Meet K.b. Wagers

 

We were lucky to catch up with K.b. Wagers recently and have shared our conversation below.

K.B. , thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

I think I was born with it? *laughs* I’ve always been relentlessly optimistic, or maybe persistently optimistic in the same way that humans are persistence hunters. A lot of what gets me through more difficult times is just to tell myself to take another step, keep going. At the end of it, I think that choosing hope is a far better course of action than the alterative, so that’s what I do.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

The easy answer to this is that I am a science fiction author. The more involved, complicated answer is that I tell stories about life, the universe, and everything. I write space operas about family – blood and found. I imagine worlds that are still difficult and messy but hopeful and kind. I dream up characters who embody as wide a scope of our experiences as I can manage. A lot of it is political, a lot of it is queer. And all of it helps people understand themselves and each other just a little better.

My next book comes out in November. And the Mighty Will Fall is a standalone novel set in the world of the Near-Earth Orbital Guard (NeoG) and is best described as Die Hard in space but if everyone had to grapple with the aftermath and not just ignore it. If you’re looking for an exciting action story with a lot of heart, this is will be a great one to pick up!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I grew up with an English teacher mother who encouraged our love of reading with regular trips to the library and the bookstore. (pretty sure our family love language is offering to buy someone a book) Both of my parents have also always been very encouraging of my love of writing and my desire to write books.

I have a BA in Russian Studies which really helped in showing me other ways to construct narratives and the knowledge that there is a much wider world of fiction out there than a person from the eastern plains of Colorado had previously realized.

And the most important quality, I think, is the reminder that art isn’t about suffering, it’s about joy. This is something I try to talk about as much as I can especially with people looking to get into writing, because as a business it’s a difficult and demanding job; but it’s also so very necessary to remember why you wanted to do it in the first place. The joy of creating things and the joy of seeing other people enjoy your creation is simply amazing.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

People who know me already have heard me talk about the pretty terrible case of burnout I suffered in 2020-2021 after writing eight books in seven years and working a 40+ hour a week day job. But it’s something I try to mention every chance I get because even now, almost three years after quitting my day job and transitioning to writing full-time. I have been doing the whole rest recovery thing that’s so necessary for burnout (and I’m so very privileged to have been able to take this time) and I am STILL finding my way back to writing creatively again.

For a while it felt like there was a real chance I wasn’t going to write again and the struggle is something that remains in the front of my head on a daily basis. We don’t get enough time to rest in this never-ending hustle culture and we don’t get enough time to dream. I’ve had to retrain myself to allow more quiet space in my life, more time for stories to develop and grow. It’s a challenge in this society for sure, where we’re not supposed to be bored or unproductive.

Early in the year I took a hard look at what was happening in my life and what I felt was impacting my ability to write in both positive and negative ways. Then I took steps to get myself back in a creative space again. I take a lot of walks. Spent a lot of time with quiet or cool white noise (my current favorite is the sound of space ship engines) just thinking about the stories I’m working on. I’ve been trying to do some hobbies that are just for me – not for social media content or anything public, but just mine. It’s okay to have things you don’t share and you don’t sell.

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Image Credits

Author photo: Donald S. Branum

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