In Line with Martin Kee

First time author Martin Kee joins us to talk about his novel, A Latent Dark, and his upcoming 2013 book, Bloom.

Kee is one of eight horror and dark fantasy authors featured in Story Bundle's Halloween Horror Bundle, which is a pay-what-you-want ebook package. Check it out!

Breadline Books: Can you talk about the process of how A Latent Dark came into existence, from concept to the final edits?

Martin Kee: Conceptually, I was inspired by the idea of how fear of death shapes religion. I began to wonder what it would be like for someone who already knew what came after. What if they already saw the truth? What if they knew that it wasn't anything like what they tell you in church? What if it was a dark, alien place with predators?

I started with a very, very loose outline, nothing more than a page really. I'm somewhere between a pantzer and a plotter, in that I like a very small amount of loose structure when I write. I call these tentpole ideas, main plot points that must be included to hold the story up. The rest is discovery.

I wrote the first words of the rough draft in February 2010 with very little idea where it would take me. It started with Skyla wandering the streets after the awful events in her house had just occurred. Most of the chapters from there on started as backstory and had to be removed. It was a huge learning process for about two years.

Which author would you be most flattered to be compared to?

Oh gosh. If I were to go out on a limb here, I'd say Stephen King? He is certainly one of my first influences and the author who originally inspired me to start writing fiction in the first place. His book ON WRITING was immensely helpful when I started on my novel.

I have a long way to go before that comparison works, in my opinion.

Your next book is called Bloom. Can you give us a little hint of what to expect?

Bloom is equal parts bio-horror and dark fairy tale. There are two main characters, each with their own unique world and story, yet the two eventually merge towards the end. It's unlike any book I have written or read, and I hope you'll forgive me if it's a little hard to explain. Think Darwin's Radio or The Andromeda Strain meets Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is very gory, very violent, and very adult.

Tennyson Middlebrook is a boy growing up in the California Central Valley as a new disease emerges. Bloom is a highly contagious fungal affliction that effects memory, physical appearance, and personality. It seems to have infected his best friend and love interest Allison--though she has other health issues as well. As bloom spreads throughout the world, causing horrific deaths, Tennyson attempts to regain contact with Allison, perhaps even rescue her. This involves returning to his home town despite the obvious health risks.

Lil'it is not human. She is small, fragile, and beautiful. She lives in a cage, her saliva used to create potions for a hag. It isn't until she is sold to a local prince as a plaything that she realizes just how dangerous and terrifying her world really is. Her journey, like Tennyson's is one of survival and the need to find human connection amid atrocity and cruelty.

It should be out early in 2013.

How long have you been writing fiction?

Since high school, though I haven't written seriously until several years ago. A story I wrote in 2010 won second place in a 24 hour short story contest and I was immediately hooked. It was like discovering magic: "I just made up all these words and someone gave me money!" I've been writing daily fiction ever since.

I wrote a lot in college, but I had a hard time finding good feedback or mentoring. All those stories fell to a sort of sad crib death. Probably a good thing. I'd hate to see them come back from the grave. They were... very bad.

Now that your first book is out there, what have you learned that you may do differently in the future?

I can recognize bad story and writing much more easily now. I can feel when a story is taking a wrong turn, usually by the second draft, though it still takes a lot of work to correct.

Release timing is another. In self-publishing you don't have the benefit of a publishing house to do PR for you. You sort of just get your story out there and try to get people to read it. It's a huge challenge and I think its easy to want to rush the process. I'm going to try to make sure Bloom has a much smoother release.

Lastly, now that I found a good editor, I feel like half my process has been solved. Kellye has been irreplaceable, and I imagine future projects will be running much more smoothly from now on. I can't even tell you how important an editor is to publishing. Finding a good one took me forever.

Do you have any long term career goals?

I think every author dreams of quitting their day job and writing for a living. King said recently that "It's a lot like being crazy, but they pay you money to do it." I could get behind that.

Right now, I am just happy that people are enjoying my brain babies. It's a trip to see people immersed in a world that you created. People talk to me about Skyla and Lyle and Orrin like they know them personally. And I'm thinking "Hey! I know those guys too!"

It feels crazy to infect other people's minds with your images and ideas.

What genres do you enjoy reading other than horror and steampunk?

I love sci-fi. Love it.

My earliest book memories are A WRINKLE IN TIME, THE LATHE OF HEAVEN, and ENDER'S GAME. I'll read almost anything by Scalzi, Stross, Peter F Hamilton, or Greg Bear. There are honestly too many great stories and authors to count. I recently read PANDORA'S STAR by Hamilton and there is an "Oh shit!" moment in that story that forced me to put the book down and stare at a wall for ten minutes with my mouth open.

Young Adult is also great fun to read. It's so dense with story the books are almost impossible to put down. The Harry Potter books were like crack to me.

If you won a free book, what would you choose?

I just finished BLACKBIRDS by Chuck Wendig and that was a great read. I hear MOCKINGBIRD, the sequel is out. I hope Santa is reading this interview.