Self Published Novel, Writer Interview, Writers Chat

Writers Chat 28: Regie Khemvisay on “Death’s Kiss” (Nook Book: 2018)

Regie, You are very welcome to my Writers Chat series. We’re going to talk about your novel Death’s Kiss aimed at Young and New Adult readers, and which you place in the category of “Dystopian (SciFi)”, as you say, along the lines of The Hunger Games or 1984.

Book cover EBOOK

SG: Let’s start by looking at what inspired you to write and self-publish Death’s Kiss. Can you tell us a little bit about both of those processes – the writing and the publishing?

RK: Hi Shauna! And to those reading this. First of all, I would like to thank you for giving Death’s Kiss a chance. My debut self-published novel is my baby and I’ve spent many years finishing it. I have so much to learn about writing and Death’s Kiss was such a super enjoyable and stressful story to write. But everything worked out well in the end. I first wrote Death’s Kiss in 2014, when I was 21. Hence, the reason why the virus only affected those who were 22 years old and older. I was saved, phew! Most of the writing was completed when I was deployed in Kuwait, and I would hang out at Starbucks after work to write. A very productive time in my writing career. I think I was just too excited to publish Death’s Kiss so I took the self-publishing route. Given a second chance, I would’ve taken the traditional route, I think Death’s Kiss deserved a bigger audience, but what was done is done. I am happy I had released my story to the world. The publishing process was very stressful. I had paid for the editing and publishing with an independent company and this was probably the worst decision ever. Though they completed editing, there were just so many corrections I had to still make. It was frustrating. I also paid for the cover design and website, which ended up as a massive disappointment. I ended up designing the cover and website myself because it was just frustrating to work with this company. Anyways, lessons learned and self-publishing was such a stressful but inspiring experience.

SG: It sounds like there was a lot of learning in that process, Regie, but also that you got through it and achieved what you set out to do – bring your story to readers and, most importantly for all writers, believe in your story. I loved the role Nat King Cole and Orwell’s 1984 played in the novel. The Shuffle also put me in mind of the wonderful Shirley Jackson story The Lottery. In Death’s Kiss once a citizen turns twenty-one, their name is entered into the shuffle, and thirteen individuals are selected from each age group. The scientist Lizbeth Bailey explains to The Aces that “It is so much easier to control people with fear. You’d be surprised how entertaining people are when they are scared.” What were your literary and cultural influences on writing this novel?

RK: George Orwell’s 1984, The Lottery, and the Hunger Games were my inspiration for Death’s Kiss. 1984 was my first dystopian novel I ever read, and we even had an assignment where I had to draw a 3-page comics of an important scene. The Lottery’s theme intrigued me and even though it was a short story, it had such a deep message. Then, I clearly remember reading The Hunger Games and I was just mesmerized by the writing and the story of Suzanne Collins. These three stories definitely had so much to talk about and I wanted to incorporate similar themes that were tackled in these stories to my book.

SG: And that emulation and those themes definitely shine through! So, at the heart of Death’s Kiss is a love story that runs over 53 chapters and traverses a myriad of time-zones, plots, subplots and challenges that our heroes Ryoma, Yuri, Chrystian and Samantha face in a future country called Yliria. It’s told through the eyes of Ryoma and Yuri, a dual- narrative which worked well, allowing us to get to know the characters deeply. Without giving away anything, can you tell us how difficult was it for you to keep track of all the twists and turns in this fast-paced novel?

RK: Honestly, I’ve read through Death’s Kiss that I got so tired. I had to rewrite and rewrite to make sure I’ve covered all plot holes and questions readers might think about. The characters also did whatever they wanted to do, and sometimes I just had to follow their lead. It was thanks to these four that I was able to cover everything I wanted to cover. It was a messy process, but I think it all worked out in the end.

SG: I think sometimes when the characters take over is when some of the more interesting story-lines appear! One of the themes that stood out to me was the push-pull and tension between duty/obedience and love/freedom and what it means to be part of a family. Our four heroes – their stories told through alternative narratives by Ryoma and Yuri – are Aces and one of their responsibilities is to protect the peace and “be the guardians of freedom and survival”. Their teacher warns them that “Curiosity reaps knowledge but it can also mean death.”

RK: That scene with Lizbeth was definitely one of my favourites. I would read that scene over and still get excited. The tension about the things you mentioned really added to the story, because really, we face many decisions and have to choose what’s more important and what needs to be sacrificed. It’s all about choices.

