Ladies and gentleman, I give you the talented author, Kelly Harmon







Kelly, what do you think made you into a writer?

Growing up, I never wanted to be anything other than a writer.

My mom taught me to read before school and I spent every spare minute reading whatever I could find. I remember telling her I loved reading so much because I could see the stories in my head.

I think there was a natural transition from the seeing stories in my head to wanting to tell them.


How long have you been writing? How long have you been published?

I’ve been writing forever…first printing, then longhand and finally tapping out stories on my Mom’s upright Royal until my hands and fingers hurt. I begged for an electric typewriter…finally got one when I was twelve. There was no turning back after that.

I took a detour from fiction, deciding that a degree in journalism would be better than an English degree. I started working for a local newspaper as a stringer when I was still in high school…so, I was first professionally published at 14.

Tell us about Blood Soup your new book, Blood Soup

Blood Soup is a story about murder, betrayal and comeuppance. The story opens with a heavily pregnant Queen Piacenza. Her husband, King Theodicar naturally hopes for a male heir. The Queen is from Omera, where the first born rules, no matter the sex of the child. This causes no end of friction between them. The Queen’s nursemaid, Salvagia, casts runes about the birth. Over and over, they yield the same message: “A girl child must rule or the kingdom will fall to ruin.” The women are convinced the baby will be a girl.



When the queen finally gives birth, the nurse and the king are equally surprised, and Theodicar is faced with a terrible choice. His decision will determine the fate of his kingdom. Will he choose wisely, or will he doom Borgund to ruin?

Blood Soup is now available on Kindle.

It can also be purchased as a paperback from Amazon.

How about an excerpt?

“Do you want to learn about your sister?” King Theodicar asked.

“Go on.”

“Salvagia had a set of runes, and she cast them over and over and over as Pia’s pregnancy advanced. Always, the answer was the same: ‘A girl child must rule or the kingdom will fall to ruin.’”

“Do you believe that, Father?”

“Your mother did. And so did Salvagia. They came from Omero, where the eldest born ruled, not just the eldest male. They believed your sister should rule.”

“But, did you believe?”

“I think your mother wasn’t meant to bear children. She was little and frail. Her labor arrived early—almost too early for you to survive. Your sister was born first. She was tiny, and just as delicate as your mother. Pia died the moment she was born, without even seeing her. Salvagia cut the girl’s cord and handed her to me. Then your mother’s belly contracted, and we realized there was another babe: you.”

“So, you killed my sister so she wouldn’t take the throne.”

“It wasn’t like that at the time.” Anguish washed across Theodicar’s face. “The girl was frail, but you were worse. Salvagia could only save one of you. She was certain you wouldn’t last through the night, and she tried to convince me that your weakness fulfilled the prophecy. I wouldn’t listen to her. I told her to sacrifice the girl so you could live.”

“The girl, the girl, the girl. Has my sister a name?”

“Her life was given for yours before she was named. I’d asked Salvagia to remove the body afterward, so there would be no question about who would rule after me.” He looked down at his feet. “I’m fairly certain Salvagia named her, though she never told me so.”

“How did my sister save me?”

“Her blood, Amal. You drank of her blood to strengthen your own.”

Amalric’s hand tightened on the glass in his lap. He swallowed hard, imagining he could taste the tinny flavor of blood on his tongue. It was worse than he first thought: not only was he winner by default, but he was beast—some variation of an incestuous cannibal—alive only because he drank his sister’s blood.


That was great! What's your next published work?

I’ve got a short story coming out in the Bad Ass Fairies 3 anthology: In All Their Glory. It’s being launched at Balticon over Memorial Day Weekend.

“Selk-Skin Deep” is an alternate history of the Vietnam War. Cade Owen is a selke – a Scottish fairy who is a seal and lives in the ocean, but can shed his skin and become human – and a Navy SEAL. He’s been assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin.

It was a bit of a stretch for me as far as genre is concerned, but it’s growing on me as my current favorite.

I’ve also got a non-fiction chapter being published later this year in “How to Write Paranormal. It’s all about finding and creating critique groups and how to give a good critique.

Where else can we find your work?

My story the Dragon and San Marino was published in the Ricasso Press Anthology Black Dragon, White Dragon. Since the rights reverted, I’ve re-titled my story “The Dragon’s Clause” and made it available on both Kindle and html at iFiction




What's your favorite aspect of the writing life? What's your least favorite?

I like writing the first draft the best. That’s when my fingers are flying across the keyboard and the words are flowing almost faster than my hands can keep up.

My least favorite aspect is the first edit after I’m finally finished: having to pick the story apart, fix inconsistencies, fill in a major plot holes that have developed, make the writing smooth. This part always takes so long…and I’d rather be ripping out the next tale.

What is your writing routine? Do you have one?

I work full time, so I write in the evenings when I get home. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a few solid hours on the weekend to write. This past October, the members of my critique group went away on a writing retreat. It worked out so well we’re planning to make it an annual thing.

Do you ever get blocked? If so, how do you deal with it?

I seldom get blocked, but when I do it’s because I realize I don’t know where the story is going. If the words won’t flow, I sit back and examine the plot. I usually haven’t thought it through. Once I work out the problem, the words usually start flowing again.


What advice do you have for beginning writers?

Join a critique group. Even if you’re the best writer you know, you (and your writing) can benefit by running it by someone else.

What's the thing you wish you could hire someone else to do or wish you didn't have to do as a writer?

Organizing the promotion! I don’t mind talking about my book, answering questions, doing readings, etc., but I do hate putting it all together. I’d love it if someone else could do all the legwork: setting up interviews, mailing out press releases, answering email, sending my books out for review, etc. so that I could spend more time writing. Just tell me when and where to show up. Until then…leave me alone to write!

When and where do you do the bulk of your writing?

I write mostly in the evening after work. If I didn’t have to get up at 5 a.m., I’d stay up till early morning hours writing: I’m definitely a night person. The later it is, the more I get accomplished. I think there’s something about the darkness closing out all other distractions which enables me to be so productive.

I also like the solitude of night…there’s something kind of liberating about being up at night while everyone else is sleeping.


What is the best reader or reviewer comment you've ever received?

Nerine Dorman gave Blood Soup a “You Need to Read” rating at You Gotta Read Reviews. She said, “I will happily pick up other works by this gifted author. She is definitely someone to keep an eye out for.”

That tickles me every time I read it.

What public appearances and other events do you have coming up?

I’ll be at Balticon in May over Memorial Day weekend for the launch part of Bad Ass Fairies 3: In All Their Glory. I’ll also be teaching a seminar about Submitting Short Fiction during the convention.

In October, I’ll be at Capclave in Rockville, MD.

And where can people find you on the web? Contact info?

My website: http://kellyaharmon.com
Twitter: @kellyaharmon

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelly-A-Harmon/181895972644


Thanks, Kelly, and best of luck with all your work!