Today’s interview is with Kip McKnight, author of “What Comes After,” one of the stories in Envision: Future Fiction.

Synopsis: Communication with researchers on planet Neuro has gone silent, and a Rescue Specialist must find out why. What he discovers threatens to unravel his sanity.

Kip, what prompted you to write “What Comes After”?

I have dreams all the time that have sci-fi settings, but the details are always hazy. The idea for “What Comes After” came from a collection of vague memories of those dreams. I remember I was visiting some planet and there was a scientist there who was in charge of everything, and something bad had happened. I thought that writing a short story about that basic premise would work well for the Envision anthology.

How did you come up with the title?

The scientist in my dream wrote those words on a wall.

What was the hardest thing about writing the story?

I was trying to go down the rabbit hole of human depravity to the maximum extent that I could within the confines of a couple thousand words. Doing that while also creating a likable character the reader would enjoy spending time with was a challenge for me.

And the easiest?

I think the story concept was already all there, from dreams. I just had to sit down and do the work of writing it.

Is any part of “What Comes After” based on real-life experience, or is it all imagination?

It is all imagination, except for Bobby’s quirk of talking to himself. I talk to myself and can’t help it. I thought that by having Bobby talk to himself like I do, it would add a sense of comic relief to an otherwise dark story.

Does the story contain a message?

I am sometimes a bit cynical about human nature. I think that comes out pretty strong in “What Comes After”.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote a couple of novels in my early twenties that were real stinkers, then stopped writing for years because I was discouraged with their results. My New Year’s Resolution for 2015 was to write every day, and it has been going well for a little over a year now.

What first attracted you to writing?

I’m a huge introvert, so writing is absolutely my form of creative expression.

What’s the best thing about being an author?

It’s so much fun. It’s also therapy.

And the worst?

Writing through discouragement. You just have to keep going.

Can you offer any advice to other writers?

Read and write every day. Don’t write just for the dream of becoming the next literary superstar; do it because you love doing it.

What types of stories do you like to read?

I read over 40 novels in 2015. Over a dozen were horror novels, a handful were short story collections, a few were middle grade fantasy novels, a few were young adult novels, a handful were science fiction, a few thrillers, a biography, one historical drama, three or four books on the craft of writing, a couple H.G. Wells novels, and some other things. My interests are everywhere, but mainly in speculative fiction.

Which writers inspire you?

Richard Matheson. I read three volumes of his short story collections last year, along with three or four of his novels, in about a six-week span. In my mind, at least, he’s the supreme master of the short story. Also: Stephen King, Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum, JK Rowling, Anne Rice, and anybody that can entertain you but also make you feel something when you read.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I work on more than one project at a time, so if one project is giving me trouble, I work on something else. After the project giving me trouble has sat for a little bit, seeing it with fresh eyes usually solves the problem. If after doing that a handful of times, I still run into a road block, the idea gets shelved and I move onto something else. I have some work that will never again see the light of day, and I’m okay with that.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on yet another revision of my young adult fantasy/sci-fi novel, periodically editing a horror novella, tweaking a couple of short stories, and working on the first draft of a middle-grade fantasy novel.

Do you write every day?

Yes. Almost always at night after my family is settled in. Reading and writing are my hobbies.

Would you be willing to share a few lines of your current work in progress?

The following is from “Caveman Carnage,” included in the young adult Seven Deadly Sins: Envy anthology published by K.T. Stephens:

How much time do you spend doing research?

I do enough research to be able to tell the story and make it hopefully seem authentic.

Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

“Read a lot and write a lot.” ~ Stephen King.

Please tell us all about you.

I’m 32, married with a four-year-old son, and live and work in Virginia. I’ve been a reader all of my life. One of my earliest memories is of my mother reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to me before bedtime. She gave me a love for reading, so in a way anything I write is automatically credited to her. Without a love for reading, I never would have bothered with writing. I served six years in the U.S. Army National Guard and did one tour overseas. I figured one tour was enough, so I didn’t re-enlist. At the moment, when I’m not at work, I spend quite a bit of time with my son playing with Star Wars action figures in front of the TV, which usually has Star Wars Legos episodes playing in the background.

The writing project I’m excited most about right now is my YA fantasy/sci-fi novel, Tetranis, in which the main characters awaken from hypersleep a thousand years after their ship crash lands. They find their ship abandoned, and leave it to discover that Tetranis is a planet ruled by a godlike dictator who has been using the ship’s inhabitants as human sacrifices. It is slow going, but I’m not in a hurry to publish. I’m writing for the love of writing at the moment, not with the goal of making big bucks (but maybe someday!). For now, I’m content with the joy of reading/writing in the evenings until I fall asleep.

Would you like to share an embarrassing or funny moment with us?

One of my first dates with my wife was, of course, a movie. The movie theater was about full, but we squeezed into two seats at the top of the theater. My wife was to my left. A woman I didn’t know was to my right. I always put my drink in the cup holder on the right. But the woman had already claimed that spot for her drink. No big deal. I put mine on the left. As the movie progressed, I became thirsty. Not thinking about it and reacting entirely on muscle memory, I grabbed the lady’s drink and took a big ole slurp out of it. She noticed immediately, but I pretended I hadn’t done anything and put it back. My wife made me apologize and buy the woman a new soda. Her boyfriend was next to her, and he looked pretty big. Luckily, he didn’t pulverize me for the mistake.

Where do you see your writing career in ten years?

I hope to have a couple novels out there, a few dozen short stories, and a couple of novellas. The ideas are in my head and some have already been put into first drafts; it’s just a matter of staying committed to the craft.

What do you think the publishing world will look like in ten years?

I think self-pub, indie, and small press will continue to grow. I think there will be mergers with the big publishers. It will continue to change, but if you want to someday reach millions of readers and hope to land on the bestseller list, I think the best bet will still be trying to find an agent to represent your novels.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Turn off those video games and read and write more. Stop procrastinating. Understand you will get discouraged, but work through it.

Thank you, Kip. I look forward to reading more of your writing.

Thanks, Kathy. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be included in the Envision: Future Fiction anthology. I enjoyed reading it quite a bit, and it’s humbling to appear alongside so many other great authors.

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