In our fourth post introducing you to the contributors of 'Dark Heart' Volume 2, it is our great pleasure to introduce you to Chris Kammerud, author of the beautifully creepy and ethereal story, 'Jjincha'.
"Something stepped from the shadows.
It was very tall and very thin. Something had arms that were a touch too long
and a face that was very much like crumpled up newspaper. It drifted side to
side in the wind like a stalk of rice.
Something
said, "Why are you here?"
"My
father told me a story about a monster that lived under a bridge. He said the
monster could do things for people."
"Your
father knows true things then," Something said, "but everything has a
cost. What is it you want?"
Tell us a little
about yourself.
I’m a quarter Scandinavian. Also a feminist. I
never put honey in my tea unless I am sick and then usually I also put a
fistful of ginger because ginger is awesome. My sister and I more or less
defeated The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past over the course of one
rental weekend. I have seen every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at least four times. I love cooking,
particularly pancakes, muffins, and curries. If I eat gluten, my stomach
frowns. My parents took me to see Return of the Jedi when I was three. I
am told that during the credits I cried. I cried a lot as a child. Sometimes
people call me pomegranate. I will not tell you why.
When did you start writing ‘seriously’?
I studied computer engineering for a long time.
I even completed a Master’s degree. It never completely clicked with me, though.
On the other hand, I’ve always loved stories. My childhood consisted, in large
part, of reading and watching everything ever. I cried when Jim Henson died
(see above re: crying). In regards to writing my own stories, though, while I
remember writing at least one Walter Mitty story as a kid—and, also, there was
a period in my late teens where I seriously wrote a lot of Star Wars fanfic at
a site called Watto’s Junkyard—I never thought that being a writer was a
possibility until I left the engineering track and attended the M.F.A. program
at Ole Miss. Being surrounded by peopled dedicated to language and story, it
clicked. Life seemed shinier. Everything seemed possible.
At the end of Cheers, the television
series, one character says to another, “You always come back to your first
love.”
That’s how I think about me and story.
What is the
favourite thing you have ever written? Tell us a little about it.
When my father died a few years ago, I wrote his
eulogy. I stayed awake all night before the funeral at my home—mostly sitting
on the couch where I had watched the last episode of Cheers—writing and
remembering until the sun came up. Then, I sat on the porch and listened to the
robins, cardinals, and bluebirds. I read what I had written. I felt like my dad
was there. That we were talking. I felt like magic was real.
That process of writing about my father, and
then reading what I had written to a roomful of people who knew him at various
points in his life, helped me understand something basic about stories—whether
magical, mundane, fiction, non-fiction, silly, weird, whatever. Every story is
an attempt to bring the dead to life.
Tell us a little
about your book / series?
At present I’m working on a book set in a
near-future Korea wherein there is romance, revolution, history, and K-pop. It
centers on two characters, a boy in love with a former pop star who has
mysteriously disappeared; and a woman who played a large role in the creation
of a virtual idol who may or may not be sentient and possibly upset about having her life controlled by a
corporation.
Who is your
inspiration?
Joss Whedon. Kelly Link. Ted Chiang. Douglas
Adams. Barry Hannah. You. A large part of what inspires me to write is the
thought that other people will read what I write and maybe connect to it in
some way.
What are your hopes
and ambitions for the future?
I want to write all the words.
What would be your
advice to aspiring writers?
To paraphrase Neil Gaiman and shampoo bottles:
Read. Write. Finish. Repeat.
Tell us a secret.
Buried somewhere in the backyard of my
grandparents’ house, there is a Luke Skywalker action figure. I don’t remember
where. I feel guilty about this.
DARK HEART VOLUME 2 is now available from
Amazon.com and
Amazon.co.uk for Kindle. Paperbacks and other platforms will be available from August 1st.
Social links:
Her contribution to Dark Heart Volume 2 is an extract from her novel, 'Beautiful Freaks', a stand alone novel which she describes as a Gothic Detective Fairytale. The novel is comprised of integrated vignette fairytales woven into a larger tale of grisly, and sometimes quite beautiful, Paranormal Murders that rip through London in the year 1901. The dark fairy tale chosen to feature in Dark Heart Volume 2 is 'Seraphina', a feminist tale of revenge and retribution, blending mythology from China and Western Christian symbolism. It is a tale of empowerment and strength, but it also questions the moral cost of such values. 
Katie started writing seriously when she was on maternity leave with her first daughter, Rossetti, six years ago. She has written six novels during this time and had several of her short story works published in publications in both the UK and the USA. She began her published career by writing the YA Paranormal series, The Knight Trilogy, a modern reworking of Arthurian legend set in a contemporary Cornish college. The series was critically well received and became a number one best selling fairy tale series on Amazon in both the UK and USA. 
She then went on to write more contemporary YA works and a series of adult horror stories. Horror is where her true heart lies. 
