Interview with author Kevin Keely

I "met" Kevin on Authonomy.com, a site where writers support or compete with each other. (Sometimes both.) Kevin has a big personality behind that tiny avatar. He pulls no punches and takes no bullshit. He has the kind of blunt, unapologetic style that makes him a great writer and, I figured, a great interview. So I made him agree to sit down with me (virtually, I assume we were sitting) and talk about the release of his new book, A Fistful of Salt, and his thoughts about the publishing industry.

Okay, so tell me about your book. What is it about? What kind of audience is it for? Why should people read it?

Well they should read it because its an excellent story, why else? I specifically wanted to write a book with broad appeal across age and gender. I wanted the book to be the kind of thing you can read then pass to your husband and he can tell his mates down the pub and they can tell their wives and mothers etc. It's literally for anyone who just likes a good yarn about regular people getting themselves into a whole heap of trouble in a very short time. It's a love story between an introverted cabbie and his childhood crush, who happens to be off the rails. But as they rapidly get themselves into hot water with some very evil villains their humanity inevitably begins to prevail over their societal roles and they become first friends and then lovers. It's ultimately a story about human frailty and the fight played out in all out hearts between good an evil and how we sometimes fail but sometimes we succeed. It's a feel good story with a lot of bad stuff in it. Pretty much the same as life.

What do you think about genre? Is it a helpful guide or a straight-jacket?

I think of it like sex. Some people like it one way, others like it another way, and most people just like it with a lot of action and a healthy amount of humour. So If you bring a straight jacket to your lover's house then you're going to get tied up and the best of luck to you. Me? I like to think passion and vigour are the greatest components to writing and sex. So that's what I bring.

To read the entire interview, check it out at TodaysAuthor. If you'd like to read Kevin's interview of me, you can check out his site here.