Sunday, November 2, 2014

Interview with author, Kirsten Campbell

Why did you pursue writing?

I pursued writing at nine years old.  I have always loved writing. It took me away from the horrors of my childhood. I wrote poetry and short stories. Writing is cathartic and I could do it almost anywhere, as long as I had a pencil and paper. To me it’s a type of blood-letting, opening a vein and releasing all the good and bad from within.

What inspired your book?

I was abandoned at six-years-old, left by both mother and father. It was the 60s and I am half German-half Jamaican, (a child that no one wanted back then.) I was dumped on my Jamaican grandmother and she hated children.  She was violently abusive. (I’m lucky I survived.) I almost looked forward to the times when she locked me in the closet and forgot me, left me there with no food or drink for hours on end. It was during those times that I came up with stories and created my own little world where children were loved and cherished and treated with respect by beautiful people with good hearts. And so, I began writing in school. I wrote all types of poetry and when I grew up I wrote some more and got published all over the place-in several very good journals and magazines! A few years later, Pudding House Publications published my chapbook, “The Abandoning Kind,” in 2009. LadybugPress published, “Poetry of the Covert Bourgeoisie,” in 2006.

 In 2001 I had dream after dream of a beautiful albino man, Griffin Storm, and his dealings with the abandoned children of the Underground. Still, I didn’t know if I could write down my thoughts about this hero that I had dreamt up. Then one day I decided to try to write the story. After all, I had a very long job commute on the Metro into NYC every morning and evening, so I figured I could get something productive done. I brought a pen and a composition book and the writing flowed. I wrote, chapter after chapter of this long, long manuscript. And that was the beginning of The G.O.D.s Series. I worked on the manuscript and broke it up into smaller books and then chapters and I worked on each of the individual manuscripts. Blood Master is the first book in The G.O.D.s Series that deals with Griffin Storm and the abandoned children of the Underground.


How long have you been publishing your work?

I started publishing my work a few years ago, after the short story that began the G.O.D.s Series was published in Bewildering Stories (2010). The story is called, “Dark Matters,” and it dealt with (spoiler) Griffin Storm’s father (a G.O.D.) as he deals with a precocious six-year-old earth boy’s antics, antics that reek total hell on not only his earthly dimension but the G.O.D.s dimension as well.

What’s your writing environment like?

I would love to say that it’s quiet and there’s a cozy velvet chair in a corner room where Mozart is streamed in softly. But my environment is nothing like that. LOL! I write in my bedroom, surrounded by, yes, you guessed it, lots of children. My grands love being with me, and I love being with them! I will sit at my desk with my 2-year-old granddaughter on my lap, while the 5 and 6-year-old sit on the carpet and watch Calliou on television. Or sometimes I play lots of different types of music and the little ones dance while I write.  There’s lots of laughter and funny faces being made, and sometimes sticky hands grab my cheeks and cute dirty faces with tiny wet lips kiss my cheeks. That’s my writing environment. I love it and I’m glad it’s a far cry from the Metro... 

What projects are you currently working on?


I’m working on the second book of The G.O.D.s Series, Blood Storm. Griffin has to come to grips with his new abilities and decide whether his abilities are an attribute or a hindrance to the Brotherhood fortress. I am also working on another book of poetry.

Follow Kirsten: Website  and Facebook

Find Blood Master on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1nzFYet


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