What project or projects, if any, are you currently working on?

I am quickly approaching the publication date of my debut novel, The Forbidden Parallel. It’s the first entry in a science-fantasy trilogy aimed at New Adult and Adult audiences. An indie press out of Portland, OR is publishing the book. In conjunction with the book, I am also releasing a soundtrack to the novel. My goal is to release the book and the album on the same day. So far, I’m on track! Despite a few gray hairs…

What project or projects, if any, are on your back burner?

I’ve always felt more comfortable writing short stories than novels. Until recently, I would’ve told you I’d never write a novel, because it just simply wasn’t in my skill set, nor did I feel like I had a large enough story to tell.

All this to say, I have the beginnings of a collection of short stories that I’d love to start prepping for publication, but it will have to wait until those pesky novels are done. I like to pop back into the stories just to tinker. In fact, since joining Pen & Pier, I’d say I’ve revisited them more frequently than I have in a long time, which is a result of this lovely writer’s group that I’ve been lucky enough to have stumbled into.

If I’m driven by anything, it’s that familiar, irrational fear that I’ll reach the end of my life and say, “I should’ve written that book!”

Why do you write?

I like to joke that being a writer is akin to being cursed. I’ve never really had much of a choice. There are days where I wish I could turn it off, just walk away and go pick up Frisbee golf like a normal person. Or go to the gym. Or enjoy a TV show without trying to rewrite it. Whatever normal people do. Life would probably be easier without it, certainly less complicated, but it would also be less fulfilling, less interesting.

If I’m driven by anything, it’s that familiar, irrational fear that I’ll reach the end of my life and say, “I should’ve written that book!” It’s cliche, but it’s true. I believe we’re all here for a reason. My reason? To force my friends and family to read my writing.

How long have you been writing? How much of that time seriously? (You define what seriously means.)

Speaking of forcing friends to read my work, I remember writing stories in the 5th grade and passing them around to my friends. I would basically rip off whatever popular movie was in the theater, add some unique spin to it, and ship it to my friends.

Writing “seriously”… well, that depends. There are many types of writing. For a while I worked as a freelance journalist, which I highly recommend. It forces you to churn out first drafts quickly, produce against a deadline, work with editors, get paid… etc.

All in all, I’d say I’ve been seriously writing for 10 years now, meaning focusing on improving my craft, building a portfolio of work, and pursuing publication.

Do you have any published works?

Coming May 27, 2025, I will have a published novel! Holy smokes. Is that real? I don’t know if I believe it yet. I guess I’ll believe it when I see it.

Regarding the journalism I mentioned, my work has been featured in 5 or 6 publications. I had some non-fiction published by a literary journal. It was an essay I’m still proud of, A Liberal Walks into Cabelas. I also have had a couple short stories featured in collections. One of those short stories will soon be published alongside Ute in a collection coming out later this year.

Finally, I’ve had two one-act plays produced, both in upstate New York. The first, Famous Writers in Hell won an award for best writing at a college-led festival. The second, Hashtag Mephistophilis, was produced at the Rochester Fringe Festival.

What is the best part of writing for you?

Something I discovered when writing my novel was that I really enjoyed writing first drafts by hand. It’s very freeing. Whenever I see words in a Word DOC, I want to edit it right away, and I get lost in the process. Writing by hand, on the other hand, (pun intended) is just pure fun. You know, that feeling when your hand can’t write fast enough to keep up with your brain. It’s exciting! You scribble and scratch and draw arrows. I love the other stuff too, i.e., editing and revision, but when I think of what I’m looking forward to next, it’s scribbling book 3 on a park bench.

What is the hardest part of writing to you?

To me, there’s nothing worse than revising a chapter (or paragraph or short story) so many times before it just stops working altogether. It’s usually a sign that I’m too in the weeds, but occasionally, I’ve weeded the garden too much and there’s nothing leftover but formless dirt. That’s a hard place to find yourself after so much work. It’s defeating. You can overcome it, especially after a long break, but there’s times I have to walk away and say, “I guess not.”

How do you overcome writer’s block?

(If you don’t speak its name, it doesn’t see you)

Photo: From Famous Writers in Hell

Have you ever seen the sun set over the ocean? (We’re Pen & Pier, we have to include the Pier somewhere.)

Yes! It is a privilege those of us here in the Central Coast are lucky enough to witness almost daily, if we choose to make time for it. I love the way the sky looks just after the sun dips, all the colors. It’s a good reminder that everyday grants us the opportunity to change, explore, run wild, even for just a few minutes.

How did you find Pen & Pier?

I’m good friends with Brian Schwartz. We have worked in the same coworking office in SLO for the last couple of years (technically, we both switched from an old office to a new one, but that is neither here nor there). If you’re unfamiliar, he’s a fantastic local resource for writers (selfpublish.org). He also directed the Central Coast Writers Conference, and helped me get a presentation slot a couple years back. All this to say, he mentioned P&P to me, and I said, “Tell me more!”

What is your favorite genre to write? What is your favorite genre to read?

I love literary fiction and have dreams of writing some amazing, literary short stories, but I suspect I’ll just keep writing about robots and wizards, because that’s what ultimately makes me happy. In terms of reading, I really do pretty much read it all. I like variety, so I’ll jump from Michael Crichton to Shakespeare to Jennifer Egan to George Saunders to Stephen King to Tolkein to Vonnegut and so on and so forth.

If you could collaborate with any writer, who would that be?

Are you available in 5?

Would you like to live in your own stories? Why, or why not?

Welp, my novel is dystopian, so I certainly wouldn’t want to live in that world. It’s a theocratic government with a strict caste system, with lots of oppression, inequality, hunger, etc. But the ironic thing is that all these elements are based on truths from this world, our world, so in many respects we’re all living with it now. I suppose that’s true for all storytellers. We’re stealing and borrowing.

I’ve written quite a few short stories based here in this world, so I guess you could say I am living in my stories already. The weather’s nice!

Kevin’s wife: “I’m going to run to Target.”
Kevin: “You should just take the car.”
Kevin’s wife: leaves

Do you have a favorite joke? (You can tell us, but you don’t have to.)

Kevin’s wife: “I’m going to run to Target.”
Kevin: “You should just take the car.”
Kevin’s wife: leaves

What book(s) or stories would you want everyone to read? The one(s) that keep you going all night, if someone asks about them.

Some books that really made an impact on me, in no particular order:

• The Stand by Stephen King (taught me SO much about developing characters)
• Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (an all-time great short-story collection)
• CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders (the other all-time great short-story collection)
• Sphere by Michael Crichton (a fun example of writing characters with contrasting personalities)
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (multi-POV storytelling with attitude, heart)
• Lord of the Rings by Tolkein (does this even need a reason?)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (everything I aspire to: dark fantasy, charm, friendship, poetic narrative…)

What are you looking forward to the most for your writing within the next year?

Definitely publishing my first book. That will be such a monumental accomplishment for me. I know I already talked about this in an earlier week, but I just won’t believe it until I see it. In the meantime, I’m working on book 2 and hope to start scribbling book 3 by the end of year — my book series is a trilogy, if I haven’t said that already. If I can squeeze in a few short stories somewhere in between all of this, that’d make me really happy.

Find Kevin online

Instagram @kevincarverwrites
Bluesky kevincarver.bsky.social
Tiktop @kvncrvr
Substack: kcarver.substack.com
Website: kevincarver.com

And a final plug for his book release party: The Forbidden Parallel