TIH 566: Gwendolyn Kiste on The Haunting of Velkwood

Timestamps for the video version. Add around 2 minutes and 50 for the audio.

00:02.10
Michael David Wilson
Gwendolyn, Welcome back to this is horror podcast.

00:04.47
Gwendolyn Kiste
Thank you so much for having me back I'm very happy to be here.

00:08.18
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, so last time it had been 2 years since we'd had you on this time is more like one month one and a half month so definitely a quicker return.

00:18.84
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, ah, absolutely. Absolutely.

00:25.84
Michael David Wilson
Now has there been anything that has happened in that month that you wanted to talk about any changes any shifts in dynamic or mindset.

00:42.68
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, well the haunting of Velkwood came out So I mean I feel like every time you have a new book out. That's like a big shift in the dynamic. You feel very different. It feels like a really different experience like living with a book and like you know it's coming but like you don't know what's going to happen or how people are gonna React. So. That's like a big thing once it's out there. You're like okay, it's out there Forever. It's no matter what happens this part of that process is over. So yeah, that's a big thing.

01:10.72
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, and I mean how have you found the initial reaction and then what have you been doing in terms of the promotion and getting the word out there have you done any. In-person Events has it been restricted to online. Let's talk a little bit about that because last time you were preparing to promote preparing for the release and now as you say it is here. It is alive.

01:36.38
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yes.

01:44.80
Gwendolyn Kiste
It's it is. It's alive. Yes, so yeah I mean the reception has been good so far I've had a lot of you know people sharing it on Instagram I'm not on Twitter anymore. So I don't know anything that's going on in those those I'm not on tiktok either. But a lot of good. Reactions on Instagram and on Facebook and it's gotten some very nice reviews. There was a great review that came out from paste that was really nice cause I have paste and yeah, so that's been really exciting and I've been doing some in-person events I've been doing. You know a decent bit of interview so we had my launch in Pittsburgh about three weeks ago now and that was lovely I did an appearance in Cleveland I just got back from Atlanta and so it's been. You know a lot of just out there talking about the book talking about my ghosts.

02:34.41
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, and of course now that I have read it I mean firstly fantastic book. Absolutely met if not exceeded my expectations I mean they they were very high to begin with so it it at a minimum. Met them. But so many things that we were talking about before now of course make more sense and you know you spoke about how people had previously compared it to a David Lynch film and of course I think the things that. Came up the most were blue velvet particularly the opener and indeed twin peeps is an easy comparison because of it being that small town disquieting horror where something deeply wrung is going on.

03:18.40
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah yeah.

03:25.83
Gwendolyn Kiste
And then.

03:31.97
Michael David Wilson
One Lynch film that I haven't really had mentioned but to me I can see some commonalities is Mulholland drive and so I wondered if that was something you were thinking about while writing and I think.

03:42.64
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ooh. Okay.

03:50.98
Michael David Wilson
Because as well, there's just so much mystique in both films about Identity. There's almost like a kind of love dynamic as well and like the unreliable not even necessarily narrator. But just. Unreliability throughout in both of those.

04:12.56
Gwendolyn Kiste
I love that comparison that makes me so happy you know I don't think anyone has talked about Mulholland Drive in relation to this book yet. But that's actually 1 of my favorite lynch films and so that's a really exciting comparison and I really like the idea of like you said about. How it is like a very dark love story Mulholland Drive is and this really is in its own way and it they're both about identity so much. So yeah I really love that I love that? yeah.

04:39.19
Michael David Wilson
And yeah, and I think something that I mean of course you mentioned that in writing this Book. You became public with your own bisexuality. But I feel now having. Read it that we we almost understated just how much this is simultaneously a love story as well as a horror story but it's also very much dealing with loneliness and lack of acceptance.

05:16.71
Michael David Wilson
Isolation and even grappling with one's own identity particularly when you know you're not fully out and you you know you're kind of like almost one person.

05:32.76
Michael David Wilson
To the people who know your true identity and 1 person to others.

05:36.71
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah that's a really a really great observation I would very much agree with that that is very much true in this story of like how to Lisa in particular the main character. Yes, how the maybe the neighborhood views her and how maybe her best friend Brett. Views her and how those 2 people are not the same and you know what does that do to us those fragmented identities again. Ball Holland drive is such a great example of those kind of fragmented identities and so yeah, that's that's very very true of this book. Absolutely.

06:11.56
Michael David Wilson
And I think too I mean in terms of ghosts and hauntings. There's almost this idea that we're we can be haunted by time but in such a way that that there's almost like. A crossover of time travel and hauntings and they kind of fused together as one and so I mean how much do you think one can be. Haunted by time and how much do you feel in in kind of a way in being haunted that we can almost time travel and I know some some listeners might be like what what it has has Michael lost it. But I feel that sometimes in. In fixating on something. There is a kind of time travel that we can partake in.

