Ask the Author: Keith Wayne McCoy
Answered Questions (9)
Keith Wayne McCoy
I died on Columbus Day of Twenty-twenty. My husband, children, and grandchildren were there as I ascended to the ceiling of the hospital room.
Keith Wayne McCoy
Hill House from "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson and the mansion from "Burnt Offerings" by Robert Marasco. Houses with minds of their own interest me because I like to read the reactions of sane, everyday characters confronted by the supernatural.
Keith Wayne McCoy
"The Magus" by John Fowles, "The Waves" by Virginia Woolf, and "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (again!).
Keith Wayne McCoy
I read an article about the actress Kate Jackson who is 67 and inspired the physical attributes of the mistress of Wellsington in my novel. What if...What if... an author must constantly ask themselves. I wondered "What if a very young man found himself attracted to and even falling in love with a woman easily old enough to be his mother?" Quickly, the character became a former 1960s radical who finds herself in the unlikely (for her) role of mistress of an estate. The poor 23 year old from Queens is initially overwhelmed with the lifestyle of the wealthy but is entranced by not only her beauty but her stance against conservative people who dismiss the working poor. She is a liberal and uses her wealth to improve life for the poor as a philanthropist whom the young man admires and, eventually, comes to love.
Keith Wayne McCoy
While I realize many reading this will take offense, I am a Christian and I actually pray for inspiration. While my books are decidedly not "religious" in nature, I strongly attest to the fact that I can ask the Lord for help, and He always gives a nudge or "scene" which I then embellish and write.
Keith Wayne McCoy
Although I don't particularly read a great deal of paranormal books, my own works have a decided bent toward the otherworldly, be it SF, Fantasy, or Gothic. Right now, I am working on what I call a "Modern Gothic". No vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. but a decided backdrop of an old mansion with an apparent mind of its own. I never plunge fully into the supernatural but find that the existence of it in subtle ways is successful for me as a writer. My novel is called "The Governor" and concerns a very young cop from Queens who is dismissed after losing his temper on a call to a domestic dispute. He raised his five younger brothers and sisters after his mother's death and has a particular soft spot for youth. After his unceremonious dismissal from being a cop, a Catholic priest persuades him to take on a summer job at a wealthy estate on the Hudson to a wealthy widow who inherited 2 grandchildren when her son and daughter-in-law are killed in Europe on the Bonn, A man's man, even at 23, he is ideal for her desire for a male influence on her grandchildren. Rather than "governess", she calls him the "governor". Much to his surprise and chagrin, he finds himself falling in love with the classy, attractive 67 year old. Perhaps in guilt, he "sees" the apparition of her dead husband on several occasions and the house has eccentricities that he slowly accepts.
Keith Wayne McCoy
I must say that in addition to the all-important class discussions of a writer's work, the workshops and conferences are most helpful. I have won many scholarships to writers workshops and conferences and the featured "teacher" is generally a published author. Listen to them and pay particular attention to their approach to writing. I have had great experiences with the workshops I attended and carried away vital suggestions and outright "how-to's". I highly encourage any beginner or accomplished writer to utilize them.
Keith Wayne McCoy
An author should approach writing as a sharing source of plot, character, and setting. I especially enjoy the character-driven aspects of being a writer. I have the power to pull a reader into the often provocative world of a character's peculiarities and surprising reactions to dilemmas.
Keith Wayne McCoy
When I am confronted with writer's block, the most successful means to overcome it are simply to sit in complete silence and gaze through a window or a fixed object. Contemplating the setting and characters are most useful and, honestly, the characters themselves offer the best routes to overcome this vexing problem. Let them react to the plot, reveal their individual idiosyncracies, and they will usually guide the author down a route heretofore unimagined.
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