Born in 1973, Kelvin V.A Allison is a sarcastic, unashamed mask wearing author of strong horror, urban fantasy, and fantasy. A lifelong player of role-playing games, and a lover of Dr Pepper and cake, he can regularly be found on the UK comic convention scene. We caught up with him and pinned him down till he told us what we wanted to know.
Something Wicked This Way Comes - When did you know you wanted to be an author?
KVAA – I have always written, or it seems that way. And before that I would make little comics and tell stories to anyone that would listen. I guess, apart from a brief period when I was 8 and wanted to be a priest, that I have always wanted to be an author. It just feels natural.
SW - What has your life been like so far?
KVAA – Not great if I am honest. The first 34 years are a blur of pain, with the only highlights being my eldest daughter and a few friendships. The past 14 years however have been amazing. I am now the father of three kids, (girl, boy, girl) with another boy due in May 2022.
SW - Where are you from and where are you now?
KVAA – Originally the village of Purbrook, on the outskirts of Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Over the next 34 years I lived there on and off but traveled a lot. The last 14 years have been spent living in County Durham in the chilly North-East of England. Such a beautiful place.
SW - What other jobs have you had?
KVAA – A stand-up comedian, taxi driver, a sawyer (my favourite job down south), powder coater, paint sprayer, seat belt maker, vegetable preparer, debt collector, security guard, shelf stacker, sheet metal worker and a pot-pourri batch making supervisor.
SW - Tell us about your personal favourite novel of yours. Brag a little.
KVAA – Its hard to choose a favourite as I like different ones for different reasons. I think if you forced my hand it would be ALL THE KING’S ANIMALS. It was my first venture into fantasy and it is, in my humble opinion, a really good read.
SW - Does writing energize or exhaust you?
KVAA – Both. I always give myself way too much to do. Always.
SW - What is your writing Kryptonite?
KVAA – Facebook messenger. I have way too many interesting friends to stay focused.
SW - Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
KVAA – Not overly. If I don’t like a book I start another. I wont force myself to read something that I dislike.
SW - Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?
KVAA – The funny thing with this is people are never sure what to call me. I am called different things by people who have met me at different stages if my life and been using different fb profiles. My birth name was Kelvin V.A Allison, but I changed it to Kelvin V Walton-Mills several years back. I use my birth name on my novels and my readers call me that. However, my old dad always used to call me Scooby (after our female cat he owned which used to lay with me when I was newborn) and most people who know me personally still call me Scooby or Scoobert now. Then, a few years ago I made an fb profile under the name Rich Fingerland, (one of the pseudonyms used by Sean for Gus in Psych) so I could write in peace, so the people who have met me through that call me Rich. It all gets a bit confusing.
SW - What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
KVAA – I was close friends with the Chicago born horror author Don Miskel, who sadly passed away early this year, and I am also close friends with my County Durham based co-author Lisa Hutchinson. Plus I know a ton of other very talented authors through facebook such as HMC from Australia.
SW - What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
KVAA – When reading Ghost Story by Peter Straub as a child of about 8. I used to sneak into my old dad’s room and read it when he was out and then spend the rest of each day terrified. I think its what made me want to give people the same feeling.
SW - What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
KVAA – Dead Assets by my late friend Don Miskel. It’s a zombie novel but he gives it his own spin and makes the genre his own. I wish more people would read it. I will continue to fly his flag.
SW - As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
KVAA – not an animal as such but my spirit form is a triple fried egg sandwich with chili sauce and chutney. I like people to always want a little bit more of my novels while being afraid they have already had too much at the same time. I have no filter. Your parents wouldn’t like me.
SW - How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
KVAA – about 7, all well over 200 pages written. They will be finished, they just keep getting pushed back as new ideas emerge.
SW - What does literary success look like to you?
KVAA – people inboxing and emailing me in shock or excitement after reading my novels. I am not about the money although I would like my wife and kids to be comfortable. I am happy with a pen and paper. Ooh, and maybe some Dr Pepper.
SW - What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
KVAA – very little. I charge straight into a novel with one character and a scene and let the novel write itself. The only difference is when I am writing with Lisa and we discuss whats next.
SW - What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
KVAA – Getting people to read it. I got so stressed with seeing people slagging off male authors everywhere on social media and saying that men can’t write women, that I wrote Kraken and its sequel Ascension, which are written from a female first person perspective.
SW – Were they successful? Did women approve?
KVAA – Everyone who has read them seems to love them.
SW - How do you select the names of your characters?
KVAA – I am lazy. I base every character, no matter how small, on someone that I have met in life; friends, family, former workmates, fellow students, etc. And I use their names or play-offs of their names. For example, James Letterman in my WORLD OF SORROW series is based on my friend Jim, who was a postman when I wrote the first novel. So Jim the postman became James Letterman.
SW - Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
KVAA – I do read them and stress over them although the majority are favourable.
SW - Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
KVAA – I like to drop in links to other novels of mine, even if it is just a minor character or place. My novel Blood Harvest is linked to Ubasute by a character, and Ubasute is in turn linked to Landvættir.
SW - Do you Google yourself?
KVAA – Hell yeah :D
SW - What is your favorite childhood book?
KVAA – not so much a childs book but I love Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks which I first read when I was 10. Its still a favourite novel of mine today.
SW - What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
KVAA – the advertising afterwards. I just want to start the next novel.
SW - Does your family support your career as a writer?
KVAA – aye they do. Although the wife bans me from writing on Christmas Day lol
SW - How long on average does it take you to write a book?
KVAA – It depends. I wrote World of Sorrow 2 in 3 weeks and that is 350 pages roughly.
SW - What are you planning next? KVAA – I have the sequel to ALL THE KINGS ANIMALS coming out this year, as well as GHOUL 2 with Lisa Hutchinson, a sequel to our 2021 novel GHOUL. I also hope to release LONESOME OAKS which is like Stranger Things but with serial killers instead of monsters, and World of Sorrow 11 which will be the first book in the series since 2014.
SW; Thank you again for the opportunity to do this interview
