Welcome back, SuperReaders!
************************************************************************************
As always, I am your ever-so-humble SuperHostess, Lady Morse Code, and this is the League of Extraordinary Authoresses interview series. Today we have a tentacled, top hat-wearing SuperWriter to introduce you to…
The Bayou Kraken!!!!!
So, we’re just going to jump right into the murky waters of this interview.
LMC: Welcome, Bayou Kraken! I’ve been such a huge fangirl since you rescued me from drowning during that kayaking trip through the underbelly of downtown Houston. Who knew that my cowgirl boots weighed so much when filled with water?!? So, let me start with a public thank you.
BK: You’re most welcome, Lady Morse Code. Anyone with tentacles would have done the same.
LMC: Yes, true. Normally we start with a different line of questioning but since you brought them up. Tell us more about your tentacles.
BK: Tentacles are amazing things! I’m able to write poetry, fiction, and non-fiction all at once, participate in multiple critique groups, and take a wide variety of workshops at Writespace Houston, Grackle and Grackle, and Inprint! Now I’m working on pulling time out of thin air and actually getting projects done, but you know, I’m running out of tentacles.
LMC: How exciting! I’m so jealous! In addition to your extra limbs, I also love your top hat, humidity-resistant goggles and bullet-proof corset that protects you from rejections and excuses for not writing! Such an amazing look! Okay, enough fawning over your getup. Let’s move on. Give me the scoop on your sidekicks and superwriting heroes.
BK: Well, as for sidekicks, there are two small, white dogs that follow me around on adventures on the bayous. But mostly they lounge around and look cute while I write. Cuteness is a powerful weapon they brandish mercilessly. As for heroes, I’d have to say the Woman of the Earth Sea, aka Ursela Le Guin, and the Queen of Avalon, aka Marion Zimmer Bradley are top picks for me.
LMC: Oh, speaking of cover names, I haven’t even asked yours yet! So, tell us what your cover name is, please.
BK: Jennifer Stephan Kapral. Catchy, huh?
LMC: It is! Almost as catchy as your catch-phrase–Release the inner editor! I love when you finish a rough draft and shout it full voice and it echoes through the tunnels and water pipes. So fun! I bet the readers are all going to start using your phrase to inspire their own inner editor. Love it! Tell us about your lair.
BK: I lurk underneath the bayous of Houston, favoring the cloak of the murky waters. If anyone possesses a threat to my lair, a swarm of blood-thirsty fairies (aka mosquitoes) drives them away. For friends, a bayou mermaid welcomes them with fresh caught fish (jaw to table) and the friendly neighborhood alligator makes frozen margaritas, pre-crushing the ice with his teeth to give it a mouth-crafted touch.
LMC: Party at the bayou this weekend! Sounds like a super fun place. Hey, what about super gadgets–do you have any?
BK: I have a finely tuned sensing device that locates exactly where a story should start (hint: it’s not where you started it). I also have a Super Special Pen filled with Kraken Ink (not mine, don’t be silly!) that allows me to rewrite the opening sentence of a story over and over and over until it pops out of the page and grabs hold of the reader.
LMC: Can I borrow your super-story-starting sense? That is something I surely struggle with! Well, sadly, it’s about time for us to wrap up. My fingers are getting pruney and I think there might be a leech in my boot. I love you but this bayou life is … never mind. How can the literate citizens of the world reach you, if they need you?
BK: They can find me on a run, bike ride, or kayak trip down the bayou (just ignore the white plastic bags and random pieces of furniture), look at my past musings about Houston at http://lifeinsidetheloop.blogspot.com/ and follow me on twitter at @bayoukraken.
LMC: Thank you so much for being with us today, Bayou Kraken, and I can’t wait to pop down to your lair for a murky, mermaid-served margarita! Until next time, this is Lady Morse Code signing off. Dots and dashes unite, forever we will write!
- If you’re new to Lady Morse Code’s superblog, check out issues #1-3 here at Luna Station Quarterly.