K.S. Walker writes speculative fiction from a city in the Midwest with a river winding through it. This river may or may not be an ancient power that makes seductive bargains. Their work often explores themes of transformation, longing, and belonging and has been published in many venues. Their work has appeared in FIYAH, The Deadlands, Baffling Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, among others.
Their story, “River Bargain Baby”, was originally published in Apex and will appear in BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror Volume Two, available to preorder now.
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Give us the elevator pitch of your BNW-nommed story, please.
River Bargain Baby is sort of like if The Parent Trap (1998) was marshier. Or more paranormal at the very least.
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have an office? A preferred coffee shop? The back of the bus? Standing under your neighbor’s eaves, avoiding the rain? Are you one of those true modern Weirdos who write your entire novel on your phone?
Routine? I don't know her. I have two young and feral children. The hamster in my head in charge of executive function skills is overworked and underpaid. It's a miracle, quite frankly, we've gotten this far into an interview.
What does “Weird” mean to you, in the context of storytelling? And what creators/experiences/influences helped sculpt this definition for you in your creative journey?
My understanding of "Weird" comes almost entirely from reading other Weird works. Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy was where I was pointed to most often when I began to explore the genre. I recently read and adored Organ Meats by K-Ming Chang and while I don't know that she would call it Weird, it hit all the Weird buttons for me. Short story-wise I think of Kelly Link's The Specialists Hat and Alexia Antoniou's There Are Only Two Chairs, And the Skin is Draped Over the Other. These stories/novels share genre mashup, a dreamlike sense of uncanniness. I think I'm drawn to Weird from a child's point of view specifically because children are still learning the rules of our world; their ideas of what's possible is elastic, therefore they seem willing to accept far more strangeness before their unease sets in.
On the Tenebrous Discord, we ask everyone to introduce themselves as a Film-meets-Music Artist (Citizen Kane x Metallica, f’rinstance). It doesn’t have to be your favorite, and don’t spend too much time overthinking it; now GO.
Queen of the Damned x Fall Out Boy
What’s the Weirdest thing—capital W—that’s ever happened to you (that you’re comfortable sharing)?
I avoid all things Weird in real life with a wide berth. I don't have Main Character Energy for real.
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BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Two, is out June 26th.