07:04.82
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yes, yes, and that was very much something I was thinking about about how much grief and trauma are so are things that actually put us in these time. Loops. It's like suddenly you're a time traveler and you're going back in time and you're living you feel like you're you're living in that Moment. You'll have all the same emotions your body will physically feel the same way it did in this moment of grief or in this moment of trauma and so I I think about that a lot and I was definitely thinking about that as I was writing this. Book about about this haunted neighborhood that they can literally walk back into the people who can the 3 girls who escaped it and I love that haunted by time because I think a lot of us are were haunted by something that either and and also I talk a lot about trauma and grief. Sometimes you know it's things. Were' good and positive and you can't get back to because you know one of the characters within Velwood really once she didn't have as bad of an experience as as the other 2 characters and so people can have very different experiences of the same time and the same place and some people might look back on it as like oh I Miss this. Time and I want to go back to it and other people are like I keep going back to it in my mind because it was so traumatizing so those different kinds of experiences with time and how we how we deal with that.

08:24.44
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, are there any moments in time that you would like to go back to if we lived in this kind of world where perhaps we could have a vacation to a different time in our lives.

08:37.61
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, no, no I'm definitely somebody I Just want to move forward I Want to move forward sometimes I feel like I'm stuck too much in those kind of time loops of trying to figure out the past and trying to understand how did I end up here. I Want to look much more to the Future. That's like what I'm always trying to do so no I don't want to go back. I go back too much.

08:56.72
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and that's probably a healthy way to go about it to be honest because. Yeah, if we fixate too much on the past then we might miss what's going on in the present and what potential opportunities Await us in the future.

09:16.66
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

09:20.41
Michael David Wilson
Now something that you mentioned last time we spoke was that it was actually while you were writing this book that you realized you were writing about your sexuality so you didn't start off intentionally. Doing that. So I Wonder at what point in the process. Did you realize that you were writing about your sexuality and then how did that change the writing process.

09:55.24
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know I don't know that it really changed it that much because it was it almost felt like it was like a locomotive at that point that it was already moving in that direction and that I was just like okay I'm gonna keep going I would say about a third of the way through a quarter to a third of the way through. You know it was far enough in that I couldn't back out of it as much as I wanted to so I know it was definitely a significant. It wasn't like a chapter because I could have backed out at a chapter. So I think it was about a third of the way through like probably about 25000 words and I'm like oh okay, like I really did this to myself. So yeah, but.

10:27.99
Michael David Wilson
Do you think if you had realized even earlier. So let's say a chapter in. Do you think you would have backed out.

10:36.37
Gwendolyn Kiste
Oh yeah, Oh yeah, definitely I was not at a place that I wanted to deal with us at all like not publicly. Anyways, even though honestly looking back so much of them so much of my work has queer female characters anyways. So It's not to everyone else. It's not a big surprise. This wasn't like something that was like. I Always find it interesting that other people often can see the things in you before you can sometimes like especially things you don't want to deal with other people are like yeah like of course and you're the last one that's like okay I'm gonna tell you guys the secret and everybody's like it wasn't a secret but okay, that's Nice. You know, but. I Yeah I would have definitely backed out of writing I'm glad now that I didn't but it definitely shifted my world in a lot of ways I'm being like okay now I have to deal with this. So yeah, writing it's such a process.

11:23.10
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, right? Yeah yeah, and I mean much like when you publicly came out, you felt free to talk more about your sexuality now that you have written.

11:42.81
Michael David Wilson
A story that I mean could be classified as a queer story. There are definitely Queer Elements Strung Queer elements within the story. Do you feel a kind of liberation or like you would like to write more.

11:46.74
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, and.

11:59.55
Michael David Wilson
Queer stories or a freedom to explore outside in your fiction.

12:03.94
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know I mean like I said there was already a lot of queer characters in my work So in some ways it hasn't changed that much but in other ways I feel like it's changed so much because it's like before it was like okay I'm doing this I'm writing these characters but I'm not. Publicly out and I'm not necessarily commenting on the fact that I'm doing this and I'm not kind of promoting like promoting the the stories to that audience which I always felt was a missed opportunity in retrospect because that could be an audience that you know these stories could resonate with. So yeah, so it both. I'm both writing in a lot of the same ways. But at the same time not because I feel more comfortable with it and more like okay this is all right? This is Fine. You know I don't have to be worried about it or looking over my shoulder over what I don't Know. It's always weird these things that we kind of get hung up on even if there are reasons from the past because at a certain point. It's like. Those reasons don't exist Anymore. We're not stuck in the ghostly neighborhood. We have moved forward. So yeah, yeah, So it's both the same and completely different. It's really weird.

13:06.23
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and I mean of course you said that following on from this that you spoke at Stokecon on a bisexuality in Horror panel now.

13:23.66
Michael David Wilson
We didn't actually talk at length about this but again like a lot of this conversation I Want to follow up on the things that I didn't follow up on before so I want to know a little bit about.

13:37.60
Michael David Wilson
Not only what that experience was like but perhaps what some of the takeaways from that panel were.

