Author James Ward Kirk

A writer, a small press founder, and a real Saint! I'm here with James Ward Kirk (and far as I know he's not a star ship captain), and today we're talking about his press and works. So, James, tell us about what made you start your press?

I love horror. I write horror. I wanted to showcase up and coming Indiana horror writers, to give them their first publishing credit. This is a work of love. I make very little money, if any, from the anthos. I hope to someday pay pro rates.

I love the covers for your latest anthologies; wanna tell us some more about, INDIANA HORROR 2012, and INDIANA SCIENCE FICTION 2012?

The cover for Indiana Horror 2012 came from Jim Sorfleet as a gift. I had him as a friend on Facebook and I’m a huge fan. So I thought, “What the hell?” and asked him if he’d donate a cover. And he did! Jim Sorfleet asked me not to tell anyone but at this point I think he’d be okay with it. The Indiana Science Fiction 2012 cover came free from the mad genius Scott Frederic Hargrave. I met Scott through Facebook and Indiana Horror 2011. I asked him if he do a cover and he said “Sure, no problem.” Wow.

I mentioned that you're writer, have any stories you would like to talk about?

I think my favorite personal short story is “The Rose Garden.” The story appeared in the Lovecraftian anthology Shadow of the Unknown. Because of this story, I received a personal invitation to join HWA. The story is about sin, punishment, understanding and accepting punishment, and the absence of redemption.

What got you into writing horror?

I’ve loved horror since childhood. I remember rushing in from the school bus and watching “Dark Shadows.” I loved Star Trek: Anything that carried me from the hum-drum of daily rural life. Burroughs’s “John Carter of Mars” was so fun. The first horror novel that sticks with even today is It. Even my music was scary: Black Sabbath.

These days a lot of horror lacks real scare, what scares you?

A broken mind scares me the most. A lot of what I’m writing today deals with this, in the tradition of Poe’s “William Wilson” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

It's been great having you here, James!

Pick up a copy of, INDIANA HORROR 2012

Pick up a copy of, INDIANA SCINECE FICTION 2012


James' Bio:

James Ward Kirk is the publisher and editor of the annual anthologies Indiana Horror, Indiana Crime and Indiana Science Fiction. You can find him on the Internet here: http://indyhorror.wordpress.com/james-ward-kirk-fiction/

Find him on Facebook as James Ward Kirk Fiction. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife of 21 years and a mean Chihuahua named Lucy. He holds a Master’s degree in English from Indiana University at Indianapolis. He has taught literature and composition at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis and Ivy Tech State College.