Author Interview with K.D. Keenan
Name: Kathy Keenan
Pen Name if different: K.D. Keenan
What first inspired you to write? I loved reading as a child. I loved it more than anything except possibly chocolate. I thought that being a fiction writer was the most wonderful career one could aspire to, and I decided at the age of eight to become a writer. I did, in fact, earn a living for many years as a writer, but in high tech marketing. I started writing my first novel at the age of 58.
How do you come up with the ideas for your stories? I got the original idea for writing a novel based on New World mythologies when I finished one of Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” novels. I liked the book, but found myself wondering why fantasy is so often based on pre-Industrial-Age, Euro-centric tropes like elves and knights in armor, when there are so many mythologies, folk tales and traditions in the Americas. So I wrote my first novel, “The Obsidian Mirror,” based on Native American traditions, though it is set in present-day Silicon Valley. The second novel, “Fire in the Ocean,” is based on ancient Hawaiian mythologies. The third and final book in the trilogy will be “Lords of the Night,” and it is set in the classical Maya era.
I should point out that my mother was an archeologist in her youth. I grew up surrounded by Native American and Mesoamerican artifacts, and loved to hear my mother talk about her adventures. She excavated in Mexico and Guatemala during the 1930s—sort of a female Indiana Jones—and my interest in New World mythologies started with her.
What question do you hate the most about being a writer? Not sure how to answer this. What question do I hate the most? I guess it’s when people ask me about my books and immediately fog out because they really didn’t care, they were just being polite. What I hate most about being a writer is the constant need to promote. I know how to do it, I’d just rather be writing.
Are you indie or traditionally published? Traditionally published by Diversion Books in New York City.
Have you ever tried the other style of publishing? No. However, I am about to self-publish a children’s book I wrote and illustrated called “I Am Not a Bear.” I don’t want to sell it, though. I want to give it away, first to grandkids and other children close to my family, and then to others. Not sure where I’m going with this one yet.
What are you working on now? I took a break from writing “Lords of the Night” to work on creating illustrations for my children’s book and re-writing the text. (I originally wrote and illustrated it when I was in college, and I’m a bit better at both by now.) I am closing in on finalizing “I Am Not a Bear,” and I’ll be resuming work on “Lords of the Night” soon.
What is your most recent/upcoming release? The most recent release was February 2018, of my second novel, “Fire in the Ocean.”
Links to stalk you online:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KZ8e8q
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