13:44.50
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, so I'm trying to think back now because it's been almost a year I want to make sure I do it justice so you know it was. It was a good. Experience I was the moderator. It was the panel that I pitched and everything so it was really exciting to you know when I realized and I went back and sort of looked have there been any panels like this anywhere else in any other conference and there hadn't been and so I'm like this is really good like it made me feel like okay. You know I may have waited until I was in my thirty s to come out publicly but this is an opportunity to do something. That's never been done so I put together a panel. It was a great a great group of of writers I want to make sure I get everybody so I'm actually going to stop real quick and I'm going to actually look up. Bisexuality and a horror panel because I know at the very least my I want to get everybody's name because like at at the moment I'm like am I gonna forget somebody and then I'm gonna feel terrible if I forget someone all right? so. Ah, was J A W Mccarthy K P colsky Eric Raglin and Angela Sylvane were on the panel with me I think I would have remembered everybody but I'm still glad I looked at Baptist in case and so you know it was.

14:58.42
Gwendolyn Kiste
They're all they're all 4 incredible writers. So that was a lot of fun just to hang out with them and talk about horror with them and one of the things that really stuck with me is I asked because I realized I'd never used the word bisexuality in my fiction before. And it bothered me because I felt like you know we talk a lot about by invisibility and the way that you know bisexuality can kind of be deleted that you'll either call you know, gay or straight rather than being you know a unique identity but I realized even I'm not using the word. So I remember asking the panelists and all of them said I don't think I've ever used the word in my writing either. And that was really interesting to me and it's something that I'm trying to think more about when I'm writing of making sure to use that word to make sure that that is you know I would ideally like to live in a world where it's not a big deal that we don't have to put labels because I understand that some people push back about not wanting labels and I get that I understand that. But at the same time I feel like we're still at a place that things can be deleted or identities can be misunderstood and sometimes being very overt of like okay this character identifies as bisexual. It's not just that they're dating. You know, male and female characters or non-binary characters because bisexuality is usually. These days anyways, the definition that I use and other people use is attraction to 2 or more genders. So that way. It's not just on a gender binary of just male and female because obviously we we live in a much bigger world than just that. So.

16:22.75
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know, really trying to make those things overt within the text and so that was something I really took away from that conversation about being like okay I really want to use. Use that word more often and that way it's more visible and it's you know because even with voc wood I think some people have said that these characters are lesbian characters and they're not represented that way and that's not how I see them and obviously we need lesbian characters too. There's they you know we need all of these types of characters. But I do think it's important you know to to be a little bit more explicit and and I didn't use the word bisexuality and the haunting of velkwood but I'm I'm definitely going to continue trying to find ways to to work it in without it being something of like oh there's Gwendolyn Kiste definitely using the word bisexual like she said in that interview. So that's like the kind of challenge of where do you find that moment to be able to kind of work it in that it feels organic to the story.

17:16.18
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah I think that is the challenge doing it organically because I think any gender any sexuality. How do you explicitly you know state that in fiction.

17:21.18
Gwendolyn Kiste
And then again.

17:33.10
Gwendolyn Kiste
Um, yeah, yeah, and then.

17:34.80
Michael David Wilson
Without it seeming a little bit shoehorned and you know that there's there will be moments but it's finding. Okay, what is that real moment to be able to put that in.

17:43.82
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, Absolutely So that's that's like an interesting challenge as I'm like working through like I'm working on a project now that I'm like I know I Want to say this word at some point but I need to make sure that it's not just like kind of forced in there. So but hey that's that's why we do this right to try to fit solve those. Problems All the problems of writing and figuring out what are those right? moments for everything every plot beat everything. So yeah.

18:09.50
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah I mean it. The only place you could absolutely put it in organically without it seeming shoehorned would be in like marketing in Blubs in that kind of material because.

18:22.57
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yes, yes, yes.

18:27.56
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, this is a place really where we are stating what the story is and what it's about So that's even if it's not in the at your text the main text you could put it in the book at least or on the book.

18:31.32
Gwendolyn Kiste
Exactly I mean yeah.

18:43.39
Gwendolyn Kiste
That's a that's a really good point. That's a good point because that's a way that it's still like on the book and it's still very directly connected to the book. That's a good point. Absolutely yeah.

18:51.26
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, and I I agree with you too I Wish that we lived in a world where we almost didn't need to have any of these labels because you know love is love. It's it. It should be as simple as that it really should.

18:59.82
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, labels. Yep Yeah, yeah, yeah, Absolutely absolutely. So. I Definitely understand that you know when people are like I don't want to be labeled and I'm like I get it I do I do so whenever people are like pushback against labels I'm like I understand and for a long time I I really wanted to too but sometimes it was also me hiding and not wanting to deal with things as Well. I think I used to go with the idea. But oh everybody's bisexual. And that's like such a sign that it's like no not everybody. It just might be that you are.

19:36.10
Michael David Wilson
Right? Yeah, yeah, and I mean we're kind of both in terms of what we're talking about here with bisexuality but also as a wider theme in the Book. We're talking about community and we're talking about pockets of Communities. We're talking about community within communities. So I'm wondering what does community mean to you.

20:07.64
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah I mean that's that's a great question I mean I feel like community should hopefully be a place of belonging and a place that you feel safe I think ideally community is a place that you feel safe that it's people and a you know probably. People you feel safe with because you can say the horror community and that's not necessarily a place sometimes a bunch of people come together in 1 place whether it's a virtual space like social media or you know a physical place like a convention but like I think a community should ideally be somewhere you feel safe. It isn't always I suppose you can still call it a community even if you don't feel safe there. But I think for me the ideal the ideal for a community is a place that you feel safe a place you feel like you belong and and you feel like you have other people there that understand you.

