Tuesday 20 December 2011

On the Eighth Day of Creepfest... I met Author, Kim Koning

Today I'd like to welcome dark paranormal fiction author Kim Koning! Welcome Kim! I see on your blog you mention that you ‘wrestle your muse’. What are your biggest challenges when it comes to writing?

K.K. One of my biggest challenges is to quieten the Muse...My Muse is constantly coming up with inspiration for new stories and usually just as I am working on one story. That is why I wrestle my muse...sometimes he wins and I start with a new story and then write 2 stories consecutively but other times I make a small note of the idea and then shelve in until I have more time to focus. My Muse never quietens down or leaves me searching for story lines...but sometimes a girl can only work on one story at a time. 

M.F. I hear you on that! I'm forever feeling like there are so many stories I want to write! I can't ever imagine being in a situation where I was stuck for a story! What are your views on the indie revolution? Why did you choose to go that way yourself?


K.K. Well I have always been super independent and like taking control of my own life and whatever path I choose to take. When I looked at the publishing industry and asked more experienced people some pointed questions I realised that the Indie route was definitely more my cuppa tea. I am not against the Big 6 in New York but I do resent that they seem so closed off to writers or stories that don't quite fit what they believe is marketable. I also think that readers don't care who published your book and guarantee you that if you had to ask them who published their favourite books, they would have to look it up. INdie - whether it be self-publishing or SmallPress puts the writer and the story at the foreground. The Indie route celebrates the creative side of the writer and helps them wade through the business side of getting their stories out there. For me, after looking at both options, there was no choice except Indie. One of my favourite sayings is: When writing the story of your life, don't let anyone else hold the pen...So I choose the Indie route; holding my own pen and writing my own story, not allowing some antiquated gatekeeper to control my career or my creativity.

M.F. Great answer! I think the readers are appreciating being able to read different books as well. Just because a story isn't commercial, dosen't mean it's not good! What draws you to the genre of paranormal fiction?


K.K. I Love paranormal because you get to delve in the world beyond our world or one that is veiled within our world. I also see ghosts and have had quite a few encounters with them. My friends believe ghosts follow me around. But I think what we don't see in life with our physical eyes is so much more real than what we can see. Paranormal celebrates this. I also love Mythology and Paranormal fiction is the modern take on Mythology often creating or recycling ancient myths and legends and tales. How can you not be drawn to paranormal fiction would be my question.

M.F.  Wow, that's an interesting story in itself! My Nan used to see ghosts all the time as well! Are you working on any projects at the moment?


K.K. Yes - I am working on two trilogies.The Chaos Chasms: This is set in Victorian London and Modern London...it deals with the veils between this world and the next, past revenges and regrets that haunt the present and Romany (Gypsy) spiritualism. The first book is complete and is out on submission. The other trilogy is a modern paranormal thriller about the hunt for a serial killer and how a young tattooist may hold all the secrets to both unveiling him and capturing him or succumbing to the darkness and empowering him. The choice lies with the tattooist. It is very dark trilogy but explores how even the most harmless has both light and dark within them, it is a choice that we choose - either darkness or light.

M.F.  Has anything scary every happened to you at Christmas?


K.K I can disappointingly say no...I would love a visit from Ghosts of Christmas Past and maybe even Ghosts of Christmas Future...I have read A Christmas Carol way too many times and I always thought it would be an interesting Christmas if something like that happened in reality one year. So joining up to Creepfest I get to fulfill a little of that wish...

M.F. Well if you see ghosts, that may well happen to you one day! How do you plan to spend Christmas day?


K.K. My mother is German so we open Christmas gifts on Christmas eve (the German way), so on Christmas Day I will be spending the day with family and friends at a friends' home for a delicious roast. Hoping the day is hot (I am in the Southern Hemisphere) and then we can take a stroll down to the beach and perhaps have a bonfire on the beach for that night. Either way it will be a good day. For the first time in 10 years I am also not working any of the festive season as this year I went full time writing...so for the first time I get to truly celebrate Christmas. I have been humming Christmas jingles all month long already.

Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog for #Creepfest Marissa.
I enjoyed your interview.
Happy Creepfest and Merry Christmas!



You too, Kim! Thanks for stopping by! Kim is also giving away an ebook copy of this anthology on her blog "Wrestling the Muse" for Creepfest in a Creepmas Contest - so make sure you stop by! 
Open the gateway of darkness at: http://kimkoning.com/wp
I can be found Wrestling the Muse : http://kimkoning.wordpress.com
I can also be found on twitter @AuthorKimKoning
Like my facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Kim.M.Koning?sk=app_106171216118819
My first short story is available in this anthology along with 33 other great authors including The Neil Gaiman:
http://randomstatic.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=51

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting me Marissa. I enjoyed visiting and chatting with you on your blog. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to meet you through #Creepfest.
    - Kim

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  2. What a great interview. Happy Creepfest!

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