Author of the Week - K.Z. Snow

Hi K.Z. and welcome to the blog. It feels strange welcoming you when you have been here umpteen times particularly on Fridays. But I'm doing the polite thing today and would like to say thank you for agreeing to be our Author of the Week, K.Z. Snow. K.Z is well known to just about everyone who visits the blog, even occasionally. She has been writing for decades and has produced 21 books which have been or will be published by Ellora's Cave, Loose Id, Liquid Silver, Samhain, Cerridwen, Changeling, MojoCastle, and Double Dragon. Another two to four novels and novellas are on the way, as well as a print edition of her fantasy trilogy for Ellora's Cave

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K.Z we know you from your frequent blog appearances and yet we don't, so would you like to tell us something about KZ the writer and whatever you want us to know about K.Z the person?

Thanks for the intro and the invite, Wave. There's nothing I can say about KZ the writer. Other people say those things for me. There isn't much to say about "the person," either. I'm pretty mellow but cursed with two traits that sometimes get me into trouble -- outspokenness and a skewed sense of humor. I also have an incorrigibly inquiring mind. As a result, evasive people and elusive subjects bug the snot out of me.

JLA (the man with whom I live) and I are as odd a couple as James Carville and Mary Matalin, but with the genders reversed. (For non-US residents: they're a married pair of political pundits - Carville is a liberal Clinton crony and Matalin is ultra conservative). We live on six Midwestern acres with two mutts and, outside the house, many well-fed birds including a bald eagle, sandhill cranes, and wild turkeys. We also have some interesting friends in low places. My biggest vices are a fondness for good beer and an unshakable case of penis envy. I have a very unfortunate passion for antiquarian books -- specifically, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American literature -- and once owned nearly every edition of Moby-Dick ever published ... except *sigh* the first.

How long have you been published and how did you get there? Did you come up through the fanfiction route like so many other authors?

About five years. It's been a long, circuitous route, with nary a word of fanfic along the way. At the suggestion of a former coworker, I started writing category romances quite a while ago. But I just couldn't tap into the formula very well. So I shelved those puppies and went on to write more "literary" fiction. Two agents later, and in spite of some very encouraging rejection letters, I ran out of steam and gave up writing for a long time. In 2004, after I was laid off from my job, I searched the Internet for freelance editing work. And I stumbled upon a creature I didn't know existed -- the e-book. Lo and behold, it appeared e-publishers, which produced these creatures, were primarily interested in acquiring romance fiction. Hot damn! I resurrected one of my contemporaries and one of my literaries, and both were immediately accepted by two different companies ... which, of course, eventually folded. But at least they gave me a foot in the publishing door.

Of all the books that you have written, is there one that you wish you could do over? Why?

Hell, I don't know. All of them. None of them. The criteria for success or failure of a book continually confound me. Editors' and readers' tastes continually confound me. So I write things that appeal to my imagination (since it's the only one I'm intimately familiar with), send off the manuscripts, and then duck. My back has been hurting bad lately.

What is your most important accomplishment as an author?

I have no accomplishments, unless sheer tenacity counts.

I am always amazed at the answers to this question - so here goes: What do you like best about being a published author? What do you hate about the business and wish would go away?

Aside from the creative process itself, clumsy as I might be at it, I adore some of the people I've met -- readers, fellow authors, editors, bloggers, reviewers. They've been a delight and have truly enriched my life. (Of course, some have been complete ass-wipes, but we won't go there.) What I hate is the promotional BS. I'm a very low-profile person who leads a very simple life, and I don't have either the desire or natural ability to "sell" myself. In addition, promotion often costs money, and I don't have that, either. I also find it hard to keep my trap shut when I'm frothing with indignation over something. I'm not used to silencing or censoring myself. (Actually, I don't froth with indignation very often -- it requires too much energy and leaves a mess -- so when I do, it's pretty well justified. At times like that, being constrained by the small-press world's unwritten rules of diplomacy can make me break out in hives!)

Which book is your best seller to date? (we're looking for free coffee on the blog when you get your next royalty cheque) *g*

'Fraid you're barking up the wrong author-tree, Wave! To tell you the truth, I can't answer that without going over all my royalty statements. I'm guessing the all-time weener would be one of my Ellora's Cave titles (Wing and Tongue keeps chugging along, probably because of the cover). But Looking for Some Touch got off to a good start. I think.

Which of your books do you love the most? Why?

There are two I dearly love. The first is Acts of the Saints, quite likely Samhain's worst-selling book ever. It's an ambitious, darkly dystopian kinda-sorta thriller with an unconventional love story (many, actually, of different sorts) and an anti-HEA conclusion. Not the sort of novel to brighten a reader's day, believe me. The ten-or-so people who've read it were really absorbed by it, but one friend reamed me out because of the ending. I found her reaction strangely gratifying. The second book is InDescent, which you ask me about below. I don't know why I love the blackest of my sheep so much, but love them I do. Of course, I'm also fond of the book I just completed. Bastards and Pretty Boys, a contemporary, is the new baby in the house, so right now I'm smitten with it, too.