20:57.43
Michael David Wilson
And so on that note, what communities do you feel part of or which communities do you most strongly identify with.

21:08.29
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, you know the horror community I do feel like you know I've I've made a lot of great friends and I hope I'm a good friend to a lot of people within the horror community and obviously the horror community isn't a monolith There's a lot of different aspects of it and different kind of. Clicks and things like that. Um, but I'm I'm also happy. We have a good group of horror writers here in Pittsburgh and that's really nice. So it's like you know, not only is there the kind of online community. There are some of us that do you know, get together in person and go out and you know do horror related things so that's really nice. That's like a. That can thatt's both a feeling and then also you know a place like I said that that we are and we go out to and things like that. So. That's definitely a community I feel like I I'm part of and I do feel like you know in in the community and in Pittsburgh the queer community I feel you know I go out and do some events within. Within the queer community the lgbtq plus community in Pittsburgh so that's really good and that's really positive. So I think those are like the 2 the 2 really big ones for me are are those 2 communities. So that's positive.

22:18.18
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, what kind of events are being put on by the queer community in Pittsburgh.

22:25.98
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know there's like different groups you know coming together. There's queer women's groups. there's also like there's a witchy lgbt q friendly bar in Pittsburgh which is like the best because I also practice witchcraft. So it's like you know there's a lot of queer witches out there which is. Fabulous and also like kind of it's like a sense of belonging. So yeah, and then I also put on like a monthly queer film club but we actually are doing one tomorrow and so that's actually a. Really fun thing just to go and talk about movies that have like Lgpt q characters or are made by Lgp T Q creators so that's that's a good that's a good one. We're doing bound tomorrow which I love it by like the first film from the wahowskis before they did the matrix and I love that movie. It's a great one. So I'm very excited to talk to. Everybody about but the first movie we did was the hunger which was fun because like horror and everything I want to do more horror but I don't want to scare everyone away. So I'm always like working it in sometimes.

23:27.53
Michael David Wilson
So interesting that you mentioned bound because I would say in the what 11 years of this is horror podcast nobody had mentioned bound until about a week ago when we spoke with cement for Allen. Because Samantha Allen she got a blurb from Lily Wachowski for her book and then lily actually sent cement for a prop from the movie bound. So yeah, eleven years and it's not.

23:50.40
Gwendolyn Kiste
My God well how.

24:02.49
Michael David Wilson
Been mentioned at all and now 2 episodes in a row. So I love I need to relisten I know I think um.

24:04.87
Gwendolyn Kiste
I Love that do you know what? the prop was what was the prop now I Want to know what the prop was.

24:18.15
Michael David Wilson
Goodness it. It's escaping me now but I will find out and I will let you know, but it yeah it is most treasured by cemanfa and like if you haven't read any cement for Allen then you absolutely should check out.

24:26.11
Gwendolyn Kiste
That is amazing I Love that.

24:35.90
Michael David Wilson
Patricia wants to cuddle. It's kind of got like um, a sasquatch monster theme mixed with reality Tv shows like the bachelor.

24:35.51
Gwendolyn Kiste
Okay, okay, all right.

24:43.78
Gwendolyn Kiste
Okay, I'm part of this one because I'm like is that the one with like the like animal on the cover or something like okay yes, that's the one I'm thinking of yes. Okay.

24:54.81
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, it's so good and cement for research. Yeah generous kindhearted person so you got to check it out and if you do a queer book club. Well. That book is absolutely you know it would fit in perfectly to that.

25:15.68
Gwendolyn Kiste
I love that I love that like to like 2 episodes almost in a row right? like mentioned bound that's amazing that's that's terrific

25:21.57
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and you know in in terms of the horror community I did put on social media that we were chatting with you and. I say we Bob is not here right now I forget something? No, it's it's just me for for now. There are not 2 of me. But yeah, ah, Neil Mcroer of talking scared. He said he would like me to ask you. If your dad has changed his mind about velkwood. So obviously I'm going to need some context for this because I don't know what your dad thought about Velkwood to begin with so. Let's begin there.

26:10.45
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, he is not a fan. He is not a fan of valelwood because he thinks everybody is so mean in it and he thinks the dads are really terrible and he's scared that everyone is going to think that he was like like Brett's dad and I'm like no dad. No one's going to think that. But the answer Neil sadly is no. He has not changed his opinion on the book but he did call me today to ask me how the book tour is going so he is he is supporting the book in his own way. Even if he is not a fan of but.

26:43.25
Michael David Wilson
Says the the main reason why he is not a fan simply because he fears that older dads are mean and now people will think he is mean to is that Ultimately what it comes down to.

26:55.47
Gwendolyn Kiste
I think I think that's what the bulk of it is yes I think so and I'm like dad. It's if there are ghosts too. It's obviously not pure memoir. But.

27:07.37
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, dear well I don't know it just it makes it more interesting if the parents are not ideal figures I mean goodness like Eric Laroca he has such a good relationship with his parents. But if you were to take his fiction as being some sort of memoir. It's like he writes about the most awful parents. You could have.