SG: Appearance is also important in the novel, and how we are marked – physically and psychologically – by the systems in which we operate. I’m thinking here, for example, of the wonderfully called The Joker System (for the justice system!), the division of the country into Space, Hearts, Diamond and Clubs and, of course, the huge historical backstory about the BlackJack virus that resonates – disturbingly! – with what we are going through now. I have to say here, also, that reading this novel whilst living through a current Pandemic (Covid-19) was a most interesting experience! Can you talk to us a little bit about the underlying motif of luck and cards?

RK: I had so much fun researching about the cards. It was very enlightening. Rather than about luck, the Cards symbolized making a choice, taking risks, and making a gamble. The Aces definitely were not lucky. They were chosen. And they had to make many choices, and sacrifices. Rather than fate, the characters themselves, walked their own path. And that’s what I was hoping the readers would think about the symbolism of cards. It represents life itself and the decisions we make that carve the body of our life stories.

SG: Yes, of course – the Aces were chosen and, as we see, this did not mean they were lucky. So this is a fast-paced novel with lots of twists and turns but it also has a philosophical element to it. In a way what Yuri and her friends discover is the power of knowledge, understanding the real meaning of immunity and protection and how betrayal “can only happen when there is trust.” Was this something that was there from the start or something that emerged through writing the novel?

RK: Many twists and turns happened along the way when I was writing. As I’ve said, the characters started making their own decisions that was different from the initial plot-lines I thought about. It was a whimsical experience because once I gave these characters lives, everything just unravelled before me. Initially, the Director was super evil who just wanted power. And I didn’t realize I ended up loving his character the most that his motivation why he does what he does had to be different. And the power he had as a Joker became the double-edged sword that he made the choice of wielding, no matter the consequences. Even the plot twist at the end came to mind almost at the final stage of the process. I had to rewrite it and made it work somehow. Like the books that inspired me to write Death’s Kiss, happy endings can’t be achieved so easily and the story continues.

SG: Yes indeed, I’m wondering if there will be a sequel! So, we’ll end our chat, Regie, with some fun questions : 

  • Countryside or city? City
  • Boat or plane? Plane
  • Family or country? Family (That was me referring to Death’s Kiss!)
  • Coffee or tea? Tea
  • Cats or dogs? Pandas? (Good one!)

Thank you, Shauna for giving me the chance to talk about my baby, Death’s Kiss. And I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.

Regie, I enjoyed our chat and the world you brought me into in Death’s Kiss and I wish you all the best with your writing and illustrating! 

About Regie Khemvisay: She always loved stories and she had drawn and written two completed unpublished graphic novels. But she didn’t fall in love with writing a novel until she joined the Army and all she ever thought about is publishing her stories for more people to read. Death’s Kiss is her debut novel. She has a master’s degree in illustration and hoping to expand her audience by also publishing graphic novels and children’s book in the future. These days, Regie is often daydreaming and writing too many WIPS she hopes to publish one day.

Purchase Death’s Kiss on Amazon, or Barnes and Noble  and connect with Regie on her website.

With thanks to BookTasters  on Twitter (@BookTasters) for introducing me to Regie’s work. 

Writer Interview, Writers Chat

Writers Chat 27: Alan McMonagle on “Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame” (Picador: London, 2020)

Alan, You’re very welcome to another WRITERS CHAT (readers see our last chat here). Your second novel, Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame, was launched to a huge crowd in Galway City Library in early March 2020 – just before the Pandemic lock-down – and has been described by The Irish Times as a “vigorous novel” and “an infectious portrayal of brazen optimism”. Laura Cassidy high res jpeg(with Quote)

SG: Can you tell us, firstly, about the genesis of the novel, which explores serious themes of grief and denial through what we might call a playacting lens?

AMcM: That’s not a bad descriptor. At the most rudimentary level it began as a voice. A voice that acquired flesh and blood. A voice that announced itself as a young woman, a burgeoning actress with a dream to pursue. A voice that swings both high and low, that flip-flops between the world of dream, invention, imagination and the more concrete world of the everyday. It was a voice that also, at times, misbehaves. And once misbehaving kicks in, things have a chance to become interesting…

SG: Yes, how messiness is always interesting – where we find the good stuff! I was particularly taken with the structure of Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame. It is divided into five parts and each part follows (literally!) Laura Cassidy’s “Walk of Fame” so that we feel we are walking with her. I love the titles and how each part is inspired by a different starlet and theme – for example, Part 1 Barbara Stanwyck “Just be truthful – and if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” Seems like we should all be listening to that motto – especially the highly successful Imelda! Was this structure there from the start or did it come to you once you had the story down?

