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WORK TITLE: And Then There Were Crows
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 9/24/1980
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
https://alcyleyva.weebly.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
Not found in LOC
PERSONAL
Born September 24, 1980, in Bronx, NY.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author.
AWARDS:Chairperson’s Award, 2012; second place, Memoir Prize, and Edith Goldberg Paulson Memorial English Prize, both Hunter College, both 2014.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals and media outlets, including Crossborders, Entropy Mag, Fjords, Millions, Mr. Roach, Points in Case, U4U Magazine, and the Rumpus.
SIDELIGHTS
Alcy Leyva’s debut novel is And Then There Were Crows, a fantasy novel that blends elements of supernatural horror with social commentary and humor. Its protagonist is Amanda Grey, an agoraphobic and panic-prone New Yorker living in a small apartment. Her parents, with whom she shares the space, have left the city for an extended vacation and, like many in the city, Amanda feels the pressure of increasing rent and advertises on Craigslist for a roommate. “Dealing with the everyday is hard enough,” observed a Mutt Café reviewer, “but now she has shades trying to kill her.” However, the person who shows up expressing an interest quickly assaults her. In the fight the potential roommate dies—and his corpse releases five demons in the shape of crows and a sixth demon, who agrees to become the roommate Amanda is looking for. The situation is complicated even further, however, by the fact that Amanda’s upstairs neighbor is a powerful (but equally introverted) angel who said a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “holds Amanda responsible for dealing with the crow-shaped shades that have flown off to find other people to possess.” The angel believes that Amanda’s release of the demons may have brought about the events that herald the apocalypse. “Together the unlikely trio will have to face off with the (actual) devils of New York politics, break the curse of infomercial jingles, and figure out exactly how Grey has become the leader of a cult,” stated Isabella Stocka in the Nerd Daily, “all as Grey begins to realize that maybe the end of the world is exactly what her life needed. Now she just needs to figure out how to survive it.”
Critics have noted Leyva’s inventiveness and his depiction of New York as strengths that set his first novel apart. “I draw inspiration from any and all spaces,” Leyva said in an interview in Black Spot Books, “but I particularly love studying history and philosophy for social context. I have specific book music playlists that I create and listen to while writing—sometimes I even have albums dedicated to entire chapters. They range from acid jazz, to classical to death metal, to whatever Mumford & Sons is categorized as (I’m leaning toward ‘sad elven banjo music’).” “Leyva’s evocation of New York City [succeeds as] a grim, dangerous place that’s also the only place that Grey would ever want to be,” concluded Rebecca Hussey in Foreword Reviews. “Her story is a comedic urban fantasy that is both rich and delightful.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, May 21, 2018, review of And Then There Were Crows, p. 56.
ONLINE
Black Spot Books, https://www.blackspotbooks.com/ (February 19, 2018). “Interview with ‘And Then There Were Crows’ Author Alcy Leyva.”
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (July 1, 2018), Rebecca Hussey, review of And Then There Were Crows.
Mutt Café, https://www.muttcafe.com/ (July 2, 2018), review of And Then There Were Crows.
Nerd Daily, http://www.thenerddaily.com/ (June 20, 2018), Isabella Stocka, review of And Then There Were Crows.
Alcy Leyva is a Bronx-born writer, teacher, and pizza enthusiast. He enjoys writing personal essays, poetry, short fiction, book reviews, and film analysis, but is also content with practicing standing so still that he will someday slip through time and space. Alcy's first book AND THEN THERE WERE CROWS is slated to be published by Blackspot Books Summer 2018. Follow him @SmilingDarkly.
Who He Is
Picture
Alcy Leyva is a Bronx-born writer out of New York. His writing has been featured in The Rumpus, Entropy Mag, and Points in Case. His literary essays and reviews have been selected in The Millions and Fjords, with his most recent being translated into Italian. He is currently writing a book about his life that would make a terrible movie. You can follow his calculated musings on Twitter @SmilingDarkly.
