My name is KeVin

My name is KeVin Killiany and I live in Wilmington, on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina. I joined Novel Racers while working on my second novel, To Ride the Chimera, which will be out in February of 2008. That one's now wrapped and I'm working on several short projects and putting together a pitch for a British game company -- hopefully do a novel for them.

All of my published clips to date have been media tie-in. Short stories and e-books in the Star Trek universe, one Doctor Who story to date (Look for Doctor Who Short Trips: Destination Prague from Big Finish -- should be on shelves in a week or two.) and many many game stories and source book articles. Game fiction is a very big field, but if you're not into games, you might not notice it exists. Halo, Forgotten Realms, Warhammer, Dragon Lance, BattleTech, MechWarrior -- all of these are role-playing or combat games and they all have dedicated fiction. (Source books are what's called "fluff" in the game industry. If your character is a thief on the planet Tharkad in 3062 and you need to know what sort of tools he'd have, etc., you'd consult a source book. Gamers regard these reference guides as nonfiction.)

Media tie-in is write for hire -- in other words, I am paid for what I write, but the IP (intellectual property holder) for whom I right retains all right. The finished work is not my property. For this reason many agencies and publishers -- and writers -- do not regard media tie-in as "real" writing. Particularly since you must produce a story or novel that is part of a greater whole. Because of m background in theatre, I tend to think of being a tie-in writer in terms of being in the cast of a play. I do my best work on stage, but I make sure my best work supports and expands upon the work of the other actors. The point is not to have the audience remember me, but to present them with a show they'll remember. (Obviously, in this analogy, a writer of original fiction is a one-person show.)

I do write original fiction, of course. At the moment (checks notebook) I have seven short stories out to various markets. I will be beginning a new original novel in a couple of weeks (after I take care of the short-term projects and pitch I mentioned). I have narrative outlines prepared -- setting, cast, plot all worked out -- for four novels. I'm not sure which one I will write first. I'll keep you posted.