27:39.25
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah I mean you know obviously we're taking some creative liberties right? like it's not ah again, we're not writing memoir. It's not autobiography not completely. Anyways, there's certainly some of that in there I think for all of us. But yeah.

27:47.29
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, Oh yeah, and I mean like as you were saying before or at least alluding to I mean you can think that you're writing. Pure fiction and then when you read it Back. You're like oh my God There's so much of me going into this.. There's so much autobiography in this story.

28:12.77
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah I mean I do think that that that creeps in a lot and like themes and things like that. Especially I think that we start kind of gearing ourselves toward that even if we don't mean to I do think that's true.

28:28.80
Michael David Wilson
Now something you mentioned that I can't believe having had multiple conversations that we've never really spoke about this but you spoke about practicing witchcraft. So I want to know.

28:40.93
Gwendolyn Kiste
Oh yeah.

28:45.95
Michael David Wilson
What that looks like for you. What kind of things you're doing and how that wraps up in terms of coming into your identity and I I suppose as well because like you know saying you practice witchcraft is broad.

29:03.24
Gwendolyn Kiste
To death and then.

29:03.88
Michael David Wilson
Thing It's almost like saying I'm a member of a religion or you know or or I like food. It's like well tell me the variety. What is it that you're doing.

29:14.63
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, ah, yeah, yeah, absolutely so you know it's a lot of it's wi I mean I would say wicken broadly defined but you know not anything so specific. Do a lot with Tarot I love tarot I mean I think tarro is such an interesting thing. It can be so interesting for creativity too. You know, just like doing spreads and interpreting them and there's such a creativity involved in that. You know I do some work with herbs and crystals I love crystals I know that sun like crystals I feel like have like this bad reputation for being like too like hippy dippy. But I mean if nothing else they're pretty It's fun to just have pretty stones sitting around I'm like looking over and do some things with sound. Looking at my altar. It's like sits right next to my to my desk. Um, but yeah, like a lot of things like that. So you know do some spell work but a lot of it's just I like the idea of intention setting I think that that can be really nice, especially from a creative standpoint of like here's my intention. I going to do a spell put together herbs or crystals or a tarot card that represents that and then focus on that and then to me so much of manifestation is about the work you do from there. It's not necessarily. This is supernatural and that's why I got this story done sometimes.

30:36.20
Gwendolyn Kiste
It's just a matter of kind of directing your energy in a way that you're just paying attention to something and really trying to be like okay, what do I want because that's a big thing like you know trying to figure out what is it that I want. What are what is my goal here and just defining that and using witchcraft is kind of a vehicle for doing that can help make something real. So things like that that's like really kind of the the bulk of what of what I do you know today we were my cause my husband practices witchcraft as well and we were like watching this really fun rabbit lore video like they were doing that through Zoom this. Circle sanctuary and it was really fun. It was so much fun like learning about like symbolism throughout history of rabbits in different cultures and things like that and then we did like a rabbit meditation where you imagined yourself as like a rabbit and having the energy of a rabbit and I love that stuff because I think it's fun I think it like. Challenges you to think in a different way like if I was just sitting here I would never by myself be like I'm going to think about being a rabbit now but like you're in this group and like everybody's talking about like you know the symbolism of rabbits and in folklore and things like that and then it's like okay, let's do this meditation I'm like this is great like this is fun sometimes. Can be cool because I think witchcraft can actually have crafts in it. That's one of my favorite things too about witchcraft is I've gone to actual witchcraft stores and you'll actually make little crafts and like put your intention in and I'm like there's actual craft in witchcraft. So. It's just like fun things that kind of almost.

32:06.20
Gwendolyn Kiste
Take you back to childhood because most of the time we don't have like reasons to do like fun little crafty things like that. So I think it's just cool just doing that.

32:14.58
Michael David Wilson
And in terms of how it's playing out in your life is it more ritualistic more about intention setting more about these activities or it is there A supernatural. Component Is there almost anotherworldly component.

32:34.60
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah.

32:41.94
Gwendolyn Kiste
I'm I'm okay, if there's not a supernatural component but there's definitely weird things that can happen. So I think when I was on Neil's show the last time talking scared. He asked about like a weird thing that happened and I talked about how I we live at a crossroads and I went and I made an offering one night to the Goddess Hecate because she works at crossroads and my husband was standing back and he said that like this car went by and after it had gone by like I just like disappeared for a minute I was like making this this ah this offering and he said I just completely disappeared and he's like. Staring where I was and I'm just not there and then all of a sudden right in front of him I just emerge from a shadow and he's just like whoa like he's like he was like really freaked out and like he is not an easily rattled dude but he's like you just completely disappeared and then just reappeared out of nowhere. And so I mean you know obviously there's like like everyday ways like oh the eyes play tricks on you. But I mean you know the fact that I was making an offering to a goddess of the crossroads at a crossroads and I disappeared for a second you know, according to my not easily rattled husband I do find that like you know it's interesting. Seen at the very least I'll say that. So.

33:59.46
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, there's often a human explanation that we can give but it is interesting to have that. But what if the truth is the supernatural explanation like that makes the world a more exciting place that what if.

