I’m completely hooked on the works of Stephen Kozeniewski and his incredible range. No one else blends horror, humor, everyday life, and personal storytelling quite like he does. His work moves effortlessly from the eerie to the hilarious to the heartbreakingly real. Whether they’re raising the dead with a twist of humor, capturing ghostly beings, or reflecting on the journey of life, Steve brings every topic to life! His storytelling voice is always grounded in real human emotion, even when the world is filled with zombies and other spooky beings.
Admittedly, my physical book collection needs some work! I highly recommend checking out the audiobooks of Steve’s works as well. I find myself putting those on to re-experience the tales! I recently did that with The Ghoul Archipelago and had a blast.
Without further delay… Let’s dive in!
Interview with Stephen Kozeniewski, author of LOONEY!
Who is Stephen Kozeniewski?
Stephen Kozeniewski (pronounced “causin’ ooze key”) is a Splatterpunk Award-winning author and two-time World Horror Grossout Contest champion. His published work has also been nominated for the Voice Arts and Indie Horror Book Awards, among other honors. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and their two cats above a fanciful balloon studio.
What is your first memory of writing for fun?
I actually have a lot of vivid memories of filling up notebooks as a very young child, primarily with drawings of various anatomically unlikely monsters, but then gradually starting to write out stories to explain what those creatures were and where they came from. I actually still have a few of those notebooks if that’s the sort of thing your audience would be interested in.
How many books/short stories have you written?
I can’t even remotely begin to answer that. But as far as publication, I’ve produced 8 solo novels, 3 collaborative novels, 1 solo novella, 1 collaborative novella, and 23 shorts.
What’s the piece of writing you’re most proud of and why?
I’m not going to play the “that’s like choosing my favorite child” game, but if you will grant me a little leeway, it would be easier to break that down by category, as it’s difficult to choose a single composition. As far as novels, I’m still extraordinarily proud of what I accomplished with The Ghoul Archipelago, which is good because I seem to be the only person who likes that one. In regard to short stories, The New Dark Ages is far and away the best I’ve ever written. In terms of non-fiction, Yes, I Am A Vampire is the absolute best thing I’ve ever done, including decades of blogging and interviews like this one.
What’s the most unexpected thing writing has taught you about yourself?
I have no respect for anyone who doesn’t understand the intrinsic beauty and elegance of double-spaced sentences.
What are some of your other interests outside of writing?
Although Kit Power, who I thought was my friend, will apparently mock me endlessly for it, I’m a big fan of Warhammer. Now, you’ll note that I said Warhammer, meaning Warhammer Fantasy Battle (or…sigh, Warhammer: The Old World as the flagship property is now improperly known for some reason.) I want to be 100% clear that I’m not one of those weirdo cryptofascist nerds who likes Warhammer 40,000.
As a reader, what genres do you reach for the most?
You know, I used to read a lot of sci-fi but recently I’ve been hewing more to fantasy. I will gravitate toward horror pretty often, but I’m not generally interested in small town horror or what, without writing a whole essay about it, I guess I’d term “baseline horror.” So, I almost always prefer genre mash-ups, or at least unique takes on the subject of horror. I’ve also been reading a lot more non-fiction lately, which may just be a function of Audible often offering a lot of free non-fiction audiobooks and me needing to get through those dead spaces between monthly token dispersals.
Do you have an all-time favorite book or author?
Well, my longtime favorite books are the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Douglas Adams has been dead for a hell of a long time so it’s hard to cite him as still my favorite author. I am a big fan of David Wong/Jason Pargin, who, now that I’m thinking about it, has sort of picked up the mantle of that particular brand of zany sci-fi, so maybe it makes sense that he’s one of my favorite contemporary authors.
Yes, I Am A Vampire Related Questions –
Your story notes provide readers with insights into your creative process and the real-life events that influenced your writing. How did you decide which personal anecdotes to include?
Well, I don’t mean this to sound artsy-fartsy, but it was more of a process of discovery than a lot of deliberate choices. Mostly I was just trying to outline what real-life events inspired each of the shorts, and then that prompted me to examine why those events happened and what else was necessary to understand how I had come to each of those particular points in my life. So, I did some jumping around, realizing that an event in a particular story note wouldn’t make sense unless I had previously set it up correctly. It mostly just came together of its own accord. There were a very few instances where I felt like I had to elide a point or not recount an anecdote in order to protect the people involved, but I tried very hard not to do that just to spare my own feelings or personal reputation. My intent for this work was to tell the truth to the maximum extent possible without laboriously boring people with every mundane detail.
Stories like Exploding Shit Zombies and The New Dark Ages showcase your signature blend of horror and humor. How do you approach writing horror that is both terrifying and darkly comedic?
Well, people often say blending horror and comedy is difficult, but I’ve never really found that to be the case. I think the concern is that as an author you’re trying to weave a spell. So, if you’re trying to draw the reader in and scare them, you worry that the humor will break the momentum you’ve been trying to build. I don’t look at it that way. Laughter is a common response to absurdity and, frankly, tragedy. Gallows humor has a long and storied history. Rather than worry about breaking the spell, I’ve always found that the absurdity of some situations lend themselves to humor. The character has to laugh or they’ll break, and at a minimum, it would make sense for the characters to find something funny, even in the depths of terror.
In your book, you discuss the importance of community and collaboration among writers. How has the horror writing community supported you, and what do you enjoy most when contributing to fostering that sense of camaraderie?
Oh, boy. That is a massive question. Some of my best friends, who I talk to every day now, were originally fans or colleagues. All of my success is due to the support of this community. If I start naming people, I won’t be able to name everyone, and that would be unkind, so I just won’t name anyone. As for what I enjoy about paying it forward, it’s primarily helping others avoid the pitfalls I’ve blundered into. You’ll find a lot of examples of that in Yes, I Am A Vampire. If nobody else ever has to go through any of that shit again because they read this book, I would be mightily pleased.
If one of your characters (from this book or another work) came to life for a day, what would you do together?
Huh. Well, that’s an interesting one. I think if I had to choose, I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Braineater Jones. Naturally, we’d spend the day drinking and talking, although hopefully in my neck of the woods and not his.
Just one last question; Where can readers find you?
Thanks for reading!
If you’ve been following me here for a bit, you know how much I LOVE Steve’s work! So this interview was LONG overdue! Thank you again to Steve for taking part!
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