Stephen Graham King interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I’m Stephen Graham King and I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Queer space opera writer. Street photographer. He/They. Aspiring mensch

When did your love of books begin?

As soon as I was old enough, Saturday mornings were for a trip to the library. My dad would drop my mum off at the grocery store to shop, then he and I would go on and he’d pick out books for them, and I would get to spend the time in the kids section picking out books for myself. Reading was always a part of our household, and the love of reading that they instilled in me has never waned. 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

The earliest sparks were in a creative writing class in high school. It was invitation only, and there were only around ten of us. But there were a couple of us artsy, drama kids, cheerleaders, a football player, a couple of religious girls. It was a group that never would have associated otherwise. We would study a form, then write in that form, and anonymously critique each other. It’s still one of my favourite memories, and I think it really ignited in me the desire to eventually tell my own stories. 

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

While I have been writing since I was young, I didn’t publish until I was around 40. There were a lot of lapses when I was focused on other things, or just not believing that the stories I wanted to write had a place in the world. But when I was in my late thirties, I was diagnosed with a cancer that kills 90-95% of the people who get it. And I used writing to process the experience as it was happening. And that really levelled me up, I think. It gave my words a depth that they’d never had before. 

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

It’s a hard business. You work by yourself and even if you publish, you often don’t get feedback on how your work is being received or a lot of money. But if you do it because it’s something you love to do, because you love the process, then there’s always something there for you. And I think it’s really important to write the thing you think is missing from the world, the story that burns in you to be told. Don’t follow trends because they’ll likely have passed by the time you get your work out there. 

Tell us about your book/books:

My first published novel is called Chasing Cold, which was an odyssey, really. Based on a big change I’d made in my own life to leave home and start fresh in a new city where I knew no one. It wasn’t until later that I realized that I had science-fictionalized my own life!  Since then, I’ve been devoting my energy to my Maverick Heart series, which I actually started many years ago, but came back to. There are four books out now, Soul’s Blood, Gatecrasher, A Congress of Ships, and Ghost Light Burn. The elevator pitch is Killjoys meets Firefly, only really queer. Lots of action, heists, world-threatening catastrophes, and a big heap of heart too. I’m working on the next right now, called The Infinite Heist.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I love the imagination, the creativity, the curiosity. I find that writers and readers want to learn things, want to know more, want to explore the world and the possibilities that come from it, no matter what they read or write. And I’ve found that writers are so supportive of each other. We know how hard it is to create worlds and characters and then see that process through to finished product. In general, we want each other to succeed.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Just thank you. Thank you for taking the journey with me, for making space in your life for my Maverick Heart gang. I appreciate it so much that what I do resonates with you in some way. The most important thing to me is knowing that people have connected with the stories I’m telling, that I managed to whisk you away, make you laugh, make you feel, and make you come back for more. 

Where can people connect with you?

https://linktr.ee/stephengrahamking