Focus 2014 Interviews: Kaaron Warren

kaaron

Photo credit Andrew Sikorski

Today the wonderful Kaaron Warren talks Focus 2014 from Fablecroft.

What was the inspiration for your story, “Death’s Door Cafe”?

This story was inspired a visit to the National Museum, where they had an exhibit of items relating to Ben Hall and his gang. There was a large door in the middle of the room, filled with bullet-holes. This was where one of the men was shot; you could probably remove DNA samples from the holes if you wanted to. It struck me that many doors have deaths behind or in front of them, and I wondered what it would be like to gather a lot of these doors in one place.

What should new readers know about you?

I’m afraid of the dark, large crowds, mold spores, confined spaces, violence, unpredictability, loss, viciousness, a lack of kindness. I’m afraid of the world my children will have to live with.

Some people say to write about the dark side of life you need to be immune to it.

I say the opposite. It’s only by being deeply affected by the world around me that I can write stories that have any value.

Can you remember the first story you read that made you want to be a writer? sos

Two anthologies I read at the same time did this. I think I was about ten when I read them.

Ten Tales, edited by A.A. Phillips, had three stories that remain among my favourites.

“The Bottle Imp” R.L. Stevenson

“Exit” Harry Farjeon

“The Truth about Pyecraft” H.G. Wells.

Stories of Suspense, edited by Mary E. MacEwen

I could easily give you the whole table of contents; it’s a brilliant book. But there were two in particular that I read and re-read.

“The Birds” Daphne du Maurier

“Flowers for Algernon” Daniel Keyes

Name your top five favourite authors.

Yeah, too hard! I’ll give you some authors I love this week!

William Vollman

Lisa Tuttle

Norman Prentiss

And I’m going to cheat and name two non-fiction writers, because they inspire and inform my own fiction

David Grann

Rebecca Solnit

The future of Australian spec-fic is …?

Brave.

Focus2014CoverSMBram Stoker , twice-World Fantasy Award Nominee and Shirley Jackson Award winner Kaaron Warren has lived in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Fiji. She’s sold almost 200 short stories, three novels (the multi-award-winning Slights, Walking the Tree and Mistification) and five short story collections including the multi-award-winning Through Splintered Walls. Her latest short story collection is Cemetery Dance Select: Kaaron Warren. Kaaron is a guest at GenreCon this year.

 

You can find her at http://kaaronwarren.wordpress.com/ and she Tweets @KaaronWarren

 

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