Gates of the World Series

Guest Post: “Just Damn Write” by K.M. McKinley

Civilian Reader Guest Post , , ,

mckinleykm-2-cityoficeWrite what you want to read, write what you know, but just damn write.

I’ve read a lot of advice about writing. I’ve quizzed dozens of writers about how they do it. I’ve had kindly publishers and agents and assorted industry types give me tips. And now, having been a writer of fiction for several years, I reckon I’m in a position to start dishing out advice myself with all the puffed-up simian surety every slightly drunken expert has.

I am often slightly drunk.

Using the power of my brain, I reckon I can boil down much of the advice I have received to the above the statement. It’s not the whole story — for who could be so bold as to assert such a simple truth and mean it it wholeheartedly! The world is a whirling, multi-dimensional quantum construct whose elements, seen and unseen, are interlinked in ways incomprehensible to our puny mortal minds. Continue reading →

Interview with K.M. McKINLEY

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , ,

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is K.M. McKinley?

You can call me Kay. I’m a writer. There, I said it. I have been for several years now. Before that I worked as a journalist and editor for fourteen years or so. I live in Yorkshire, in the UK. The Iron Ship book bio is out of date, as I wrote it before moving back to where I grew up.

Your new novel, The City of Ice, will be published by Solaris this month. It looks rather good: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

It’s an epic, multiple point of view fantasy set in a world undergoing an industrial revolution fuelled by the science of magic. Six siblings make their way through a society undergoing massive upheaval, while a terrible threat from ancient days makes itself known. The world is lovingly crafted, and hides deep mysteries. I’d recommend it. Continue reading →