- Alex Canton-Dutari
[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 9, 2011.]
Author Alex Canton-Dutari (Alejandro Cantón-Dutari) was born in the Republic of Panama in 1944, where he still resides. He holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology and worked in the field of clinical sexology from 1967 to 2006. Though retired from clinical practice, his grandson, Dieguito insists he is not retired because, “Abuelito, you write books.”
Alex is a widower with three boys and four grandchildren. He describes himself as a humanitarian by belief and actions, and stays interested in world affairs.
He is a prolific indie author who has published short novels, a textbook on sex therapy, two self-help books on sexual orientation and many scientific articles. He is not the kind of man who’ll be nervous or put off by the fact that this interview may be read by upwards of a dozen people.
Alex considers his genre of writing to be non-fiction fiction. He explains: “All my stories have been inspired by scenes I have perceived or lived throughout my life. ” He says he writes from the heart, letting the words flow naturally, rather than allowing word-count to drive his writing schedule. I can relate to this. It’s just that my heart is evidently a real slacker compared to Alex’s.
Alex considers himself bilingual (English/Spanish), which he says, “Entails not being perfect in either language.” He feels his writing produces a distinctive “accent” and some difficulties due to the differences in punctuation and grammar. He enjoys playing with time and tenses, and considers himself flexible in doing so, pointing to the influence of Vargas Llosa.
Alex is a mentor by nature. He is a mainstay in the Facebook group Book Junkies, and de facto leader of Book Junkie Reviews. Alex tries to read at least one indie author a week, offering help to those he feels will benefit from his guidance. He says he is a fan of indie authors Jim DeFilippi, Kender MacGowan, Susan Wells Bennett, Robert DeBurgh, Vickie Johnstone, and Sean Sweeney.
In the way of advice to aspiring authors, Alex says, “It is never too late to study English…if readers perceive and comment that grammar and punctuation is lacking, the responsible writer should be humble enough to go back to basics.”
He says authors should never rush to publish. Though Alex has difficulties in finding beta readers with the right qualifications for writing in English as a second language, he believes good beta readers can make a lot of difference, and that publishing without using beta readers is a great risk.
Alex’s latest title is, ” Sweat, Glamour and Light Sins.” This novella is set in a California gym, and described as a lighthearted, entertaining and often hilarious story with just a touch of sexual content as befits the story line. It is available at: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/90171
and at Breakthrough Bookstore: http://breakthroughbookstore.com/
All Alex’s titles are available in both English and Spanish at smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/alexcanton
And finally, don’t forget to check out Alex’s blog: http://terapiacanton.blogspot.com/
