1. Who are you?
K.W. Taylor, author, teacher, silly person. My pen name is a variation on my real (maiden) name. You don’t get to know what the W stands for.
2. What do you do?
I write words on a screen. I also teach other people to write words on a screen, and I help people figure out their lives (sort of). When I’m not doing any of these things, I am probably doing yoga or some other fitness thing, because I live on endorphins. I also do crafty things, like knitting and making dolls out of my cat’s shed fur (kidding on the last part…unless that’s a thing).
3. What do you write?
Speculative fiction: horror, science fiction, fantasy, all different subgenres thereof. I do write “legit” literary fiction sometimes, but mostly I like for there to be monsters, aliens, or psychological terrors in my work. But I also like to bring the funny sometimes, so even if there’s a dragon clawing at the door, chances are my protagonist will say something sarcastic to it.
4. What have you written that I can read?
Lots of stuff. Mostly short stories have been published so far, so check out my publication list for links to free things (and links to not-so-free things that you can buy with money).
5. What are you working on?
Novels! I have several finished novels and several novels-in-progress. 2012 is the year of the novel. Out at markets or almost ready to go right now are Blood Makes Noise, a feminist vampire adventure/romance novel, and The Red Eye, about a modern day dragon slayer. I just released my first chapbook collection of short stories (Curiosities and Creatures) and plan on a second volume of that to appear later this year.
Cover for CURIOSITIES AND CREATURES, coming January 2012! A collection of seven never-before-published short stories!
Blog: To outline or not to outline? http://kwtaylorwriter.com/2011/12/13/blog-to-outline-or-not-to-outline/
Blog: Reimagined fairy tales http://kwtaylorwriter.com/2011/12/12/blog-reimagined-fairy-tales/
Oo, exciting news! WE SHADOWS HAVE OFFENDED is now available in the Kobo ebookstore! Just in time for holiday gift giving!
Guest blog on my web site: Author and publisher Steven Saus talks about the anthology Spec the Halls, available for sale now!
http://kwtaylorwriter.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/guest-blog-holiday-charity-anthology/
This is the last in my series of posts about my NNWM novel. I talked a little bit about vampire fiction in general the other day, but here’s where I try to break the mold of current trends in this urban fantasy subgenre.
The thing about vampire fiction is that most of it deals with the very young. You get turned at 20, you spend 800 years as an angsty post-teen who can pass for 15 to 35, max. But what if you get turned in your 30s, 40s, even 60s? What then?
With this book, that’s what I’m exploring, as well as the difference between a relationship blossoming between an older male vampire and a female ingénue, as is usually the trope, and a newly-turned male vampire and a female protagonist who is just as powerful (if not more) than the vampire is. Furthermore, what about vampires who actually kill their victims? What does that do to the relationship, if the person beside you is a murderer but not what we think of as a serial killer? It’s their version of food, after all.
So, yes, it’s still a love story, it’s still this trope we’re familiar with, but I want to explore different nuances to it, different sides of the same coin. It’s also more of a horror comedy, so there is very little moping and a lot more pithy dialogue and gore.
At least all of the above is what I’m going for. It doesn’t mean I’ll succeed. One thing I also don’t have is a title, so I may open that up as a contest of some kind if/when I get this book finished.
