The 7Q Interview: Kyle Lybeck
AUTHOR BIO
Kyle is a horror lover, of both books and movies, and loves writing horror fiction in both long and short form.He is alsoa long time copy-editor for Thunderstorm Books and reviewer for the Horror Drive-In. Kyle lives in a suburb of Seattle with his two dogs.
QUESTIONS
#1. Looking back, what’s one fiction book that you feel truly made an impact on your writing? Do you still gravitate towards that author?
#1. Answer – Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter. She’s not a horror author, but she writes fantastic cop/small town fiction with some very detailed, brutal, and graphic scenes. Accompany that with the crazy shock she put in at the end of this novel, it gravitated me towards adding shock value (and hopefully doing it quite well) in quite a bit of my writing.
#2. How do you feel about the use of sub-genres in the industry? How do you describe your work overall?
#2. Answer – Sub-genres don’t really bother me, but I don’t really know what they are at this point in the horror fiction realm; I still kind of think of horror fiction as just that. I feel though that if you start being so nitpicky about it, it can muddy the waters. I listen to a decent amount of metal and back when I first started listening there were very few sub-genres. Now there seem to be twenty, and I don’t fully understand why, I just like the music. As far as my own work, I consider it general horror or gut-punch horror, depending on which book we’re talking about.
#3. What about your writing process do you think is unique or quirky? What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received?
#3. Answer – I don’t really think my writing process is quirky, I do a lot of what others do (listen to music, have a notepad handy, enjoy an alcoholic beverage). Unique though, is that because I’m a little bit ADD, it affects my focus, so I don’t like to stop once I start. When I write short stories, it is extremely rare that I don’t finish it in one sitting. When I write novellas, it generally takes me two weeks to get it done. For stories, whether it takes an hour or four, I don’t want to stop until it’s done. Honestly, I have yet to receive bad writing advice personally. I’ve received great writing and author reading advice from Bob Ford, Kelli Owen, Brian Keene, and Tom Monteleone, to name a few.
#4. How does music and media factor into your writing? Do you feel it plays as much an inspirational role as literature?
#4. Answer – Music plays a large role when I write. Depending on what I’m writing, I’ll listen to anything from jazz to death metal, Celtic to industrial, rap to electronic. For my own writing, I feel like music plays a much larger roll than literature, because it focuses me. A lot of times when I write, I actually try not to read a fiction book during the same time or think of others’ writing, because I don’t want it to directly influence my own, and for me to somehow copy another author unintentionally.
#5. As an author, how much do you engage in social media? Do you feel it is more for your own entertainment, or for marketing and networking?
#5. Answer – I use three social media outlets. I’ve had Facebook for the longest time, which I generally only use for author related things, even though it’s not an actual “author” page. I prefer to use Twitter the most, for both random thoughts and entertainment, and to actually promote my work. I feel like people are more receptive and it’s an easier platform to work with. I started an Instagram just recently, but that’s to post up pictures of books in my personal collection for others to see (as some had an interest), and also bookstores I may visit over time for fun. For the most part though, I try to keep them professional, and don’t use it for many other purposes.
#6. Where do you see the future of horror fiction heading? In turn, what changes would you love to see, either socially or technologically?
#6. Answer – I feel like horror fiction is most certainly on the upswing again, which is due a lot in part to the authors coming out nowadays, and all the help we’ve gotten from our mentors. I think it’s in a very healthy state currently and is only going to get better as the years continue. I don’t really have any ideas for social or technology changes. I think the current generation coming up has realized the power of technology and is using it very well to promote and connect their books to readers. Socially, I feel like in the past ten years, it’s become a lot easier for authors to connect and collaborate, not only with themselves but with fans which is fantastic.
#7. What can you tell us about any forthcoming projects? What titles would you like to promote now?
#7. Answer – As far as forthcoming projects, I’m currently writing a collaboration with another author, but it’s in the very early stages. Soon I’ll be starting on a long novella/short novel called 12 Minutes to submit to a publisher I have in mind. Then after that, I’ll begin work on my next novel, titled Pieces of Me. Other than that, I have another five or six things on the planned docket for the next three to four years, and a few tricks up my sleeve in-between all of it.
This year has been my busiest yet for releases. I’ve had my first novel, my second novella, and my third short story collection all release within four months of themselves.
Plentiful Poison, which is a rage/fast zombie novel: https://amzn.to/2Ph1mtg
Trailblazers, which is a hiking horror novella: https://amzn.to/2zpRbrA
Cry Me A River, which is a collection mixed with brutal horror and gut-punch horror, with just a dab of noir horror thrown in for good measure: https://amzn.to/2KW7keP
AUTHOR PIC
