Interview With KP McCarthy, Author of Mortal Weather

 Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming a writer/published author? Any interests or early signs as a child that hinted you would later put pen to paper?

It’s funny. I’ve heard many female writers say, “I wrote four novels before first grade,” or something equally disturbing, but I think most men have to work harder to understand who they are. It’s a long process of discovery. I was clearly a communicator but didn’t know what I might do. Probably the first bolt from the blue was scoring in the 99th percentile in English on the high school SAT exam.

I was invited to try out for the gymnastics team at the Air Force Academy, but knew I wasn’t cut out for the military. I chose Colorado Mesa U for its spectacular setting, which promised lots of outdoor adventure. Everything interested me, especially English, but I didn’t want to be cooped up indoors as a writer or teacher. I chose geology because of the great geology profs there, especially Dr. Jim Johnson. But I’ll also never forget the English profs. Professor Berkey called me into his office when I was a Freshman because he thought I might have plagiarized a piece I’d written about mankind slogging through a swamp. That was the first time I thought I might have real ability. Berkey provided a badly-needed boost of confidence, and we became friends.

There were a couple of other incidents early on. My second job after college was at the Oregon Department of Energy in Salem. One week we all went up the Columbia Gorge for a working retreat. One of the exercises required pairing off, talking to our partners, and saying something insightful about the other person in front of everyone. My partner was a great old (to me) hippy named Howdy Reichmuth, who was the department sage. Howdy surprised everyone by calling me as a poet. I knew I could write well enough, but poetry seemed an exalted realm beyond my ken. It was an honor and a challenge. It felt great because Howdy was, by all accounts, a real visionary.

In the following job, at the Colorado Geological Survey, I wrote a piece on the history of hot spring resorts that was published in THE DAILY PLANET ALMANAC. After sending off the manuscript, I was riding the bus home when this voice kept saying, “That’s your work. You are a writer. Turn your energy to writing.”

 

Review HERE!

While this is your debut novel, you are not new to writing. What inspired your move from writing humor, travel, essays and poetry to begin work on a full book? Why was now the right time to make that move?

I wrote several screenplays that were critical successes, and that gave me some confidence. Over the years, I’d run a critique service and written several essays about storytelling, so I had specific ideas about the process. When Sadie came to me in a dream, I knew I had a job to do. So I guess the answer to “Why now?” is “Because Sadie came for me.” I was having so much trouble personally that she actually saved my life.

As an author - what do you enjoy most about the writing process or comes easily to you? What feels most like a chore - a struggle?

I guess I just like the whole organic, intuitive knowing — knowing that a character or situation is just what is needed. Building trust in my instincts still feels great, because it was a long time coming. i don’t care for getting bogged down in technique. I love that deeper feeling of creative power — making it all work without thinking about it too much. Just as an athlete becomes addicted to feeling a personal, physical power, I am addicted to feeling a personal, imaginative power.

Mortal Weather is filled with unique characters. How do you develop characters? Do you flesh them out ahead of time or let them birth while you are writing? Are any inspired by people you know?

If I’m extremely lucky, a fleshed out character like Sadie finds me. But most of the time, I think of a striking attribute I’ve noticed in someone — often someone I don’t know — and build on it. I’ve occasionally been struck, for example, by how expressive a woman’s mouth can be, even if it’s small. This was the physical foundation for Connie. Adding an interesting character detail — her avoidance of news — suggested various reactions and behaviors that helped drive the story.

This novel has many dark and deeply introspective moments. Life is not easy for the characters living in it.  What did you do to help you walk away at the end of a writing session to clear your mind and shed the intensity?

Well, meditation is a rejuvenating pool that can reset your perspective relatively quickly. And walking, especially without electronics and with a dog, is not just a coping mechanism but a real joy. It’s an active, outward turning. I like to bike as much as anyone, and love the child-like feeling that it induces, but often I prefer walking because it enables interaction with others. Stopping and talking to other people and dogs is the most natural thing in the world and provides endless food for thought. Swimming and skiing are wonderful but similar to biking in that they are less interactive. Starting every day with a sea bath is a real privilege that I hope to enjoy again, and I’ll probably never stop skiing, for that weightless feeling of bliss. Reliable, reciprocal love enhances all experience, of course.

I never want to forget the pain I’ve experienced because I want to explore it in ways that are really useful to the reader. But you have to come up for air — and beauty — often. I have to have recess every day. And I’m happiest when I’m journaling regularly.

What is your life like away from writing?  What fills your time? What other passions do you enjoy?

I’m a huge story junkie, obviously, and love practically every form. I write a lot of poetry and listen to a lot of music. Many memorable moments of real transcendence came to me in theaters — sometimes very small ones. My brain holds on to stupid trivia about books and movies and songs and musicians. I’m fascinated with group dynamics — how the Beatles and Pink Floyd evolved and devolved, for example. If I had to be something besides a writer, I’d be a musician, but that would have to involve poetry, and there I am, back to writing.

The simple things are best, of course: children and animals and natural phenomena and every sort of art. I try to stay reasonably fit just so I can experience all life has to offer and have a moderately long career. Fortunately, my wife is a wonderful cook and continually develops healthy strategies. We love to travel and have done a ton of it, especially in recent years. But the best way to accomplish anything is through a regular routine. That’s much easier when you stay put. The trouble with art is that your life is often mostly gone before you figure out what you’re doing. I’m an old guy now with still a lot to say, so I’d better take care of myself.

Do you have any spoiler alerts you'd like to share with readers -another book in the works or other exciting news?

As I mentioned at the end of novel, three more books are coming in the MORTAL WEATHER series. I’m really enjoying that process, primarily because I love Stanhope and Gaya. The next books are TANGERINE STARWARD, THE COBALT EDGE, and DEEP FOCUS. I think there will be a bit more humor in TS, overall, than there was in MW. COBALT will be the biggest challenge, as it will require a lot of dynamic, thematic drama. I envision DEEP FOCUS as a kind of settling out or circling back.

I also have a kind of Greek fantasy series in mind that I’m excited about. I probably won’t know how many books that will require until after I’ve written the first one. I expect to produce a lot of other things: a book of short stories, a couple of screenplays (one sci fi), and a book of poetry. The poetry should come soon — during or after TS. I also wrote a libretto for a stage adaptation of a classic American comic novel that I’d like to see produced.

connect with the author: website ~ facebook ~ goodreads