You have written books that cover the spectrum of different pairings. Which one was the most difficult to write and why?

I've found it difficult to write m/f/m menages (the kind where the woman is the focal point because I've always been more interested in what the men were thinking, feeling and doing. What's more, male/female trip-sex began striking me as a copout, a cowardly way of putting men together without letting them be together. So I eliminated that problem by eliminating the m/f/m menages. Now it's the angel-demon-human hybrids in the Utopia-X series who are driving me crazy, but in a way I enjoy. Each character has a unique genetic mix, and each genetic mix comes bundled with unique psychological, emotional, and sexual issues. The more I write about these men, the more fascinating their issues get.

You did a post several months ago on another blog about alternative pairings. This discussion was two pronged - one was RL examples of alternative lifestyles and the other referred to a situation in one of your books where you said that the two male characters demanded to be together. This is subsequent to you publishing a book (Plagued) starring one of them with a woman. Because Plagued had a HEA, the publisher balked at releasing a new book with this couple and another man (essentially a menage, I suppose). Not being a writer I have never understood the premise of characters taking over a book and leading the writer in a different direction. How does that work exactly?

First of all, Obsessed, the follow-up to Plagued, does not contain a menage. It's strictly about two male friends surrendering to their longstanding attraction and struggling to redefine their relationship . And yes, one of them still has a live-in girlfriend. That was the problem. My then-editor suggested I go the threesome route, but I refused. Or rather, the characters refused. Why and how characters start taking on a life of their own remains a mystery to me. I assume this phenomenon is the result of a writer having an imagination that's too rich to operate in a normal way -- kind of like a two-cycle engine with the wrong gas-to-oil ratio. In other words, writers are all a little off kilter. So it's a good thing I'll never approach the greatness of Sylvia Plath or John Berryman. Letting characters tell me what they want is preferable to sticking my head in an oven or jumping off a bridge.

The second book in your Utopia -X series for Loose Id was released in March. The premise of a continuing series is that the readers should care sufficiently about the characters to invest their time, emotions and money to follow the series. Can you tell us what is special about this series that will make the readers want to follow it? My favourite character in this series is Pablo the former "giver" who was one of the main protags in book I, Looking for Some Touch. Will Pablo continue to have a major role in the series?

I can't tell readers anything. (See? Now here's where the huckster in me just says "F*** it" and lies down for a nap.) Man, I don't know what to say. I just tried to construct a complex, fully realized world populated by a diversity of complex, fully realized characters. I've tried to challenge them -- to act, to learn, to love, and to grow -- while remaining true to their natures. The third book in the series, Exploring Savage Places, should be out in June, and it takes the relationship of Tole and Ridley to a new level (they haven't had an easy time of it). Zee, who's sick of being "the angelic dickless wonder," tries to shed that image, with varying degrees of success. The world further expands, as well, and the storyline offers some glimpses into the characters' pasts. The fourth book will put Pablo and Win back on stage and maybe see another injection of the human element.

Can you tell us about your newest project InDescent? What do you want the readers to know?

InDescent is the longest novel I've written since Acts of the Saints. It's a contemporary m/m urban fantasy-romance coming soon from Liquid Silver. There isn't much about the book that's conventional, in terms of m/m romance or urban fantasy, so I'm girding myself for another slapfest. Still, I love this book like I love animals.... and that's a lot. I adore the central couple -- two flawed men who've been with me for a while -- and I like the story's overall concept. It's as much a journey of self-discovery as a magical quest.

A good introduction to InDescent is the novella Obsessed, mentioned above and published by Changeling Press. It isn't necessary to read this story first, but it does provide a more extensive background to the men's relationship, which evolves significantly from one book to the next. (I'm telling you right now, Wave, don't read this novel. It will raise your hackles. There's some smexxin' in it that involves the female of the species ... kind of. I can't really explain without dishing up some spoilers. But these brief and strange encounters are consistent with the central male character and essential to the plot, and they definitely do not come between the H and H.)

One of the problems I have with romance novels is that publishers and readers seem to insist on a HEA, whether or not it makes sense in terms of the story. Many times I read books where the HEA seems manufactured and artificial. What is your view as a writer on HEAs in general and in your stories in particular?

You're weird, Wave. For most readers, romance and HEA go together like love and marriage -- which, as we know go together like a horse and carriage. (Except this is the 21st century, and horses and carriages only exist in Amish communities, and the Amish frown on getting spunkified before getting hitched.) So ... Where was I again? Oh, yeah. I don't insist on HEA endings, either as a reader or as a writer. On the other hand, I don't strenuously object when they crop up. Characters have to work for them, though. And depending on their circumstances, some characters have to work harder than others. That's why waving my magic wand over the two men and a lady from Plagued and transforming them into a happy family would've been a colossal cheat. I also despise the whole "fated mate" shortcut wherein the hero sort of sniffs his way to his Other Half like a dog discovering its own butt. Not that I discount the notion of soulmates -- in fiction, anything is possible, and a soulmate is different from a fated mate -- but again, that doesn't mean characters shouldn't have to fight for what and who they believe in.