Awards
Hunter College Witten Scholar
2014 Hunter College The Edith Goldberg Paulson Memorial English Prize in Creative Writing
2014 Hunter College 2nd Place Memoir Prize
2012 The 2012 Chairperson’s Award for a Film that Excels in Exploring Contemporary Issues
Publications
“Breakfast in Pangaea” Mr. Roach Magazine
“Diner on the Edge of the City” and “Words in Skin" Crossborders Literary Magazine by Leapfrog Press
“Lunch with a Stranger” U4U Magazine Fall 2011 issue
Interview with 'And Then There Were Crows' Author Alcy Leyva
2/19/2018 0 Comments
Picture
@SmilingDarkly
"Pen your characters based on who they are and not what they are expected to be."
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Research is everything. I draw inspiration from any and all spaces, but I particularly love studying history and philosophy for social context. I have specific book music playlists that I create and listen to while writing—sometimes I even have albums dedicated to entire chapters. They range from acid jazz, to classical to death metal, to whatever Mumford & Sons is categorized as (I’m leaning toward “sad elven banjo music”).
I also setup image galleries on my phone. These are filled with picture of artwork or actual photos that help me envision the space I’m trying to create. While writing about the different layers of hell, for instance, I had dresses by Alexander McQueen shifting on my wallpaper. For photographs, I love long shots of churches, mountains, and cityscapes to picture my characters navigating them.
I also binge on popular culture: reality TV, memes, anime, Twitter. That’s why I feel like research doesn’t end, especially when I’m poking fun at what we consider “normal” in our everyday lives. It’s a daily cycle of seeing what’s trending and then jotting down notes.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
It’s something that I’m mindful of. There’s a balance—a “literary sweet spot,” if you will— that you need fall into.
First, I feel you need to acknowledge that there are things that you absolutely do not and will not understand of the opposite sex. Just come to terms with that. Rest your head on a pillow at night and don’t let it haunt your dreams. Trying to solve everything that makes one “male” or makes one “female” (and even locking it to within those binaries) is something that writers have been exploring for decades, though very few—if any—have the lifespan to fully answer. So I say: don’t. Be aware of the differences, write responsibly, and pen your characters based on who they are and not what they are expected to be.
Since most of my writing focuses on social constructs and cultural habits, I usually define my characters, male or female, by what their adversity looks like and how they are able to cope. I write on the train and I see it all the time. Trust me: the NYC transit system teaches you a great deal about gender norms and sexuality.
You can easily sidestep tropes of writing the opposite sex by keeping in mind how a character would react in stressful situations. A male or female character saying nothing and doing nothing are primarily the same. There’s no pressure to be who they are, no approaching threat to challenge them. But a woman going to buy milk at a supermarket experiences the event completely different from a man. Even if it’s the same time of day, same supermarket, same carton of milk—the nuances and micro aggressions bombarding them as they push through this dimension attempting to satisfy their dairy quotient are worlds apart. For instance, of the six or seven characters I’ve developed in And Then There Were Crows, each one would react differently to, say, almost getting hit by a bike messenger when crossing a street or finding a finger in their hotdog. Then, factor in not just gender, but also age, race, values, experiences…and it gets even more complicated. My motto is that if you know the string of decisions that have led a character to this given point in time, and you truly understand their stressors, then you can build credible experiences and—even in worlds of the fantasy or absurd, believable characters. Treat every character on their own merit. What song would she listen to? What would be her social media post for today? Once you have this in mind, always know that it’s not enough to write a female character different from a male character. You also need to make sure that you’re writing her different from all of your other female characters. You have to be mindful of each character’s story.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
Wait, people don’t believe in writer’s block? I do, absolutely. Stephen King had a really great philosophy about writing while creating the Dark Tower series in that writers look through “doors” into other dimensions. Sometimes the door is wide open and we can see/hear/smell/sense everything in that world and connect with it. Sometimes it’s barely open. Sometimes it’s shut. I’ve always thought that writer’s block is the act of a writer banging their knuckles bloody on a door that might open tomorrow, fifteen years from now, or never.
I feel like it’s possible to search for another door until the one you want reopens. Last year, I published over twenty pieces [of writing] both online and in print. I wrote four to six hours per day. I hopped genres and styles: poetry, non-fic, fiction, horror, satire, politics. I wrote without breaks for nine months and never stopped chasing a new narrative. This is what we in writing, both in culturally creative circles as well as in the foundations of academia, unaimously dub “maniac.”