34:18.13
Gwendolyn Kiste
Exactly That's how I feel about it like even if there's no supernatural I feel like just leaving the door open to the possibility makes the world so much more Interesting. So I Just like to leave the door open even if it's just. Crack open like that's fine like I'm I'm leaving the door open for those things.

34:35.17
Michael David Wilson
Yeah,, are there any other kind of disquieting or strange moments that you could tell me about that. You know you didn't mention. Previously and I know that we have spoke about hauntings and things before so I may be asking you to dig deep here.

34:53.89
Gwendolyn Kiste
yeah yeah I know I'm trying to think if there was anything there was another time my husband and I were doing a spell and like we're doing this spell and it felt like there was like real energy in the room. We both really felt it and like. 1 cat just starts kind of freaking out and I think like this is gross to say but she like just like she's not she she does not have a bad stomach but she just like threw up randomly and then outside all of a sudden there was like lightning and like a tree like fell right across the street. All of this. Same time and it's like whoa like again could just be a coincidence right? but it was like all these things it was like there was so much energy and the cat is freaking out and like trees are crashing and it's like a storm's out of nowhere and it's like I mean it would look be great in a movie right? It likes very cinematic. So I mean that was interesting that was a weird thing.

35:48.28
Michael David Wilson
I mean it begs the question really what was the spell that you were doing at the time.

35:53.62
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know what was the spell I actually remember that more I think I was just was it like talking to a past self I think and. I Believe if I am if I'm accurate on this I believe I actually like I think we're even using like our our spirit board and I was talking to someone and I I would have. Been I would have had older siblings but my my parents had several miscarriages and I actually wondered based on what was being said if it was like the Gwendolen that would have been Gwendolen like the. The older sibling that probably would have gotten my name and that was like what they were saying on on the on the Spirit Board. So Maybe like an older sibling that wasn't Born. So I mean it was a pretty powerful thing like it was a really that wasn't necessarily what I was looking to talk to but that was what seemed like happened and so yeah, so that was interesting. That was interesting so it was a very powerful experience with that and then with everything happening around us.

37:04.65
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, and what you've described it as you say is very cinematic I mean that is how a spell is cast in the movies and then it's actually happening in your house.

37:18.14
Gwendolyn Kiste
I know because I was almost like Wow that seems very on the nose like if I wrote that in a book people would be like that's ridiculous and I'm like it kind of is but it did happen.

37:27.28
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and you know back to Velkwood I mean this is not a book for people who want easy answers and things to be tied up in a neat little bow I mean.

37:46.75
Michael David Wilson
Not only is there ambiguity in the ending but there is I would argue ambiguity in terms of how you interpret the entire story. There are so many things where there are double Meanings or there are double interpretations and so.

38:06.63
Michael David Wilson
I mean I'm I'm wondering I imagine that must have been something. You were very conscious ah of but when it comes to writing your fiction I mean how concerned are you in terms of giving answers in terms of leaving things to.

38:26.12
Michael David Wilson
Interpretation is your answer different to your editor is your editor want you to give more answers.

38:33.40
Gwendolyn Kiste
Oh that's a good question I don't think so I I'm trying to think back to the editing process I don't actually think that that was ah a big part of it. Maybe there was a little bit that my editor said can you just give us a little bit I think. More about the character of enid. Could you just build her up a little bit more and I was good with that because like I could have spent I could have written a whole book about her character I love her character. She's just a very interesting person kind of left behind and in the neighborhood and to maybe a little bit more about her. But not too much about having to actually give really concrete answers which I was grateful about because I like leaving things open-ended I like the idea that there's multiple interpretations for for stories or or for films I always like that idea that you can kind of debate. It. You know one of the things that has come up is are they even ghosts. Is that what's happening here like I know some people are like are they definitely ghosts and I'm like I mean that's up to somebody to interpret I consider that they're ghosts but I don't necessarily consider that they're a kind of typical quote unquote ghost and so like but I'm I'm good with however people kind of interpret it I actually like i. Like ambiguity at least a little bit of ambiguity that you can just kind of follow that idea of what you think happened rather than it being like I always think it's weird when writers are like no, there's 1 answer to my work and I'm like I would think you'd really want there to be maybe more than one because like if there's only 1.

40:00.57
Gwendolyn Kiste
Always make the joke that it's like c-spot run like you know it's so just straightforward and there's nothing wrong with c-spot run obviously but it it is for children. The reason that it's so straightforward is that it's for kids you know I like the idea of leaving things at least a little open-ended I feel like for adult readers like you Know. We're adults. We can figure things out, you know how we how we see it and I like that.

40:24.12
Michael David Wilson
And I think as well ambiguity and multiple interpretation is more honest to real life I mean anything that happens there are going to be multiple sides or perspectives and.

40:37.93
Gwendolyn Kiste
Um, heres a said the phone. What.

40:42.46
Michael David Wilson
You know, big because there are different people. There are different interpretations So it it seems silly to say that there's just one answer.

