Interview With Keith C Blackmore

Jay Darkmoore

Keith C Blackmore is a Canadian author with a wide range of titles, from horror and dark fantasy to heroic fiction and post-apocalyptic stories. His following has grown enormously over his career and has recently signed a deal with Podium Publishing to bring his incredible stories to live through audio, which is exactly how I found him.

His acclaimed zombie apocalyptical series ‘Mountain Man,’ has captured not only my heart, but readers around the world, and has been opted for film *fangirl scream*.

Keith is not only an incredibly talented writer, whose stories are not only both terrifying, thrilling and laced with hilarious dark humour and dialogue, but a brilliant and approachable guy, who stands above other authors with his personality, and his willingness to interact with those that follow him.

Although a prolific and very successful author, Kieth likes to keep to the shadows, and doesn’t like to be in the limelight.

As a testament to Keith’s willingness to engage with his readers, he has very kindly taken the time to complete a list of questions that I have been burning to ask him for longer than I would like to admit.

Mountain Man - Book One - By Keith C Blackmore

Keith C Blackmore is a Canadian author with a wide range of titles, from horror and dark fantasy to heroic fiction and post-apocalyptic stories. His following has grown enormously over his career and has recently signed a deal with Podium Publishing to bring his incredible stories to live through audio, which is exactly how I found him.

His acclaimed zombie apocalyptical series ‘Mountain Man,’ has captured not only my heart, but readers around the world, and has been opted for film *fangirl scream*.

Keith is not only a greatly talented writer, whose stories are not only both terrifying, thrilling and laced with hilarious dark humour and dialogue, but a brilliant and approachable guy, who stands above other authors with his personality, and his willingness to interact with those that follow him.

Although a prolific and very successful author, Kieth likes to keep to the shadows, and doesn’t like to be in the limelight.

As a testament to Keith’s willingness to engage with his readers, he has very kindly taken the time to complete a list of questions that I have been burning to ask him for longer than I would like to admit.

JD - Hi Keith, Thank you so much for agreeing to do this 😊 I have only a few questions and I would love to know your answers!

KCB - No sweat, but I hate it already :) (I hate interviews)

Questions -

JD - What did you want to be when you were growing up?

KCB - A movie director.

JD - How did you get into writing, and how did you decided that you wanted to do it as a career?

KCB - When my guidance counsellor tried to hide his smile when said I wanted to be a movie director, I thought “Maybe I should adjust my career goals accordingly…” so…. I thought about writing….

JD - Do you prefer reading a series, or stand-alone novels?

KCB - Both are fine, but I prefer series that are finished. I can binge that way.

JD – When it comes to writing, do you prefer a series or a stand alone?  

KCB - Both are fine, but I think lean towards short series and not long ones.

JD - Kindle, paperback, hardback or audio?

KCB - Kindle, then paperback, if it’s cheap. Hardback is optional. I’m not into audio at all, but I understand the appeal.

JD - How do you see the publishing world changing in the next few years?

KCB - I think audio is booming, but other than that, I don’t see any new formats coming forth. There might be a model in there for writers to write on their sites, and have readers pay what they think is worth either before, during, or at the end. With a minimum dollar amount needed… but it would take a lot of effort on the writer’s part, as well as implementing a system—a third party pay site, I would suspect—to pay the writer for his/her efforts. Probably out there already…?

JD - Who is your inspiration for your work?

KCB - No one at the time of answering this question. I do it because I like it… and thankfully, people like to read/listen to my stories. For now. I figure I’m two bad books away from washing dishes at the local hotel.

JD - In the story ‘The missing Boatman,’ we see personifications of Death, Pain and other emotions and entities. It also raises the question of the importance of Death in the world. What make you come up with that idea? Are you religious?

KCB - Yep, I’m religious. Not overly so, but enough. As for the idea, it’s nothing new. I thought it was original  (ie what if people stopped dying, all at once. How long would it take for people to realize it? What would be the implications? ). However, since putting it out there (and even while it was being published ) I’ve seen four or five tv/movies with the same concept. There’s a back story there as well. I remember, back in the day when I was still submitting, I sent a copy of the manuscript to a literary agent in LA. Never hear a word back from the agent, but a year or so later, I see a tv show and a movie with the same premise. No doubt a coincidence… but still, disappointing.  Like thinking you’re the only kid on the street with a shiny new bike, and the day you roll it out to show the world, another kid rides by on the exact same bike….

JD - What do you think happens when we die?

KCB - I’m not exactly sure, but I know I’ll find out ….one day.

JD - Let’s talk about your career. You have a varied taste in books that you have created, from horror, to heroic fantasy. Why the expansive taste, and what is next for you?

KCB - Grew up reading Science fiction, fantasy, and heroic fantasy,  gradually went into horror, and later on crime fiction… Started reading westerns as my grandfather read them lots. A regular fiction story if something catches my eye. Had a military fiction kick when Tom Clancy was doing them. Later on got into Haruki Murakami (he’s very surreal). It’s good to take a look at different genres, just to see how folks do things. That’s pretty much it. I try and write stories I’d like to read. Sometimes it works, sometimes not….