Writer’s block most definitely exists, but if you know yourself and put your energy into your strengths, it doesn’t have to put out the fire in your gut.
And Then There Were Crows
Publishers Weekly.
265.21 (May 21, 2018): p56.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
And Then There Were Crows
Alcy Leyva. Black Spot, $13.99 trade paper (280p) ISBN 978-0-9997423-2-7
Levya's high-energy debut, in which angels and demons haphazardly provoke the end-time, excels at
humorous characterization but gets lost in the uneven pacing of its zany plot. Amanda Grey's Craigslist ad
for a roommate brings in Gaffrey Palls, who immediately tries to murder her. After she kills him in selfdefense,
five weird crows and a blobby, infomercial-loving demon emerge from his corpse. She's desperate
enough to rent her spare room to the demon (who pays in cash)--to the consternation of her upstairs
neighbor, Barnem, an introverted seraph. Barnem holds Amanda responsible for dealing with the crowshaped
shades that have flown off to find other people to possess. Levya misuses the New York City setting:
few real landmarks appear, politics and news reporting feel small-town, and a plot point centers on there
being only two people named Grey in the city. Abundant blood-soaked violence quickly loses its impact,
and depictions of figures such as the pope and the angel of death as everyday people get stale after the
initial hit of incongruity. Readers will find many amusing moments, but the larger story sits poorly in both
its personal and its world-changing frameworks. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"And Then There Were Crows." Publishers Weekly, 21 May 2018, p. 56. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541012623/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e86e83cb.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A541012623
And Then There Were Crows
July 2, 2018
And Then There Were Crows
by Alcy Leyva
Black Spot Books
General Fiction (Adult) , Sci Fi & Fantasy
Pub Date 03 Jul 2018
Review
I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading And Then There Were Crows. Part satirical urban fantasy, part black comedy - the end of the world begins with a Craigslist ad for a roommate. In this case roommate from hell is an accurate description. Amanda Grey has agoraphobia and panic disorder. Dealing with the everyday is hard enough, but now she has shades trying to kill her, a disturbing excuse for an angel blaming her for the oncoming apocalypse, and a new neighbor trying to be her friend. Odd things are happening in New York, and somehow it is up to Amanda to save the day.
Amanda isn’t the most likable heroine, but she is perfectly believable as a young woman with serious anxiety issues. Her main methods of coping are avoidance and driving people away by being unpleasant. But she is the perfect heroine for this unique novel and difficult to classify novel.
My only complaint is that there are times when the novel drags. Otherwise it is an excellent and unusual read.
4 / 5
AND THEN THERE WERE CROWS
Alcy Leyva
Black Spot Books (Jul 3, 2018)
Softcover $13.99 (280pp)
978-0-9997423-2-7
Alcy Leyva’s And Then There Were Crows is a funny and fast novel in which angels and demons unexpectedly invade the isolated existence of the book’s endearing and prickly protagonist, Amanda Grey.
Public spaces make Grey anxious; she avoids them in her parents’ Queens apartment while they are on an extended vacation. Grey must sublet her bedroom, though. One applicant comes to see the space and attacks her; when she fights back and kills him, his body breaks open and crows climb out.
The crows are shape-shifting demons, one of whom becomes her roommate. She must find the rest of the demons before they destroy the city. Alongside a cast of characters including an angel, cult leaders, the pope, a neighbor, and her sister, Grey desperately tries to get this increasingly dire situation under control.
Grey is a sympathetic and entertaining narrator. She is snarky and always ready with a funny retort, but her vulnerability shows through. Watching her face an increasingly wild and wacky battle—one with real-life political resonances—to avert the looming apocalypse is satisfying.
Almost as big a challenge as fighting demons for Grey is negotiating increasingly complex relationships, both new and old. Grey must learn to interact with people and celestial beings of all types at the same time as she rethinks her feelings about her sister and her parents. Leyva makes Grey’s personal and supernatural battles equally interesting.
