Indie Writer: JD Kell
Latest Work: Lunch
Author Homepage: Writing.com
Q: How did Lunch come to be?
JD Kell: Actually, it’s based on my own struggles with an eating disorder and those of other women that I know.
Q: Do the characters touch on people in your life, or your life experience?
JD Kell: Both of the characters are a compsite of different emotions women experience with food. It’s really more about how women relate to one another, food, and their bodies. We are set up from the get go in society to compete, and I think for women, that’s especially tough — we’re taught to compare ourselves to other women, either in fashion magazines, or the girl down the block etc..Leslie and Jessica just want to be accepted for who they are, but society doesn’t accept them. Leslie tries to fill the hole by eating. Jessica goes the other way and starves herself.
Q: What new projects are you working on?
JD Kell: I am in the process of writing a collection of short stories about women and their relationship with food. There are a lot of situations that lend themselves to this topic. The title of the book is Hunger. It’s still in the conceptual process, one story at a time. I’m learning how to edit myself. Sometimes, I’ll read the same story a million times trying to get it perfect, and I get to the point where I can’t stand the thing anymore. And it’s still not there. The editing process is tedious, but I guess that’s the only way to get better at the craft of writing.
Q: There’s a big assumption Indie Writers are destined to fail. Hate to put you on the spot, but what’s your take on it?
JD Kell: I hope not. I think the internet has really changed the nature of media, and has opened up the doors for independent writers. It’s a lot easier to self publish on the internet, than it is to self publish through a print shop., and you have such a broader audience. I guess it all comes down to whether or not your goal is to entertain or make money.
Q: Are you looking to be picked up by a publishing house, or take the independent route, or is all that a non-factor for you?
JD Kell: It’s nice to dream that someday I could make some money. I would like to see Hunger published by a publishing house, but the book has to be completed, before that can happen. I still need to develop as a writer – get used to rejection.
Q: What got you into writing?
JD Kell: I like to read. I’ve always used books as a means of escape to some extent, and writing has the same draw to it. I enjoy it. I find it maddening, sometimes, looking for that right word or rephrasing something a million different ways, but when I like what I’ve written, it’s extremely satisfying.
Q: Your favorite author ?
JD Kell: It changes. I really like Russell Banks. I think that his characters have a quiet desperation to them. When I was in junior high and high school, I would have told you that my favorite authors were Stephen King and Clive Barker, but today I enjoy character studies more. I loved Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Poisonwood Bible..Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections….Rick Moody’s, The Ice Storm.
Q: Your favorite quote ?
JD Kell: I can’t give you the source, but somebody told me once that “if you want to write, and you don’t write, then you don’t really want to write.”
Q: Any last words, you would like to leave the readers of the site?
JD Kell: Keep writing. Thanks a lot:) Jen.
