10 Questions with Fantasy & Science Fiction Author Kay Kenyon (@KayKenyon)
This Author Spotlight
features
Kay Kenyon
author of
Queen of the Deep
Kay
Kenyon's latest novels are the fantasies Queen
of the Deep, about an enchanted ship, both a colossal steam vessel and a
Renaissance kingdom; and A Thousand
Perfect Things, about a Victorian woman's bid for forbidden powers in an
altered India of magic. Her quartet, The
Entire and The Rose, was hailed by The Washington Post as “A splendid
fantasy quest as compelling as anything by Stephen R. Donaldson, Philip Jose
Farmer or yes, J. R. R. Tolkien." Bright
of the Sky was among Publishers Weekly's top 150 books of 2007. Her books
have been nominated for the Philip K. Dick award and the John W. Campbell
award. She is a founding member of the Write on the River conference in Wenatchee,
Washington.
1.How did you get into writing and
why do you write?
I began writing fiction after
careers in copy writing and urban planning. One seemed too superficial and one,
maybe too serious. Sometimes I believe that novels have to be superficial or no
one will read them, and sometimes I think that stories are crucial to sanity,
empathy, and civilization as we know it. I'm enormously grateful to be in the
writing life.
2.What do you like best (or least)
about writing?
My favorite moment in fiction
writing is to discover, upon waking up in the morning, that my brain has been
secretly working on a plot issue or snippet of dialogue, and the solution is
perfect.
3.What is your writing process? IE
do you outline? Do you stick to a daily word or page count, write 7 days a
week, etc?
My process is that I work hard on
initial concept, striving for originality and emotional go-power. Then I
develop and try out big turning point scenes to see if there's enough there.
Meanwhile, character profiles, including backstories, spending excruciating
amounts of time finding names. Following this I briefly detail out 60 or so
scenes, sort of telling myself the story. After all of this, I begin to write,
and while the plot and characters (inevitably) evolve, I always know the spine
of my story. When under contract, I write six days a week, 5 page daily
minimum.
4.Who are some other writers you
read and admire, regardless of whether they are commercially “successful?”
Ian McDonald, Joseph Kanon, David
Mitchell, Naomi Novik, Haruki Murakami.
5.Should the question mark in the
above question be inside or outside the quotes?
Outside. No, wait...
6.What’s your stance on the Oxford
Comma?
I try to care, I really do. But I change opinions depending on which
outraged blog post on this topic that I've just read. It rather annoys me that
a document is supposed to be consistent about Oxford. For example, if my sister
is not my best friend, (alas, true) then the comma is helpful here: "I
dedicate this story to my husband, my sister, and my best friend." But
"Our flag is red, white and blue" is more elegant without a second
comma. It must also be said that overall, comma use is exasperatingly difficult,
like peeling avocados.
RYAN: This may be the best answer I've ever received to this question. Bravo, Kay!
7.How did your book Queen of the
Deep come about and how did it come to fruition?
There is an ocean, somewhere, but
not earthly. A gigantic ship roams endlessly upon it. The ship embodies a small
medieval kingdom. My modern protagonist is stuck on it. She is the only one
that can see "overboard." Difficulties ensue, including being thought
mad, running afoul of the ship's ruling deity, and falling in love with the
wrong man. (Notice use of Oxford comma, in this case!)
This was my vision. Indeed strange,
but I thought of it as a romp and also a meditation on love, loss, and what to
wear during the Italian Renaissance. It came to fruition after I was able to
wrestle the plot to the ground, always the hardest part of fiction, for me.
8.What’s your current writing
project?
A paranormal espionage series set in the
1930s.
9.What book(s) are you currently
reading?
●
Walter Jon Williams early novel,
Knight Moves
●
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
●
Hitler's Spy Chief: the Wilhelm
Canaris Mystery
10.Who or what inspires your
writing?
Novelists and screenwriters who nail
plot and character equally well, such as: Ian McDonald, CJ Cherryh, Alistair
Reynolds, Kim Newman, and writers for such shows as Public Morals, The
Americans, and Wolf Hall.
Finally, is there anything you’d
care to add?
You
can check out my books on my website.
Some of my books are available at brick and mortars, and all can be found at
online retailers. Signed copies at A Book for All Seasons.
Thank you, Kay, for sharing your work and your insights into craft with us. Quite an impressive resume. Please come come back and share the first installment in your paranormal espionage series when it is ready.
Be sure to visit Kay's website to view more of her work. And follow her on Twitter.
Click HERE to read about Kay's Philip K. Dick Award-nominated book Maximum Ice, which I featured previously as part of the Philip K. Dick Award Storybundle.
Stay tuned for our next Author Spotlight, featuring another very special author.
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