. Tagged: Author.
Pseudonym of Yugoslavian-born author Alma Alexander Hromic Deckert (1963- ), whose childhood was spent in Africa, her early adulthood in New Zealand, and who is currently in USA; active as an author of nonfantastic work from around 1995, and since that date mostly as an author of fantasy. Her first sequences, including the Changer of Days series, beginning with Changer of Days, Volume One (2001; vt The Hidden Queen 2005), and the Syai series beginning with The Secrets of Jin-Shei (2004), are fantasy; but the Young Adult Worldweavers series beginning with Gift of the Unmage (2007) comes close to full-blown Equipoise through its depiction of an urban world infused with Magic, an environment sufficiently complex to contain Nikola Tesla. The Were Chronicles beginning with Random (2014) are Science Fantasy with a fresh approach to Shapeshifters, here a recognized Pariah Elite in the contemporary world of Technology and the Internet; their condition is genetically determined and to some extent scientifically rationalized.
Also of sf interest are two singletons: 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens (2011), set in very Near Future December 2012 as five old friends meet at the eponymous cafe, which turns out to be a Time Gate or Portal [see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], as the End of the World threatens. Each of friends is offered a chance to reanimate their life by starting again. AbductiCon (2015) is set at an sf Convention gone skew-whiff on familiar lines (see Fandom); but the weekend is saved by Android-like Aliens who abduct both the hotel and its guests. Recursive SF elements are playfully omnipresent, complete with Tuckerisms. Empress (2016) is fantasy set in a world so much like Byzantium that the tale could be understand as inhabiting an Alternate World.
Alexander is an author of wide range, alert to the current scene. It is not easy to guess what she may explore next. [JC]
Alma Alexander Hromic Deckert
born Novi Sad, Yugoslavia [now Serbia]: 5 July 1963
works (selected)
series
Changer of Days
- Changer of Days, Volume One (Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins/Voyager, 2001) as by Alma A Hromic [Changer of Days: pb/Sacha Lees]
- The Hidden Queen (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2005) [vt of the above: Changer of Days: pb/Jean Pierre Targete]
- Changer of Days, Volume Two (Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins/Voyager, 2002) as by Alma A Hromic [Changer of Days: pb/Shane Parker]
- Changer of Days (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2005) [vt of the above: Changer of Days: pb/]
Syai
- The Secrets of Jin-Shei (London: HarperCollins, 2004) [Syai: hb/]
- The Embers of Heaven (London: HarperCollins, 2006) [Syai: hb/]
Worldweavers
- Gift of the Unmage (New York: HarperTeen/Eos, 2007) [Worldweavers: hb/Kamil Vojnar]
- Spellspam (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2008) [Worldweavers: hb/Cliff Nielsen]
- Cybermage (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2009) [Worldweavers: hb/Cliff Nielsen]
- Dawn of Magic (Clinton, Montana: Sky Warner Book Publishing, 2015) [Worldweavers: pb/]
The Were Chronicles
- Random (Howell, New Jersey: Dark Quest Books, 2014) [Were Chronicles: pb/]
- Wolf (Howell, New Jersey: Dark Quest Books, 2015) [Were Chronicles: pb/]
- Shifter (Howell, New Jersey: Dark Quest Books, 2016) [Were Chronicles: pb/]
individual titles
- 2012: Midnight at Spanish Gardens (Clinton, Montana: Sky Warner Book Publishing, 2011) [pb/Laura Givens]
- AbductiCon (Cedar Crest, New Mexico: Book View Café, 2015) [pb/]
- Empress (Cedar Crest, New Mexico: Book View Café, 2016) [pb/]
collections and stories
- Out of this World (no place given: Kos Books, 2013) [story: ebook: na/]
works as editor
- River (Howell, New Jersey: Dark Quest Books, 2011) [anth: pb/Nathie]
links
- Alma Alexander
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy: Portal
- Picture Gallery
previous versions of this entry