And next story will be a return to heroic fantasy, or, as I’ve learned, my stuff is more grimdark…

JD - What do you enjoy about writing in specific genres?

KCB - Depends on the genre. Horror fiction I can play with the language a lot more than, say, fantasy.  Never really thought about why I like writing those genres. I’m sure there’s a reason in there somewhere….

JD - Your dialogue and descriptions are both chilling, hilarious and very tongue in cheek at times. How do you come up with them, and how do you choose the dialogue for your characters?

KCB - Everywhere and nowhere. Listening to people talk in the shops, at the bars, anywhere. Even just talking with a friend, some expressions might come up in the spur of the moment that are pure creative lightning…. And when that happens, be sure to have a pen and paper nearby, to write them down and save them for later. Always have a notepad with you….

And, regarding dialogue, this is weird, but I think if you allow your characters to live and breathe and interact,  if you give them something of a personality, and you do it right, they will provide the dialogue themselves. You’ll discover their voices. If that happens, let them talk….  the problem then becomes… knowing when to shut the conversation down.

JD - What do you do when you’re not writing?

KCB - Housework. Running errands. Cooking. Playing PC games. Watching TV or movies. Reading (which I need to be doing more of). Exercising. I like putting together 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. Sleeping….

JD - What is your favourite line / quote from your books?

KCB - From one of mine? Oh, I don’t know. Can’t think of any….

JD - Do you have any odd writing habits / rituals? 

KCB - Don’t think so….but I’m not that self-aware of my own habits… when writing that is. I do use a timer, to keep track of 20 minute sprints… I write for 20 minutes and then, when the alarm goes off, I’ll get up and move around for about 5 minutes or so. Got that from Chris Fox’s “5000 Words Per Hour”. Great book if you’re looking on ways to increase your productivity.

JD - Do you plot? Pants? Or somewhere in the middle?

KCB - I do have a mental checklist of story points I want to get to, and work towards them, so that is, in essence, plotting, I guess. To a degree.  I do not do any extensive plotting. I usually know what direction I want the story to go, certain points/beats I want to reach, but if a character does something I don’t expect, I’ll let it flow. See where it ends up.

So, somewhere in the middle, I guess.

JD - What goes through your mind when you sit down to a blank page with a word count showing zero?

KCB - The opening scene, and how to best present it, along with any dialogue that might happen. There is no magic. Not really. You sit down and you work at it, and hopefully, it will be fun and flow.  And maybe even crackle a little. In the final stages, the polishing, I’ll go back and read, and if a line comes off blah, I’ll try and infuse some colour in there. Try and get creative. Try… sometimes, that is. Sometimes I’ll leave a plain line as it. There is a danger of becoming too colourful, so striking a balance is important, too.

JD - Do you struggle with writer’s block?

KCB - Yes, at times I do.  I’ll write myself into knots every now and again and it will take some time to get out of them. If that happens, it’s usually because I’ve lost the thread of the story, and a quick read through of everything that has happened before usually unblocks everything.

JD - You can only save one – Pizza or Alcohol. Which do you choose?

KCB - Rough one. They do go so well together. Pizza.

JD - What is your favourite scene that you have written?

KCB - Ah, can’t think of any right now. They are all my babies, but I think the writing is improving with each new book. Better wording, being less wordy, less repetition, etc.

JD - What is your writing process like? What challenges do you face when creating?

KCB - Pretty straightforward. Sit butt in chair and try for at least 2000 words a day. Between 2K and 3K is good. Anything about 4K is great. Some days it happens, and some days… it does not.  The biggest challenge is being just sitting down and consistent, which I have to improve upon. I want to produce more, however, in a day. Upwards of 5k. Even 6 or 7….

JD - What advice do you have writers that are either considering starting writing, or are at the start of their careers?

KCB - Do it, but don’t give up the day job. I will save you that bit of stress. Do not do as I did. Keep your day job and write in the evenings, on weekends, or whenever you can, but be consistent. Sit yourself down and write. Be consistent with your word counts, whatever they may be for the time you give yourself. Make no mistake, it’s work…. It’s a lot of fun, but, yeah, it’s still work. Especially when you get into the editing and polishing….and don’t skimp on that either. Hire a fresh set of eyes, preferably one with a proven track record, to look at your work when it’s time to edit.

And remember, it’s still a good time to be a writer.

There’s a lot more, so much more, but that might be the biggest, most important piece of advice. Nothing else matters if you don’t sit down and write.

JD - To you, what is more important – Plot or characters?

KCB - Characters.

JD - Anything else you would like to add for the reader to enjoy? A favourite quote? Something about yourself? Some words of wisdom?  

KCB - We’re all different, so don’t take everything I’ve said too seriously. If you write, the biggest challenge will be to sit down and actually write. If you can make that part of your day, consistently, you will do well.

If you want to check out some of Keith’s work, here is the link to his website.

Thanks for checking in!

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