Writing the World, the Official Website of Kay Kenyon

The Magic of Plotting at PNWA

Hope to see some of you at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference this weekend!

Here are some places I’ll be on Friday:

AUTOGRAPHING – Grand Ballroom 8:30- 10:00 PM

WORKSHOP: The Magic of Plotting – Evergreen 1

This workshop has been a popular one at Norwescon and Worldcon.

How do you develop a novel’s plot? Is it luck, or trial and error, or are there classic approaches you can use to bring out your best story? Learn to bring forth the magic within your creativity–and give it form in the world: your story! Kay Kenyon is the author of 14 science fiction and fantasy novels, including a new fantasy trilogy from Simon & Schuster/Saga. She will focus on initial inspiration, and the deep tools of mystery, surprise, originality, conflict, momentum, and transformation.

I’ll have some books to give away, and if there’s nothing to write on in the room, you can watch me hold a mic and a small white board and no less than Three magic markers, all while holding forth on the wonderful world of plotting! (I did it at Worldcon in San Jose, and I have witnesses!)

Find me at Worldcon

Eager to get to Worldcon 76 in San Jose! Hope lots of you will be there. A jam-packed schedule of stuff to do (laboriously rewritten in last few weeks) means that there’s something for everyone. Hope to see new friends and old. Here’s my schedule:

Friday 10:00 am panel. If This, Then What (210DH)

What if Hannibal and his elephants had frozen in the Alps, and never made it to Rome? How can we extrapolate what would have changed as a result of one of these turning points? Where do you begin? What do you focus on when constructing an alternate history? What stays the same? Along with Kaja Foglio, Yasser Bahjatt, Steven Silver, Harry Turtledove.

Friday 12:00 noon. Trading Card Awards Ceremony (210E)Authors and fandom luminaries receive their Science Fiction Trading Cards – and sign them! Free packets of cards will be handed out to all attendees.

Saturday 3:00- 4:00 pm. My presentation, The Magic of Plotting (212C) Plotting techniques you can use to bring out your best story. Learn to bring forth the magic within: your creativity–and give it form in the world: your story!

Sunday 2:00- 3:00 pm. Autographing. With John Scalzi, Irene Radford, Nancy Etchemendy, Mimi Mondal and Juliette Wade

Sunday 7:00 pm. See you at the Hugos!

My new short stories

Though I don’t write many short stories, I must have been on a roll last year, and now out come two new short stories in anthologies within a few months of each other. Check ’em out:

The Razor’s Edge

One man’s insurgent is another man’s freedom fighter…

From The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to The Hunger Games, there is something compelling about someone who throws caution to the wind and rises up in armed defiance against oppression, tyranny, religion, the government—you name it.

Win or lose, it’s the righteous struggle we cherish, and those who take up arms for a cause must walk The Razor’s Edge between liberator and extremist. Read More…

Cover reveal: Book 3 Dark Talents Novels

Coming 2019

Here it is! The gorgeous cover of the next book in the Dark Talents Novels, Nest of the Monarch!

A huge thanks to Navah Wolfe and Saga Press!

(In this book, Kim Tavistoc’s mission is to Berlin and the Bavarian Alps, where she’s up to her eyebrows in myths, royals, treachery, partisans and a super race!)

Vote for your favorite cover (comment here) and I’ll enter you to win a free AUDIO version of At the Table of Wolves.

FAQ on Serpent in the Heather and the series

For a little background on how I came to write my latest novel, here are some frequently asked questions.

Why did you chose to set this historical fantasy series in the 1930s?

The 1930s – and particularly in England – was a period overshadowed by the catastrophic losses of World War I. Every family had its losses, and the public attitude was to willfully turn a blind eye to Hitler’s arms build up. So instead of a war with steal, it became a shadow war of spies, secrets, and deception. It is such a fertile ground for fiction! The roster of characters and motivation is vast: British aristocracy fearing the loss of class privilege, fascists, pacifists, spies and those who chose to do nothing. This historical context raises an interesting question: What would you have done? How much would you have sacrificed to stop the coming war?

Is this a series?

Yes, the Dark Talents novels began with At the Table of Wolves and continues with Serpent in the Heather. Nest of the Monarch will come out in 2019. All of them feature the espionage missions of Kim Tavistock, a flawed but extraordinary spy. Read More…