We recently published a new short story from Kelly J. Burke, called First Cut is the Deepest. As a follow-up to the release, we caught up with Kelly to talk a bit about his inspiration, mythology, and the vision for his stories. What follows is an excerpt of the interview—this first part is focused specifically on Kelly’s inspiration and motives for writing. During this interview we learned that he has a pair of manuscripts and is working on a third. I think it’s safe to say, we can expect, more stories from him this next year. For the time being, let’s get to know the man behind the story a little better.
- What would you like to tell people about yourself? Where are you from? How long have you been writing? Anything you think readers would like to know about you?
I was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan… I’ve lived in different places, all across Canada. I’ve lived on the west coast. I’ve lived in Ontario, doing my master’s degree. I have a bachelor’s of English, and I got into that because I was interested in writing. Of course, you finish a bachelor of English and… what do you do with that? So, I went into a Masters [program for] librarianship. That took me out to London and Hamilton (Ontario). And then back to Saskatoon.
I started writing in my early-twenties as a way to capture my experiences growing up as a RPGer. My friends and I were really hardcore. We played Middle Earth roleplaying. And then my friend decided to make his own RPG. A lot of my writing is based on that, because it was such a formative experience for me. We played every day for hours a day. I started writing to capture that feeling. It ended up being a cool story. It started out being called Road Wars, ended up being called Road Kill just because of the nature of the content as we grew older and sophisticated. We ventured into more mature themes in the gaming, and then we stopped playing. So that was a big part of my childhood growing up… I wanted to capture that. And that’s really why I started writing.
And earlier on, I was really into mythology. Like Greek mythology… I picked up a book in third grade and got really hooked on it. [More on this below.]
- What about wastelands fiction appeals to you? Do you have a different spin on it?
I think growing up in the 80s, I was really into the gritty, post-apocalyptic genre in general… you know Mad Max… Road Warrior… Damnation Alley. Honestly, I don’t know what draws me to it, other than it’s the gritty, dark setting and its got survival… that aspect of survival–in that environment–and [those kinds] of primal instincts. You can really play with that a lot in the writing. And it can go in all kinds of different directions. Personally, what I want to accomplish with it is the creation of that mythology for future stories. Trying to create that mythos for the novels… with my own style and take.
- Is that mythos unique or in parallel to say… something like Greek and Roman mythology?
It’s a unique pantheon in one way, but there’s iconic gods and goddesses in it. God of fertility… god of war… but with a spin on it. It’s kind of a monolithic religion. One god, but he’s got other gods underneath him… which he controls, so there’s a different connection there. It’s different than classical Greek or Roman mythology.
- I think most people will relate wastelands fiction to Mad Max, The Book of Eli, the show Into the Badlands… perhaps parts of Judge Dredd or Maze Runner (to name a few big ones). Do you find inspiration in these works? Are there other works?
Yeah, those are major inspirations for me. I do draw a lot from them, especially Mad Max. Even the newer ones. The aesthetic of that is what I try somewhat to emulate a little bit in my writing. Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, too. I try not to emulate too much, but instead draw inspiration from their writing and then put my own spin on it. Cinema, in particular, is a big big influence for me. Seeing those movies in theatre when I was younger…
I’ve read pretty broadly in the genre. Lucifer’s Hammer is an old 80s book that’s pretty cool—it’s realism and realistic post-apocalyptic stuff. They all kind of play into it in some way. I’m fascinated by the end of the world. What could happen? What kind of things could progress?
- How do you perceive the relationship between those works, the reader, and your stories? Is that relationship something to help the reader move deeper into the genre through your stories?
I see a lot of [those works], especially these days with Hollywood, it’s become a little formulaic. I think some of the early ones were a little more original. The stories were fresh and new… but it’s definitely gotten formulaic. You’ve got the hero trying to find themselves and fight through whatever hardships they’re going through. The pattern becomes pretty recognizable, and to me… a little bit boring. The hero journey, but with the Hollywood spin on it… which to me makes it… not dull, but. [I’m] trying to bust that and not get sucked into that formulaic writing and character development. I guess that would be the bigger part of it.
In First Cut is the Deepest, Silent is the main character. He’s an anti-hero, but I’m trying to take it in a different direction with his development. Again, tying back into that mythological piece. I view him as a bit of the trickster, so as he develops, we’ll see him morphing into more of that trickster god. I think that’s where I can branch off and make it a little more unique. And in the later books it’s going to get crazy.
That’s it for part one. Keep an eye open for part two in the near future.
If you haven’t read First Cut is the Deepest or if you’re looking for more FREE short fiction from other authors, make sure to swing by the Fiction page. We’re working hard to bring our community the very best of indie fiction.
Want to connect with Kelly? You can find him on Threads.
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