Interview with Kevin Lucia

by Erik Smith

Kevin Lucia is the author of Hiram Grange And The Chosen One, from Shroud Publishing, and is hard at work on his next novel.


ES: Thank you, Kevin, for taking the time to talk with Monster Librarian. First, could you tell us a little about yourself and how you got started in the writing biz?

KL: I'm lucky in that my day job is very simpatico with eking out a writing career: I teach high school English and Creative Writing, have been teaching for almost ten years now. Not only is my schedule very Con-friendly (summers off), but also very stimulating, creatively. Even during slow writing periods and dry spells, I'm surrounded by the classics of literature and the written word every day, so it's kinda hard NOT to be inspired to write at the end of the day.

I live in Castle Creek, New York – just an hour south of Syracuse. I hold a BA in English/Literature from Binghamton University and I'm finishing up my MA in Creative Writing. I've had the pleasure and privilege of being a two-time graduate of Borderlands Press Writers' Bootcamp, also.

I "sold" my very first short story – an alternate universe tale – for the whopping sum of $10 in the Spring of 1997, my junior year at BU, to the now defunct Millennium Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine. It was kind of a fluke, however, because I didn't sell another story for nearly ten years.

I started writing book reviews for regional community newspapers and online venues the Spring of 2007. Eventually, I graduated to much larger websites, then landed a paying freelance job writing a book review column for our city newspaper, The Press & Sun Bulletin. That lasted for two years, and it was during that time period that I sold my first REAL story, "The Way Station", to the first edition of The Midnight Diner. Currently, I'm the Review Editor for Shroud Magazine.

ES: Please, tell us about the genesis of Hiram Grange.

KL: Hiram Grange is the creation of Shroud Publishing's editor and owner, Tim Deal. It was his goal to create a unique series about the essential anti-hero, with each installment written by a different author, also with each author filling Hiram with their own personal flair and style.

ES: Without spoilers, can you give us a quick description of Hiram Grange And The Chosen One, and where it fits in the series?

KL: Hiram Grange & The Chosen One is the fourth book in the series, though all of them are episodic and can generally be read in any order. I write about Hiram a little down the road, after he's lost someone very close to him. In my book, not only does Hiram learn a little more about his potential destiny, he's tempted with the power to erase all the bad things in his life, bring back everyone he's lost.

ES: What's next for Hiram?

KL: Currently, the "Hiram Five" - Jake Burrows, Scott Christian Carr, Rob Davies, myself (Kevin Lucia), and Richard Wright – are writing Hiram Grange "short shorts" for Shroud's new and free Digital Edition:
http://www.shroudmagazine.com/shroud-magazine-digital-edition-v-101-septemb1012010.html

The first two Hiram "short shorts" have been written by Scott Christian Carr, "Little Edsel Einstein: A Hiram Grange Story", which appears in the September issue of Shroud's Digital Edition and his next is "The Jesus Bomb," due in the October Issue of the Shroud DE.

A lot depends on how "Season 1" - the first five books – fares. More novellas have been discussed, and again – perhaps the most prolific of us – Scott is currently writing the first Hiram installment in "Season 2", Hiram Grange in Al-Qaeda's Caves. I know I'd love to somehow put Hiram Grange and Sherlock Holmes in the same story. We'll just have to see. There's been talk of graphic novels, as well as a Hiram Grange short story collection.

ES: And what is next for Kevin Lucia?

KL: Currently I'm working on my first full length novel – The Drift - which I hope we'll see through Shroud sometime in 2011-2012. Though much longer, I hope it will move with the same type of speed and efficiency as Hiram Grange, but it'll be a much different story. Much more spiritual, more mainstream, also.

ES: Any last words?

KL: I'm currently running a giveaway through Goodreads – three copies of Hiram Grange & The Chosen One are up for grabs. You have to be a member of Goodreads and signed in, but just visit this link:
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/6421-hiram-grange-and-the-chosen-one-the-scandalous-misadventures-of-hiram-g

Click "enter to win", and you'll have a chance of winning a copy. Also, I've posted the first three chapters of Hiram Grange & The Chosen One free on my website: http://www.kevinlucia.com/. Just scroll down and on the right sidebar, not too far under my ugly mug, there it is. Click on the cover, and it'll flip to a full-screen, interactive document.


 

Return to the Main Page