Andy Kirby discusses how short story writing led to his first novel being published
Andy Kirby
Andy Kirby is a prolific writer whose short stories have been published by literary magazines and webzines from Pumpkin to Champagne Shivers. He specialises in horror writing and his novel Bully is being published by Wild Wolf Publishing in September 2009. Andy describes his writing as being “about the darker side of the street; that place that people hurry past without quite knowing why…”
What inspired you to become a writer?
I’d always loved literature and had a sneaking suspicion that I’d like to try my hand at writing. Why not give it a go?
Writing helped me to get out of some very dark places, and still does. I’ve had some degree of success with it over the past few years, but perhaps the biggest thing that it has done for me is give me the creative outlet that my life was crying out for.
Telling stories is in my blood I suppose. My Granddad is brilliant at it, my grandma was too. Theirs were oral tales; stories about the neighbours and local scandals; the only difference with mine is that they are written down.
Did you receive any formal training?
I did a BA and MA in English Literature at the University of Leeds. I learned all about how to deconstruct a story, how to criticise a story, how to slash a story to pieces. I suppose that ever since then, I’ve been trying to put poor old story back together again!
Did you find a publisher or an agent first?
I honed my craft by writing short stories. Friends and writing-buddies suggested that magazines and websites run by small and independent presses may prove a good home for some of these writings.
And so, I built an audience for my writing, and eventually this became large enough to justify the publication of my two novels, which are published by Wild Wolf Publishing and Legend Press. I still don’t have an agent.
How would you describe your writing style?
Often it is conversational in tone; my short fiction is littered with asides and in-jokes. One reviewer wrote ‘humour is Kirby’s weapon’, which I was delighted to hear…
But I suppose that there is another side to my writing, as evidenced in the horror stories, and especially in Bully. In these tales I write about the darker side of the street; that place that people hurry past without quite knowing why. I revel in creating unease in the reader.
What inspires you?
Vomit-inducingly corny, I know, but my girlfriend Heidi inspires me. We’ve had a lot of bad times, and my confidence is always being battered and bruised, and yet she smiles through it all.
Also, reading great writing inspires me to try to do better and to always try to hone my craft. My influences are varied. Of course, being a horror writer, I have devoured everything Stephen King has ever written, but I’m also partial to a cracking Michael Connelly yarn or an Ian Rankin crime thriller.
Some of my stranger ideas have probably been helped along the way by Will Self, and I’d give my right arm to be able to write such rich, textured prose. Other favourites include Iain Banks, Neal Stephenson, Michael Chabon and Martin Amis.
Where are we likely to see your work?
I’ve written three novels: Bully, a supernatural story of revenge from beyond the grave (to be published by Wild Wolf Publishing in early September 2009 - available for pre-order now on www.wildwolfpublishing.com; the crime-thriller, The Magpie Trap, which has been published by Youwriteon.com and Legend Press through their Arts Council initiative; and When Elephants Walk Through The Gorbals, which won third prize in the Luke Bitmead Memorial Bursary run by Legend Press in 2008.
My short stories have featured in a wide number of publications, including anthologies (Legend Press’s Eight Rooms, Nemonymous 8: Cone Zero & Nemonymous 9: Cern Zoo from Megazanthus Press, Graveside Tales’ Fried: Fast Food Slow Deaths) print journals (Sein und Werden, Skrev Press, and Champagne Shivers) and webzines (New Voices in Horror, Pumpkin, The Second Hand, US Short Story Library, and Underground).
In addition, I was runner-up in the 2008 Huddersfield Literature Festival creative writing competition, and this year was also short-listed for the Cinnamon Press short fiction prize and the Mere Literary Festival prize.
What are the biggest challenges of writing?
As I wrote in my very first blog on the EssentialWriterscom, I’ve found that along with the usual writerly complaints about ‘not having time to write’ or ‘writing being a lonely profession’, one of the most difficult things about being a writer is actually having the guts to call yourself a writer.
Even now, with a long list of published short fiction (over 35 pieces published in three years), a year’s experience as editor of a magazine, and two novels under my belt I still have trouble believing that I am a proper writer.
I suppose it all comes down to belief in your own ability. And sure, sometimes after a bad review, you can have your confidence severely knocked. But the most important thing is to keep at it. To keep pretending that you are conning the world. To keep talking up the emperor’s new clothes until finally, you forget that you’re conning anyone and realise that what you’re doing is worthwhile.
What do you enjoy most about it?
I enjoy pretty much everything about writing, even the bits I’m not supposed to enjoy, like the admin and PR things that most people describe as a drag. After years doing a job that I absolutely detest, writing is a breath of fresh air.
It’s the creative release that allows me to believe I’m living a life that is fulfilled. It’s what keeps me awake at night, wrestling with plot twists and character developments, but I love it. I love being able to tell stories and to entertain people. I love the idea that I can speak to somebody that I’ve never met and (hopefully) convince them to spend time in my world. I love it when my mind races away and I lose track of time and I just write and write.
Where do you carry out the majority of your writing?
I’d love to be able to say that I have a room somewhere inspiring, perhaps overlooking the sea in some remote place or somewhere cool like on the turrets of a castle or in a haunted house.
But the truth is, I do most of my writing in the spare bedroom cum office cum washing room on the top floor of our terraced house.
This is the one room in the house that we’ve not decorated at all, and is painted a sickly green colour. My desk faces the wall, so I’m back to the window. It gets stuffy up here, and the cat loves the heat. He can often be found at my feet or on my lap, trying to get my attention…
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The forthcoming release of Bully will be the realisation of many goals. The writing of the novel was a real labour of love; the novel is set in a town loosely based on the town in which I grew up, and it has allowed me to explore a number of themes. It’s also allowed me to indulge my darker side.
People are actually anticipating the release of the book. At a wedding I attended recently, people I’d not seen for ages approached me, full of praise for what I’d achieved so far (and probably trying to get cheap copies from me).
The release of the book will also allow the dedication to be read by everybody. One of my best friends died a few months ago, and I have dedicated the book to him.
What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?
Keep at it and don’t be put off by rejection. I have a file of hundreds of rejection letters in the back of my cupboard. Set out to prove these people wrong. Learn from your mistakes. Practise, practise, practise.
Also, join a writers’ forum. Share ideas, accept hints and tips. Find out about that brilliant, but under-publicised magazine in which your most recent off-the-wall piece would be a brilliant fit. But above all, enjoy it. If you aren’t enjoying it, then really, what’s the point?
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the promotion of Bully. Organising a launch, book-signings and publicity is a full-time job at the moment.
But I’m also tentatively writing the next novel, which is literary fiction I suppose, if you wanted to brand it. It’s provisionally entitled The Brutal Cage, and it is the story of a fighter in the Ultimate Cage-Fighting Championship.
It explores the idea that ’sometimes doing the right thing can be the wrong thing; sometimes doing the wrong thing can be the right thing.’
I’m also looking at developing the work I do in terms of marketing, publicity and proofreading. I’m already assisting a number of young writers and am considering whether I can seriously act on their behalf as an agent.
Bully and The Magpie Trap are available from Amazon
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