Look for the sequel to The Matriarch coming very soon!
1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?
I've been writing all my life but didn't honestly pursue it until after I got out of the Navy. After reviewing movies online for over 15 years, I decided to to try writing fiction seriously using the narrative voice I developed in critique.
2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?
I started reading Stephen King way too young, plus I read a bunch of old horror comics at a local barber shop, the kinds of books they stopped making after the Comics Code Authority shut them down. These days I read many new and independent authors such as Barbie Wilde, Carole Gill, Rhiannon Frater, and Gabrielle Faust.
3. What was the inspiration behind your novel The Matriarch?
I wrote two drafts 25 years ago while attending the college mention in the book, but I was smart enough to know I wasn't smart enough then to write the way I thought it could be. After publishing several stories in my YA series The Spooky Chronicles, I wanted to do a full-length novel and chose to re-write The Matriarch from scratch, finally finding the story that eluded me years earlier.
4. Why decide to write a sequel to it? How many books will the story span?
I'm anticipating four for now, and that is ONLY because I have four actually stories to tell. I'm seeding a world bigger than just the characters, so while this series may not continue, other stories in the world might.
5. Why vampires?
They were the first monsters that resonated with me, but too many recent stories in books, on television, and in film have taken the danger out of the monster. Vampires are the kings of the monster world and should appear as such. I knew I needed to recreate the rules with a specific intent to make them very powerful yet still able to be overcome if you know how; it isn't about strength, it's about knowledge.
6. What would you do if you woke up to find out that you were a vampire?
I'd hope it's the kind of vampire I created in my books because I know all the secrets.
7. What author (dead or alive) would you love to collaborate with?
Authors as a rule don't collaborate in my experience, but if was going to, I would love it to be with my wife, fellow horror author Linda S. Cowden.
8. Would you like to see The Matriarch made into a film? If yes, who would you like to see act in it?
Yes; I wrote it as such to make it conform to a screenplay. There were many actors who inspired the characters as I created them, but I would be doing a disservice to those who haven't read the book to tell you who I was thinking of at the time.
9. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?
I hope to still be writing and have many dozen books written by then--all of them celebrated bestsellers!
10. A lot of authors choose their locales for a specific reason. Why did you decide on yours?
As I mentioned, I grew up and went to college there. Central West Virginia is not a place I've seen used often in fiction and certainly not with the paranormal. Also, the legend of Sis Linn is actually real; you can visit her grave on campus exactly as described in the novel.
11. Where do you see the vampire genre heading? Where do you want to see it go?
My own work is an attempt to make it monstrous again but also explore an untapped format; it's hard to explain and a bit of a spoiler before the planned four books are finished, but I don't see vampires going away as long as writers continue to find new ways to reinvent them.
12. Are you working on anything that you can share with KSR?
I am completing the first arc of novellas for my YA horror series The Spooky Chronicles as well as another completely new dark fantasy series with demons and magic that exists in another place and time.
13. If you could take a shot at writing a genre aside from paranormal, would you? And what genre would it be?
I have a fascination with noir, specifically depression era detective stories. I incorporate many of my favorite elements into my work already, but one day I may do something specific to that genre.
14. Are any of your characters based on people in real life?
Many of my secondary characters are based on friends and family; my main characters are often inspired but are otherwise wholly original.
15. Thank you for participating in the interview! Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?
I'm a much nicer guy in real life than my villains might suggest, I enjoy every moment of my ADHD, and I love speaking at convention encouraging others to start writing and publishing. Thanks for the great questions!
Find Kevin online via:
Blog
Amazon author profile
Goodreads
Google+
No comments:
Post a Comment