Interview with Q. Kelly

Published 2013-10-15.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
There are a lot of joys, and identifying just one is tricky. Let’s give it a shot, though. I would say one of the greatest joys of writing is the experience, the fun I get from creating characters, bringing them to life and seeing how they unfold. Through them, I can experience a wide range of life situations and fall in love with them and all sorts of people. They expand my world. So does reading books (which I do all the time), but doing so from the writer’s seat is a different experience. Not better, just different. It’s kind of like a game of chess where you play yourself.
What do your fans mean to you?
I can’t say enough how much a simple email or message along the lines of “Enjoyed your book!” brightens my day. And if there’s more to the message, great. In a way, writing is a lonely pursuit. Sure, you can take trips and research the heck out of places and attend conventions and meet lots of people, but the writing itself, the putting words on the screen or on the page—that’s you. You alone. (Even if you’re co-writing, chances are you’re by yourself when you type.) It really helps when people reach out and let you know that they love the piece of yourself you’ve shared with them. I love hearing from people and hearing their stories, how my stories made them think a bit differently or reaffirmed something or somehow enriched their lives or just plain simply entertained them. I’ve made many great friends through my writing.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Smashwords has expanded my international reach. People from all over the world buy my books, and several British readers have written to me to say they buy from Smashwords rather than Amazon UK because there’s no VAT with Smashwords. The price you see is the price you pay.

I also want to emphasize the service Smashwords provides with distribution. In one fell swoop, I can get my books in the Apple, Sony, Kobo, Barnes & Noble bookstores, among others. Some titles I do directly upload to Kobo and Barnes & Noble, but having the option to distribute there through Smashwords is great, especially if I want to run a freebie promotion and see how many downloads it garners.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Through a whole lot of ways. Friend recommendations (word of mouth), browsing my local Barnes & Noble stores, Amazon recommendations, browsing the library, promotional emails and via book-review guides.
What do you read for pleasure?
Pretty much anything. Short stories, books (a wide range, fiction and non-fiction), TV show forums online (I love Television Without Pity’s forums) and magazines (MAD magazine may be my favorite). Since I am deaf and watch TV with closed captioning and subtitles, technically I “read” TV too!
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Sure do. It was a story about a grandfather who got a pair of new boots and loved them so much he lorded them over other people. Made them jealous. He lost friends. Pretty weighty message for a kid of five or six, eh?
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I don’t know for sure. I’ve tried a lot of techniques, but I think probably the most effective has been to just keep writing and to keep putting new stuff out (while making sure it’s still the quality readers expect from me).
Who are your favorite authors?
Humorist Dave Barry is one of my favorite authors. He thinks outside the box and looks at situations from different perspectives. So does MAD magazine. Another favorite author of mine is Roald Dahl. He does bittersweet so well.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The prospect of a frappalicious from Barnes & Noble! I won’t lie; I love my frappies. (I get them with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.) Starbucks makes them too, and technically, they should taste the same as the ones from BN. But, yeah, the BN ones are usually much better.
What is your latest book?
I have a collection that features a novelette, a short novel and three short stories. The collection totals about 51,000 words. Each story is one I started last year or previously but could not finish, for one reason or the other. In some cases, I may have been trying to force the stories into longer works they aren’t meant for. In other cases, I may have been lost as to their eventual direction. It really comes down to timing. Sometimes the time isn’t right for a story to be finished or to come out, and that’s perfectly okay. I have lots of stories put aside and stewing for the right moment. If that moment never comes, that’s fine, too.

THE GREEN PILL (about 14,000 words): The year is 2022. A green pill has been developed that cures breast cancer, but in the huge majority of cases, a side effect reverses sexuality. Basically, straight people turn gay, and gay people turn straight. Marcia Brandon, whose marriage to Jim has faded into monotony, keeps waiting for her side effect to kick in, but it never seems to. Marcia is dismayed; she’d counted on the side effect to shake up her life. On the other hand is Byrony Russell, who hasn’t told her husband, Griffin, that she experienced the green pill’s most notorious side effect. She keeps hoping an antidote will hit the shelves, and she can have her idyllic, heterosexual life with Griffin back. Marcia and Byrony meet at a support group and become friends. And eventually, perhaps more.

ONE HOUR (about 24,500 words): English teacher Jessica Harmon and one of her students, seventeen-year-old Riley Jenkins, hide in a classroom closet while a gunman rampages through their high school. They’re the only people in the room because it was Jessica’s planning period, and Riley stopped by with concerns about a debate assignment. When the gunman finds them in the closet, they figure they’re as good as dead. Except Jessica and Riley survive, without injury, their harrowing, surreal conversation with the gunman.

Their shared trauma and their guilt from failing to stop the gunman haunt Jessica and Riley and bring them close. They’re not the same people they were before the shootings, and Jessica, who never had given as much as a second glance to a student, finds herself drawn to Riley.

“One Hour” is the story of how Jessica and Riley help each other through their unique situation. Do they ultimately find happiness and a future with each other?

THE NIGHT THEY DRANK WINE (about 5,000 words): Mallory and Vanessa are sisters-in-law and good friends. One night, they get together to gossip and drink wine. One thing leads to another, and the next morning finds them naked and in bed together. Will they ignore what happened or try to make some sense of it?

STAYING IN (about 3,200 words): Becky Wilson decides one day she’s not leaving her condo again. Her unusual choice brings her backlash—and much more.

TOMMIE (about 4,300 words): Claire has a secret—her first love, Tommie, who died of leukemia twenty years ago, has been reincarnated. Kendall Paulson is nineteen years old, almost twenty, and has no idea who Tommie was. What Kendall does know, however, is that she likes Claire a lot. A heck of a lot. Is Kendall really Tommie? Either way, what does it mean for both women?
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.

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