You have written several menage stories and have built up quite a following for these books. Are there any special strategies that you employ in your books to get your fans to buy into the concept of three are better relationship-wise than two?

Let me clarify. I've never structured any story around a permanent domestic menage. I think the concept is pure crap. So, strictly speaking, I've never written any "menage stories," only stories that contain menages -- one or two scenes at the most. They've always been passing situations that are somehow integral to the plot. And to my fantasy life.

K.Z. UNPLUGGED

Now we come to the section of the interview that I like to call Unplugged and I hope you'll play along.

What kind of man gets you going?

The kind who's breathing.

Almost every Friday, without fail, you drop by the blog to ogle the newest crop of hot young things and you stake false claims on some of them, on the basis of prior ownership. We are getting a little tired of your scheming so that you can cherry pick all of the best looking guys. Why should we let you continue to be a member of this very "elite" group? :) (We're only elite in our own little minds)

Uh-oh, you'd better not be referring to Wet Nathan with that snide comment about "prior ownership." Let me tell you something, baby girl, that man came crawling to me and begging to be claimed. Begging, I tell you, on bloodied knees! That alone not only qualifies me for membership in your group, it makes me the Grand, Exalted Pudendum of the group! And those Friday Firmies? Pah, they're mere trifles, temporary diversions. I don't cherry pick, either. I simply look for ways to get what I'm due. If I have to resort to creative solutions to foil the likes of Tam, Mary, Erastes, Katrina, and all the other Friday Floozies, so be it.

Your books have wonderful men as protags, do you ever wish sometimes when you're preparing dinner (you do cook don't you) that they WERE dinner? If so would you be like the meat in the sandwich or just the white bread waiting to be toasted? *g*

C-O-O-K is one four-letter word I've tried assiduously to keep out of my vocabulary. As for my male protags appearing, I wouldn't presume to expect anything from them except ... well ... maybe an hour's worth of subservience. Per diem. Then I'd reward them by letting them play with each other while I ran the camera and made occasional suggestions. In a strictly directorial capacity, of course.

Why don't you write nice little fluffy romances? You know the kind I mean, where boy meets boy (or girl), they have a little disagreement about makeup or nail polish or something equally insignificant, then they kiss, have sex and live happily ever after. (Personally I think those books would be nice to read sometimes instead of something like War and Peace.) :)

Been there, done that. Actually, even the three contemporary romances I have available at Cerridwen aren't all sweetness and light. Fluff and I, we don't get along so good. Maybe it's because of my life experiences. Killing two husbands has a way of coloring one's attitude.

What are you going to do now that you're famous (or infamous)? Are you going to ask Hollywood to bid on your latest books? Does this mean that the Friday hawt menz are safe now that you can have your very own casting couch?

Oh ferdachrissakes. You talk so silly, Wave. And the hawt menz? They're always safe ... unless my drool cup overflows while I'm standing over them, gawking.

Do you ever wish you could write full time? If so, what would you do with all the extra free time, other than write and check out manpaper?

I do write full time now (long story, not worth getting into). That's why I'm so effing broke. And I still have no free time.

Tell us something fun about KZ that no one (or hardly anyone) knows?

I once won an amateur-night contest at a strip club. What I lacked in physical attributes, I made up for in dancing ability. (Yes, this white girl can dance. ) Y'know, considering how uneventful my life has become, it's kind of surprising how many strange turns I took getting where I am. Many, many strange turns.

Thank you KZ.

Thank YOU, Wave.


So my interview with K.Z. confirmed one thing - she is one smart mouthed woman. She says her criteria for a man is one who is "breathing" yet every Friday she tries her best to hustle away with the prime picks on the blog. It's a shame, really, that she has managed to offend so many of us with her greed, especially Tam, but we have decided to let her into our exalted club because at other times she's quite likeable and not as much of a beaver (that's a Canadian term and I won't tell her the meaning). Suffice it to say that the beaver is a National treasure.

It's been a joy to interview K.Z., despite her frequent changes and rewrites to this interview which made me want to slap her. She's intelligent, acerbic, fun, brash and strangely unassuming at times . Definitely not material for the black chicks club where you have to have balls in order to survive the membership initiation. :) Nevertheless I think she has possibilities.

K.Z. has been most gracious during the interview and I would welcome her back at any time. Seeking Something Wicked is available now and I can't wait for book 3 in the Utopia X series Exploring Savage Places, when Zee "the dickless wonder" gets either his just desserts or finds true love. InDescent will be released in a couple of weeks by Liquid Silver so watch for it. The author is giving a free download of any book on her backlist to a lucky reader who leaves a comment on her interview. There were some tough negotiations for this concession and I had to agree that Tam would give up Nathan for a week so that he would be able to devote his full repertoire of talents to service serve K.Z. I didn't have much choice because she's a tough negotiator. Sorry, Tam.


Contact Information for K.Z. Snow.

K.Z. Snow's blog
email: kzsnowflake@gmail.com