Alex Lischak. Contributed photo.
Alex Lischak moved from Brookfield to Owensboro, Ky., to attend seminary, but put his ecclesiastical aims on hold so he could pursue another dream: writing.
Lischak recently self-published two books, “In the Land of the Living” and “Where the Water Rises,” and hopes they will help launch him as a full-time writer.
“I’ve had desires to be a writer,” the 2016 Brookfield High grad said. “I’ve not pursued the traditional publishing route as of right now.”
Lischak authored his first books in elementary school and started penning “In the Land of the Living” in high school. It’s a novel about a family going through hard times, but is not fatalistic, which is how he sees many books and movies handling such a situation.
“When I wrote this book, I wanted to show the grittiness of life because I also do not like fake portrayals of hardships that people go through,” he said. “I wanted a real story about real people but also giving real hope to them.”
“Where the Water Rises” is more of a fable, a fantasy about a boy trying to save his dying mother.
Lischak’s faith – he became a Christian at age 13 – informs his writing, he said.
“I wanted to write about a living faith that interacted with a very broken world,” he said.
Working by day in a cabinet factory, Lischak spends his evenings and weekends writing.
“I’m a thinker,” he said. “My job allows me to think about a lot of different things. I’m able to think about these stories and that’s why I’m able to write when I come home, because I already have it fresh in my mind because I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
“Where the Water Rises” pays homage to Brookfield, although the town in the story named Brookfield is not the town he grew up in.
“I’ve come to appreciate the town I grew up in,” said Lischak, whose parents, Myron and Tamara, still live in Brookfield.
He also appreciates the efforts of his eighth-grade English teacher, Janet Mitcheltree, since retired, and his ninth-grade English teacher, Jessica Gardner, who still teaches at Brookfield, whom he said were “very, very formative to my writing aspirations.”
“I see it as a serious thing for me,” he said of writing. “I don’t just see it as a hobby. I see it as a second job, because I would like to make this a sustainable career. I’m interested in the long game, not the short game.”
Lischak’s books are available from Amazon.com, where they have received favorable reader reviews. “Where the Water Rises” also is available as a free cinematic audiobook on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
