Hounchell publishes fourth novel

Royal Valley High School alumni Alex Hounchell hasn’t stopped writing since middle school and recently self-published his fourth book “Running Out Of Time.”

Hounchell’s fictional novels span several genres, including superheroes, science fiction, fantasy and absurdist. 

“Running Out of Time” centers on the protagonist, Greg Anthony Warren, as he is actively fighting against time and space.

“It’s an absurdist novel that incorporates time travel and other elements to tell a story full of non sequiturs,” Hounchell said. 

His other published novels include “Descent To Darkness,” “The Viral Rift” and “Lightning Bolt & Blazer.”

“Descent To Darkness” was published December 2015 and is a fantasy novel. Dracula is resurrected from the pages of his novel, and he, in turn, resurrects other villains from their literary worlds. The story follows a young man, Dante, and others as they try to take back their world from the villains.

“It seems to be everyone’s favorite so far of the books I’ve written,” he said. 

“Lighting Bolt & Blazer” was completed during Hounchell’s senior year at Royal Valley and features two crime-fighting brothers. “The Viral Rift” is its sequel as it takes place six months after the conclusion of the first book, Hounchell said.

“I want to write nine ‘Lighting Bolt & Blazer’ books,” he said. “I’m actually working on typing up the third one.”

Hounchell’s books are self-published through CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon.com.  

“I edit my own material and design my own covers usually,” he said.

Hounchell is headed into his fifth year at Washburn University as a “super senior,” studying English with a writing emphasis. He also is on staff at the school newspaper, the Washburn Review.

“Washburn is a great school to go to if you want to study English,” he said. “I’ve really learned not to let small things bother me when I write because you can always change them. It’s less about getting it perfect the first time and more about just getting it out there.”

In his years of writing and studying, Hounchell said he’s grown as a writer. 

“I am definitely not afraid of making mistakes,” he said. “If someone doesn’t like something that I write, that’s okay. It’s something I like to do even though it may be different. I try not to let conventions pull me down.”

Between school and a job at Zales, Hounchell said when writes, it’s like a sprint.

“I try to do quick spurts when I can a few hours every week,” he said. 

Hounchell works alongside former RV classmate Jon Lundin to produce the “Lighting Bolt & Blazer” series, which is written under the pen name Matt Zanders.

His other novels are written solo and are written under the name AM Hounchell. All of the books can be found online on Amazon.com.

“I am actually quite surprised how many things I’ve finished in a few years,” he said. 

Hounchell graduated from Royal Valley High School in 2012. He is the grandson of Roberta and Bill Elmer of rural Hoyt.