40:51.89
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah,, that's exactly how I feel I feel like in life. You don't usually get easy answers and so when fiction feels too easy when it feels too straightforward to me I'm like it. It lacks that kind of reality. It lacks that. You know what I feel our experiences are because I completely agree with you even to people who have the same they're at the same place at the same Time. Don't have the same experience or interpretation of something So if a book can only have one interpretation which I don't think there's any book that out there that really does whether the author wants to believe that or not. But I think that you know we do all see things so differently so anything is going to have those multiple perspectives with it. Absolutely.

41:36.50
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, and I mean I know last time you told us that you were working on another 2 releases you you know your next 2 releases 1 is going to be more historical one is going to be more. In the modern day I'm wondering just from a kind of offer perspective. What is it like for you being on this promotional tour for velkwood but in terms of the creative mindset.

42:12.74
Michael David Wilson
You know you're working on a different book.

42:16.15
Gwendolyn Kiste
You know it. It is always interesting because I feel like especially even even with small press. You're usually six months to a year out but then with you know, big 4 Presses you're often two years out. And so it's you know or at least a year and a half usually so it is interesting to have something have been so long in the past it's almost like all books are ghosts to the authors at that point right? They're in the past and so I think. That that is a really interesting experience and being like well where was I a year and a half ago versus where am I now and yeah, and also I feel like it takes a lot to really properly promote a book. So it's sometimes hard to toggle between that creative process which I feel like uses a very different part of the mind. A kind of you know going out and talking to people and and that sort of more social aspect. That's much more extroverted so that's always an interesting thing I always feel like when you're busy promoting a book that any writing you get done is like a small miracle unto itself because you're. You're thinking so much more about the book that just came out as opposed to maybe the books that you will hopefully have coming out one day.

43:23.58
Michael David Wilson
Right? And are you working on 1 of those 2 titles that I just mentioned or is there another layer of disconnect where you're actually working on a third book and have written both of those already.

43:38.12
Gwendolyn Kiste
No, those are not done. Nothing has been completed yet. But I actually I think since since we talked I actually think I did start a different project and I'm actually working on that more now I just haven't finished anything yet I'm still trying to I'm like I really need to finish something because I haven't. Finished a book since velwood and that was like a year and a half ago so I'm like I need I've written a lot of short fiction. A lot of short nonfiction I've been writing a lot but I haven't written a book yet since then so I'm like I really want to write a book and have a book done so that I can be like velquit isn't the last thing I finished cause that. It is weird to have a book out and be like I haven't even finished another book since then so yeah goals goals for the next few months goals

44:22.36
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and when there's quite a time between having finished a book I mean that does that affect you in a negative way or is it kind of. Okay, for your mindset because you're writing a number of short stories and you have so much in the works does that keep you going because I know that different writers have different feelings on this topic and for some people if they.

44:54.72
Michael David Wilson
Have not finished a kind of novel length work in in some time then they almost get a little bit twitchy or or like you know it uncomfortable and they start doubting and they're like oh God I I hope I can still do this.

45:11.64
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, you know I mean I'm fairly sure I can still do it I've I always told myself I've done it several times before I think I'll be able to do it again. But it is always that thing of like you know what? if that's the last book or what if that's the last book that comes out. You know it's I'm. I'm fairly confident I'll have something done I'm actually fairly confident that this one is going to be done like fairly Soon. So Fingers crossed got to do some witchcraft to get this thing done.

45:36.22
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, there you go? let's just hope that your poor cat does not suffer the consequences and yeah, some projectile vomit for the cause for the fiction. Yeah.

45:44.69
Gwendolyn Kiste
I Know. Poor cat.

45:56.50
Michael David Wilson
But it so that this book then that you've nearly finished so this is a different book. Are you able to say anything about this one or is it a secret book.

46:05.31
Gwendolyn Kiste
I'm I'm not gonna say anything about it because I'm so worried that it's gonna dissolve like I feel like it's like it's like the little mermaid and she they say Mermaids turn into sea foam and dissolve I don't want it to turn into mermaid seafoam. So I want to keep it under wrap.

46:21.50
Gwendolyn Kiste
For now. So but hopefully hopefully I'll be able to announce something soon at least that I have a book done I think I'll at least announced that.

46:27.23
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, well I look forward to that announcement.

46:33.11
Gwendolyn Kiste
Thank you, Thank you.

46:37.78
Michael David Wilson
Yes, the announcement might be on Instagram as we said before that is your primary social media platform at the moment.

46:43.45
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, it really is that and I do still use Facebook Facebook just feels like it just keeps humming along at exactly the same level It's always been and I would see I even happened to see this thing about like user engagement and like Twitter has fallen horribly in a year and like you know. Even Tiktok fell a little bit and then there's Facebook that's like lower than the other ones but completely stable like I feel like everybody who's on Facebook is probably there for the long haul unless like something goes Elon Musk on on Facebook you know, but it is interesting. It's I don't know. Much. It's good for promoting I think Twitter was better for promoting and like reaching readers than Facebook is but I don't know I'm not I'm not as social media savvy as some people. So.

47:32.58
Michael David Wilson
There's interest in what you say about Facebook because I mean I felt about five years ago it was going the way of my space because there was quite a dip in engagement and it looked like okay this is not going to be around much longer. But like you said it did dip but then it just kept at that level. It didn't dip any further. So yeah.

