The Literary Lair

I know I haven't posted in a while and I figured I could make it up to you guys by posting an author interview with Kevin Krohn (the amazing author of Severed Ties Vol. 1 and soon to be Severed Ties Vol. 2.) You can find my review for Severed Ties Vol. 1 here. Enjoy!


1. When were you first interested in writing?
I enjoyed writing at an early age. My mom still has a book I wrote, probably in first grade, that was laminated and bound. It was a school project, and I thought it was so cool that we laminated and bound them so it seemed like a big deal at the time. It was about G.I Joe!

2. How did you come up with your protagonist, Nyne?
I just wanted the main character to be someone completely different from who'd you expect to be commiting these greusome murders, and to make people think about the murderers that are out there. Most of them grew up basically the same as all of us did, so why not tell the story from that time in their life. Besides that, female assassins are probably one of the most fascinating types of people I can think of.

3. Did you find writing in the point of view in a different gender difficult at any point of your writing?
I really thought it would make the story that much more intriguing to make the character a female. It is not as shocking to write about a male killing people. One of the complaints I have read in some reviews is that Nyne isn't believable because she jumps from emotion to emotion so frequently and is constantly changing moods, but I guess those reviewers haven't run into the same females I have...because I thought those moodswings gave a realistic perspective into an unsure female questioning her surroundings.

4. Which of your characters would you say you're most like personality-wise?
People that know me can find my personality in each of the characters, but the one that is the most like me would be Nyne's love interest, Eric.

5. How did you come up with the story line for "Severed Ties?"
I love stories with big twists, crazy situations involving normal people. I am a big fan of movies like Old Boy and Memento that turn the story upside down with shocking surprises.

6. Was any research involved while writing "Severed Ties?"
No research. I let the story kind of piece itself together as I wrote it. I grew up in Portland, OR, so I had the story take place there since I was familiar with the locations I wanted to use. I did a little research for some perspective towards explaining the end of Volume II, though.

7. Do you have any specific habits for when you write?
I have made it a habit to not go back and try to rewrite while I am writing. When I started I spent so much time reworking paragraphs that the story would never move along. I make sure I just keep moving forward and will go back at a later date to rework it.

8. Do you write by typing, by hand, or both?
I have to write by hand. I can't keep a fluid flow of thoughts if I type, most likely becuase of my hunt-and-peck skills. The reason I named my publishing company SpiralBound Publishing is because I write in a good ol' spiralbound notebook.

9. Do you have a favorite spot for writing?
There is a small coffee shop up the street from my house that sits at the base of the mountain. I like to sit in there and write...plus the people watching can trigger some good ideas from time-to-time.

10. Any words for other aspiring authors?
I refuse to let people tell me what they think my story should be. I am pretty selfish in that sense. Just write what you feel and let it stand on it's own merit.

Thanks so much Kevin for taking the time and answering these questions for us.

Kevin Krohn's Myspace

This is a Severed Ties Vol. 2 Promo. Please note: I did not create this thus I do not take any credit for this promo video.

-Syn