How long have you been writing?

Most of my life -- though I only started sending stories to editors in 1994. Things were pretty dreary during that first year. I spent six months tearing through envelopes that concealed form letters. (Though it once pained me, this constant refusal makes sense in retrospect. I was, after all, sending supernaturally crappy stories to such magazine as PULPHOUSE, THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, and AMAZING STORIES.) This paper-storm of xeroxed hell continued until THIN ICE accepted a story from me in early 1995. In the eight subsequent years, I've somehow managed to place over 100 stories and poems in roughly 70 magazines and anthologies -- one of which was the mass-marketed MAMMOTH BOOK OF LEGAL THRILLERS (Carroll and Graf/Constable and Robinson).

What do you enjoy most about writing?

This may sound weird . . . but . . . my favorite part about writing is . . . wait for it . . . the sensation. Allow me to explain: I'm sure most writers know what it's like to get really caught up in a particular piece. You lose yourself to a degree. The story responds by growing into a self-replicating entity. You begin to wonder if you're writing the book or if the book is writing you. Paranoia sets in. Perhaps the book has been impersonating you at work . . . or sleeping with your wife. You want to kill the thing, but it's already nesting inside your brain. In the end, you must love this bitch-goddess even as she drains you dry. (You'll think of the book as as from this point on.) Sleep quickly becomes meaningless.Days and nights mesh. Finally – and with no memory of how you got to this point – you type Heavenly gates part. Angels sing. All is good . . . Come to think of it, perhaps most writers haven't felt this way at all.

How about least?

The final few read-overs. At this point, all you're doing is picking obsessively through an otherwise finished manuscript. (This is especially true for novels.) I soon grow sick of reading my own words. I curse my characters and, later on, curse myself for creating them. I imagine my brain dripping steadily from my nose and I want nothing more than to go cackle-cackle mad. But I press on. There's no other choice.

What is your favorite genre to write in?

If I'm writing genre, then the answer has to be horror. It's what I cut my teeth on. Naturally, I have retained a special place in my heart for all things creepy-crawly. (Zombies stand out as a personal favorite.) If I'm not writing genre . . . well . . . I'm probably writing some really idiosyncratic stuff. Kevin's brain on paper, in other words.

How does your family feel about you being a writer?

It's mixed, really. Some people think I should stop entirely. They're under the impression that my impracticality will lead to an alcohol-soaked death in some dark alley. Others support me in a semi- indifferent, good-for-you-if-you-make-it sort of way. A few, however, really support me . . . even if they don't vocalize it very often. (This is not a problem. I don't want people showering me with a daily dose of praise and confetti. That would get irritating fast.) Thanks to all the people in every category but the first.

What are your views on electronic publishing?

Electronic publishing is suffering from growing pains. A lot of people still seem to think e-zines serve as manuscript dumping grounds for people who can't get into print magazines. Such is not the case. In time, this view will fade away -- provided there's enough quality publications out there to enter in as evidence for the defense. My only problem with webmags is that they seem slightly less real than their print counterparts. (This may simply be a personal hang-up.) In short, any means of conveying words to the masses is a good thing. I've happily sent stories to electronic magazines and have been rewarded with appearances in FRIGHTNET, ANGEL/ANGLE POETRY ANTHOLOGY, SHADOW FEAST, GATHERING DARKNESS, THE DREAM PEOPLE, CREATIO EX NIHILO, and a few others. I don't even care if they pay me or not.

What do you usually think of first, plot or character?

I guess plot, because a book (or story) usually begins with a scenario suddenly popping into my head. If it makes me (a) laugh or (b) scream internally, I'll surely jump on it. Most of my longer pieces have, in fact, grown from a single, random thought whose magnetic pull was great enough to attract further attention. In time, that idea splits, grows tentacles, and becomes something that I never-in-my-life expected (provided the idea is, in fact, a good one). The bad ones just die on the vine. Either that, or they get turned into really bad stories.

What inspires your ideas/characters?

Ideas: Sometimes just going into Wal-Mart fills me with unspeakable dread. My brain processes this dread and spews out scenarios that may or may not be turned into actual text. These scenarios usually take elements of the real, everyday world to an absurd – if not somewhat logical – conclusion. Characters: Hard to say, really. I guess I myself inspire a few of them. People I meet, see on the TV, or read about in the paper also stand a chance of being twisted up into characters. Archetypes work – when a good archetype is needed, that is. Some characters seem to come right out of the blue.

What's your favorite story you have written?

I have a strange affinity for BREAKFAST DOUGHNUTS. (A shorter version appeared in my Eraserhead Press chapbook, but I'm talking about the expanded-by-ten-pages BREAKFAST D.) It's a comedic, semi-absurd piece involving a frazzled husband, his possibly insane wife, breakfast doughnuts, an attempted murder, strange sexual responses, emotional politics, and – to an extent – the Patrick Swayze movie ROADHOUSE. Had a lot of fun writing that story. Guess that's why I like it so much.

Would you tell us a little about your most current release?

Externally, the book is a 244 page, \\$14.95 trade-paperback from Eraserhead Press (ISBN 0-9713572-5-0). Internally, SHALL WE GATHER AT THE GARDEN? is 80,000 words of Realistic Non-Realism. A commune of circus midgets plays a large -- and mostly unseen after page 70 -- role, as do Zen Masters, sentient Karma Wheels, warring pop music churches of the future, and America’s #1 male Romance writer, Mark Anders. It all meshes into one surprisingly linear(and apocalyptic) novel that winds up spanning an epoch or seventy-two. I guess SHALL WE GATHER AT THE GARDEN? is comedic as well. (Though comedy and horror have a tendency to mutate into bedfellows.) Oh yes . . . Jeffrey Stadt, in his introduction to my book, compares some elements of the novel to stuff written by Philip K. Dick and Roald Dahl. I wonder if Mr. Stadt isn't completely mad . . .

What project(s) are you working on now?

I worked on SHALL WE GATHER AT THE GARDEN? for practically two years straight. Due to this, I have no interest in starting another big project. Not right now, anyway. Too drained. I'm focusing solely on short fiction and poetry during this, my recovery period. Such pieces soothe my novel-tenderized brain and go down like oatmeal. They give me room to breathe yet, at the same time, keep me busy. Also, I've been working on getting the second, perfect-bound issue of BARE BONE together for release somewhere around March of 2002. The first two issues feature a lot of good writers (Donald Burleson, Yvonne Navarro,Bentley Little, Michael Hemmingson, Wayne Edwards, David Niall Wilson, Denise Dumars) and a combined total of 60,000+ words. I'm quite happy with the publication and hope to continue BB for quite some time.

Do you have an email or website where readers can reach you?

Yes: http://users.chartertn.net/mbs/kldwriter My e-mail and all other pertinent information can be found therein. It's nothing special, but everyone's more than welcome to take a look. Oh yeah, while you’re there, click on my picture to meet Bobo the Bell-Hop Ape.

Thank you, Kevin!