The plot is complicated, sometimes too much so. New characters and increasingly absurd situations arise at such a quick pace that they can be difficult to absorb. More successful is Leyva’s evocation of New York City, a grim, dangerous place that’s also the only place that Grey would ever want to be. Her story is a comedic urban fantasy that is both rich and delightful.
Reviewed by Rebecca Hussey
July/August 2018
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
BOOK REVIEW
BOOKS
Review: And Then There Were Crows by Alcy Leyva
Isabella Stocka June 20, 20180 comments3 min read
Imagine your parents would leave you alone for more than a month to go on a holiday and leave you alone with no money to pay the rent. What would you do?
And Then There Were Crows by Alcy Leyva
This happens to Amanda Grey in Alcy Leyva’s debut novel, And Then There Were Crows. Amanda has no job and does not know how she can gather enough money to pay the bills. So she gets creative and finds herself a roommate. Life in New York is expensive enough so a lot of people are willing like to share costs, including demons.
But before they could discuss any details, the demon tries to kill Amanda and she ends up killing him, which is exactly how she started the Apocalypse. Still in shock she learns that her neighbour Barnem is a Seraph—an Angel who’s job is to save earth from demons and prevent the Apocalypse from happening.
All of a sudden Amanda has a social life she never had before with many demons interested in her company and annoyingly, an angel who does not leave her side. Plus there’s also a new neighbour by the name of Donaldson who is moving in and he’s pretty interested in her. Well, why not live life a little if your soul is already doomed to go to hell?
Alcy Leyva does an excellent job with his debut novel, which is the first instalment in ‘The Shades of Hell’ trilogy. The novel is filled with sarcasm, which is incredibly enjoyable, with the combination of the difficulties of growing up and taking responsibility of your own decisions. You can easily dive into the intriguing and unique story, which addresses a large array of topics including politics, religion, anxieties and mental health, and how life is for a lone wolf.
As for our main character, Amanda realises that the only hope for humankind is to stop the bad guys with the way it all started: with herself. It can be easy to identify yourself with Amanda—she has to take care of herself for the first time in her life and she doesn’t know how to do that. To make friends? Impossible! How do others do that? To even trust them is challenging when your own sister does not have your back.
The story that unfolds is so incredibly fast-paced that just after three pages, you’ll find yourself already in the middle of the story and won’t realise how quickly you were able to get there! This story can be best described as a mix of Carrie Pilby and Dogma.
As for our author, Alcy Leyva lives in the Bronx, NYC, and he is a writer and teacher. He has a BA in English and Creative Writing and a MFA in Fiction from the New School. He likes to write personal essays, poetry, short fiction, book reviews and film analysis which have been published in Popmatters, The Rumpus, Entropy Mag, and Quiet Lunch Magazine. You can find Leyva on Twitter.
You can find And Then There Were Crows on Book Depository, Amazon, and other good book retailers. Available from July 3rd.
Will you be checking out And Then There Were Crows? Or have you read it already? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
New York City has always been a big fat sack of stress for Amanda Grey. From turning herself into knots to evade rubbing ass cheeks with strangers on the train, to round-housing public bathroom door handles to stave off plague contaminations, Grey has always found the simple technique of avoidance best in dealing with NYC. Luckily, the one-bedroom apartment in Queens she shares with her parents has always served as a refuge from a world that’s too loud and too bright for Amanda Grey.
Of course, that’s all about to change.
When she inadvertently rents a room to a demon, Grey goes from a woman concentrated on her own personal demons to the woman responsible for recapturing the six Shades from Hell she’s unleashed upon the city. She manages to survive by accepting the help of Barnem, an antisocial seraphim who just happens to reside in an upstairs apartment and the demon she now shares her apartment with—and who oddly eager to help her vanquish the Shades, though she can’t be sure if he’s motivated by roommate loyalty or a secret plot to enslave humankind. Probably the latter.
Together the unlikely trio will have to face off with the (actual) devils of New York politics, break the curse of infomercial jingles, and figure out exactly how Grey has become the leader of a cult, all as Grey begins to realize that maybe the end of the world is exactly what her life needed. Now she just needs to figure out how to survive it.