We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carolyn Kay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Carolyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Stepping into writing professionally was a huge thing for me. It wasn’t a financial risk–I still have my government career, but it was an emotional one. I’d never really put myself out there in a space where rejection was a matter of course or I wasn’t guaranteed a win. I’d always taken the safe bets.
Initially, writing was something I started as a way to cope with issues with my now ex, and was just for me. I had a Star Wars story in my head, so I wrote it down. Several people read the story and said it was good, so I put it out there on a fan fiction site and it got some traction. That feedback filled a void I wasn’t getting elsewhere, so I thought I’d try writing something I could sell. I have yet to finish the first novel I started–it was an idea outside of my skill set at the time. So I started writing short stories and submitting them to magazines. I got rejected. A lot. It hurt, but my partner kept encouraging me, and my stubborn streak won out.
I kept writing. Some of my short stories started getting accepted into small anthologies, and I wrote the first book in my steampunk/fantasy series. To date, I’ve completed the series, written another novel, and have twelve published short stories.
I can’t say writing has gotten any easier, or that it’s not an emotional roller coaster at times. It’s hard, and the rejections never really stop. But I love doing it. I love hearing what people think of my stories, signing my books at events, and being asked to write in other people’s worlds. I’m really glad I took that risk.
Carolyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Gen X scientist, gardner, geek, writer, and photographer. I started Ashelon Publishing with my husband, Chaz Kemp, an amazing illustrator and creative. Ashelon Publishing came about because we wanted creative control over my book covers for my Tales of Galessel trilogy, and to expand the world of steampunk outside of the overly-common upper crust English setting. We wanted to put the punk back in steampunk. Our tagline is, “The 1800s happened everywhere,” because it did – there’s a whole world outside of Victorian England. Ashelon’s goal is to bring diversity to the genre and to scifi and fantasy in general.
Not only have we published my stories, but we also created a 52-card oracle deck filled with culturally diverse characters in a steampunk setting. (Chaz did all the heavy lifting on that one. I just helped with the accompanying book.)
I’m really proud of what we’ve created together and the projects we’re currently working on. Ashelon has branched out beyond steampunk, but we maintain our rebel spirit in everything we do.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
The image of the starving or crazed artist is a myth. Granted, both might be true at one time or another over the course of a creative life, but neither starving nor mental health issues are conducive to creating great art. Artists need support. We need supportive friends and family, and sometimes we need financial support or someone to help take the load off so our brains have room to come up with cool and interesting stuff. We can’t do this alone.
Another thing that’s likely hard to understand is why we keep doing what we do even when we say we hate it. I don’t know a single creative who’s on cloud nine all the time. Art is hard, and we will complain, but we aren’t going to stop because we can’t. It’s part of who we are. It’s a passion that keeps us going, even when we rail against it.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing my work take on a life of its own once it’s out in the world. I never know how my stories or my photography are going to affect someone, or what they’ll take away from it. I love hearing that my bird photos have brought a smile to someone who was having a bad day, or that they read one of my books in one sitting. We need more joy in the world, and if I can provide that for someone when they need it most, that’s worth all the effort that went into my art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carolynkayauthor.com/
- Instagram: @bewitchinghips
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolynKayAuthor
- Twitter: @bewitchinghips
- Other: Threads & BlueSky: @bewitchinghips