AMcM: The structure was born out of this playful lens you refer to in the previous question. And there was play aplenty involved early on, all in service to Laura’s perceived life as a famous star. I fabricated imaginary interviews which  Laura conducts with various journalists she is only too happy to wind up no end and lead down the garden path. From there other features, just as unlikely, quickly arrived. Acceptance speeches, movie pitches, interactions with directors, agents, film executives. I had great fun outlining a sequence of movie parts tailor-made for Laura, I even wrote an obituary for an her. Out of all this ‘play’ it is the mini-biographies of the starlets of yore that made the final cut. (Along with the rollercoaster life of Imelda J Ebbing.) And these bios had to be drastically cut down, from an initial number of over twenty, then fifteen, and finally to five – what a wrench that was. At times, I felt I was auditioning all these brilliant actresses from the era of classic cinema for a part in my novel. And now that I am talking this out with myself it occurs to me that this might be something interesting to explore in a piece of writing.

SG: That would be so interesting – a series of interviews with stars from the era of classic cinema. It sounds like you’re not quite done with the starlets and the star system! Laura Cassidy is well-drawn – she’s feisty, snappy, funny and endearing and also, at times, a very lonely and misunderstood person. Can you tell us a little about her development and journey as you wrote the novel?

AMcM: I think the death of her father looms large in Laura’s story. She witnesses his death. She is quite young when it happens. She also witnesses it at a crucial moment in her own life – she has just bagged the lead part in the school play and the first person she wants to share the good news with is the person who has planted this acting dream inside her to begin with, her father. I think she has a very complicated reaction to his untimely death. I don’t think Laura herself is aware of how and when this reaction is going to manifest itself. But it has damaged her psyche. There’s a fair old cocktail bubbling away inside her. A combination of grief and trauma, probably some guilt, she can do a nice line in denial. It’s a heady mixture, a combination that could potentially kipple her when it matters most. And so yes, Laura becomes a pocketbook of complications and contradictions; of uncertainty and confusion. She vacillates greatly between unusual levels of self-belief and deep-set fear; between self-sabotaging hope and blind optimism.

I find weighty themes such as grief, trauma, guilt very difficult to come at straight on. And of course setting out I wasn’t aware that these weighty themes were going to become a significant part of the story. My approach has to be more angular, slanted, with twists and knots and complications and contradictions. We’re in the realm of confusion and uncertainty. Chaos. And chaos is slippery, and tricky, tricky to meet head on. I think that as a writer it’s how I find my way towards that X on the treasure map. That X being a moment of discovery or realisation or revelation. And not knowing what this X might be is what kept bringing me back to the desk every day, to spend time with Laura, unearth what was making her tick – or, more accurately, not tick.

SG: I love that notion of slipping through the chaos towards discovery and finding moments of why. This brings us neatly on to the internal and external worlds of Laura. As much time as she spends in her head, her complex and witty self is revealed when she is with other people, even though it’s difficult for her. I’m thinking here of her relationship with Fleming and with her doctor, both of whom take her as she is. For example, speaking to her doctor she says

“Doc, you’ve been saving my life for a year now and I have to say I think you’re doing a terrific job. So I have no fears on that score. If you ever need a reference you know where to come.”

Laura is, as the doctor calls her “a charmer.” Can you talk a little bit more about this charm that brings us with her on her journey?

AMcM: Essentially, Laura is an unreliable narrator. And of course, as a writer, to a certain extent you must allow the reader in on this. So there is an attempt to strongly suggest – even from the get-go – that things are not going to go according to plan for Laura. This theatre/movie stardom dream of hers is going to remain out of reach. But as a counter to this I don’t allow Laura for one minute believe, certainly not in her interaction with the world, that she is not going to make it. And so the thing becomes a balancing act, a wire walk. And as is the way of wire walks, sometimes you fall. And when you fall, you’ve got to pick yourself up and go again. When we first meet her, I think there is a gap between where Laura is and where she would like to be. And for Laura, this gap becomes a place of invention, imagination and dream. And one thing I think the novel might be trying to do is emphasise or explore the power of dream and invention and imagination for those in the world who are more vulnerable than others. Explore the fine line between the language of dreams and reality. And so there is a version of herself Laura presents to the everyday world, and to those with whom she must interact in order to get through the days or her life. This so-called charm gets switched on. The humour and the wit. Lots of colour. After all, she sees herself as an actress, performing is second-nature. But we also become privy to the goings-on inside her head, when she is alone, contemplating, reflecting, in her own way dealing with all the headstuff that gradually declares itself and does it thing, as the dream and all that it might have entailed begins to unravel.

SG: Yes, the narrative captures that slow – and almost inevitable – unravelling quite beautifully. I’d say that most readers will identify with the difficulty of family: how we are defined by it, compared within it and have expectations imposed on us by it. Sibling rivalry and relationships are explored through the lenses of presence and absence, in particular, Laura’s relationship with her sister Jennifer and her young son Juan, Laura’s nephew. Can you talk a little about how you use humour, black humour and a lightness of touch to explore these themes?

AMcM: Laura and Jennifer. Obviously there are differences in their circumstances. Jennifer gets to fly the coop and ‘save the world’. Laura remains in the home house, in the throes of a much more interior journey, a journey into fantasy & delusion. Laura is clearly wary of, suspicious of Jennifer upon her return. She is dismissive and mocking of Jennifer. She definitely displays child-minding skills that, at best, can be described as questionable. Jennifer, too, initially offers her sunny side to the neighbourhood. There are humorous stories of her time abroad, she wants to tag along to the pub, shine in the presence of everyone and anyone. But, gradually, this is undermined. Her life is not going as smoothly as she would like everyone to believe. And so I think it’s fair to say they are both deluded in their separate and very individual approaches to the world. Laura with her hi-fantasy ambitions of stardom and Jennifer seemingly convinced she is some kind of modern day miracle worker. The humour, I think, becomes an attempt to throw light on the not-so-funny aspect of all of this. That is to say, how Laura and Jennifer have chosen to enter the world, get through the days of their lives. And for all their flaws and delusions and contradictions and mishaps and missteps, these respective approaches must be recognised and acknowledged as something valid.

SG: Yes, that resonates – that, despite ourselves, we do actually chose to enter the world and, as you say, get through the days of our lives in a certain way. So finally, let’s come to the acting, the stage, and the other side of this coin – that of grief. It always strikes me that there is something similar in acting to that of writing – it’s about escaping yourself and at the same time ‘becoming’ more yourself on the stage/page than off it. As Laura says

“For a time…. I could float, drift, hover wherever I liked, when the mood took me…I could be here and not here….I used to so enjoy imagining the world around me through the eyes of others….”

Without giving anything away, in Laura’s case it seems to be true that wanting to play the leading part in Streetcar Named Desire is more than just wanting that part. Her insistence and perseverance are both tragic and funny and I found myself despairing for her and also laughing at many of the scenes with the director Stephen (of the precisely and perfectly named Khaos Theatre). Was this something that emerged through the narrative and characterisation or something you were consciously interested in exploring?

AMcM: It’s a great question, as is your observation in relation Laura’s desire to snag this leading role she so craves being more than merely wanting the part.

There is something else at stake for her here, I feel. Pursuing her dream, not matter how unlikely her chances, may cost her dearly, but I suspect she has made this reckoning with herself at a very early time in her life and has decided that, come what may, chasing after whatever it is she is after will be worth it. The journey and all that it entails, hi-fantasy, setbacks, desperation and all, is what matters to her. I suspect she may feel trapped inside her own skin, that the only way she can become who she wants to be, or at least a semblance of who she wants to be, is through whatever viable outlet presents itself to her – in this case, through a life inhabiting many ‘roles’, a life performing, a life spent stepping in and out of the everyday world.

And again, I wonder has she realized that how she sets about getting through the days of her life will fall short of her expectations. It’s a complex question you’ve asked me, at least I think it’s complex, and I’m thinking about it as I write this, and yes, it is something I’m interested in exploring, and yes I do think it’s connected to the desire to create, to the magic place it comes from, to finding a way to be in the world and at the same time at a remove from it.

SG: Let us know what Laura has to say on that – maybe we could meet her 20 years from now….So lastly, five fun questions, Alan: 

  1. Theatre or Film? Yes!
  2. Dogs or Cats? Dogs.
  3. Coffee or tea? Coffee.
  4. Best ‘Coronavirus/Covid-19 Lockdown’ tip? Dance.
  5. Oh I love that one! So, what’s next on your ‘to read’ pile? Dance Prone by David Coventry.

SG: Thanks so much, Alan, for such thoughtful answers, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our Writers Chat. 

Readers, hear and watch Alan read: at Cuirt Festival  at The Live Network and at The Holding Cell

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Readers can purchase Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame from all good bookshops and keep updated with Alan on his website.

 

 

 

On Reading, Writers Read, Writing News

The Holding Cell Reading

I’m delighted to be reading live on YouTube on Saturday, 9th May at 8pm kindly hosted by Simon and Rozz over at The Holding Cell: Writers Reading Live from Their Homes

So tune in (click above or this link), sit back, and enjoy my short reading – prose and poetry – from Duality, the publication from my collaboration with artist Margo McNulty.

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Duality is available for purchase from redfoxpress on Achill Island.