47:55.34
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, it's actually because yeah it did seem about five years ago like okay Twitter's gonna take over and and Facebook's gonna be gone and it definitely is like lower than a lot of them. But it's just kind of like you said just stayed completely flat I don't know social media is weird.

48:09.48
Michael David Wilson
And yeah yeah I mean get given the volatile nature here of so many networks I mean it's not what I would have predicted I'm not even sure it is what I am predicting but I could see a possibility. If the if the other networks were to cease to exist then you could almost see people returning to Facebook and it's like wow that the second coming of Facebook.

48:41.91
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, and you know Facebook is almost exactly the same interface that it was 5 or 10 or fifteen years ago it doesn't look a lot different. They they don't change a lot It's a very, it's the same thing. It's the same thing and honestly I actually like that because you know. Twitter changed too much, especially by the end so it's like sometimes it's nice to be like it's not great, but at least it's productive. All there is something to be said for that.

49:07.53
Michael David Wilson
And yeah and I mean Zuckerberg is being pretty smart about things because he obviously bought Instagram and you know then Fred's turned up so he's like well if Facebook doesn't exist.

49:21.12
Gwendolyn Kiste
Um, yeah, oh and that's right like I had always said I didn't love the fact that my two social medias were Facebook and Instagram because they're owned by the same company.

49:23.30
Michael David Wilson
I Got a few other social networks in my pocket.

49:36.98
Gwendolyn Kiste
And that's right for like 2 or 3 hours on the day of my book release both went down. They were both just down and I'm like yeah and I said to my husband I'm like this is exactly why I didn't want it on the same platform because like that they both went down at the at about the same time they came back up and ended up being fine. But I'd forgotten that till just now because I always said like it's not great because if if the server goes down for one. The server might go down for the other and then you have no access to social media because I even messaged somebody I knew who's I think only on Facebook. Book and and Instagram and I'm like are your accounts down and she's like yeah my accounts are down too and I'm like okay at least it's not just me but that's still not great.

50:18.44
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, well fingers crossed and that does not happen with the next release I mean very unfortunate timing. It's like you could have chose any day. Any time but you had to choose the time when I was releasing a book.

50:35.96
Gwendolyn Kiste
Right? right? I was actually really proud of myself like I was writing that day like I was actually working on writing on the day the book came out and I like finished I actually finished a chapter in each of my 2 projects which I don't think I've ever had a day that I actually finished a chapter in 2 different projects. And I'm like so I just worked through that I'm like I'm not going to like have a panic attack that my social media is down I'm just going to get back to writing so like good for me for having good coping skills that day. It's not every day but at least it was that day.

51:07.29
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, certainly and I mean we spoke before about some of the people who might enjoy Velkwood some of the themes within but I wonder are there. Any.

51:27.22
Michael David Wilson
People who you might not necessarily think would gravitate towards velkwood. But in fact, you would recommend it to so kind of like here's an outsider theme or here are some people that perhaps even in the early feedback of.

51:45.41
Michael David Wilson
Took note of it that you didn't expect to.

51:48.13
Gwendolyn Kiste
Trying to think I never know how a book is going to do right? So I'm like always I I tend to be pretty pleasantly surprised all the time because I I usually set my expectations pretty low. So that way you're less likely to be disappointed. So It's like you know I've I've been. Happy overall with with the feedback like most ah a good portion of it has been very positive I've been very happy in general I mean you know nobody There's no book that everybody likes so that's just part of the Job. You know that's just what that's just what goes with the territory. But yeah I mean I think you know a lot of people. Horror fans. You know have seemed to really resonate with it people who you know like to read Queer Horror or Queer fiction ghost stories trying to think of like you know one thing that has come up that I'm actually happy about because I've never had a book that anybody has described this way science. Fiction there. There are some science fiction elements in the book and that's come up for some people that really like that and comparisons to the X-files have come up even though I don't think I Really don't remember even thinking about the X-files explicitly when I was writing it but I was a big fan of the X-files growing up so that was neat that was not a group. Of people that I was like oh X-files fans. But yeah I could see that because there is this kind of like it's a spooky occurrence and people are investigating it and trying to figure it out and so that was neat. That's been really cool because I don't think I've ever had a book that somebody's like oh this is Science fiction or this has science fiction elements and so that's cool because I.

53:18.74
Gwendolyn Kiste
Love Horror sci-fi I Think that's great like Aliens is one of the first films I ever saw as a little kid so like I loved it so much and so that's definitely like sci-fi horror. So that's cool I'm happy with that.

53:29.57
Michael David Wilson
Yeah I Certainly did think that there were some sci-fi elements particularly because of the strange way in which time is treated and there is this time travel There is this haunting of time.

53:40.97
Gwendolyn Kiste
But here then the have observ the head off.

53:49.25
Michael David Wilson
You know, want 1 hour somewhere could be a number of months somewhere else. You know 1 thing after reading it like I realized oh. This is actually difficult to talk about with specifics without spoiling the whole thing because I mean so much like a David Lynch film is in kind of experiencing it cold and adding your own kind of spin.

54:18.98
Gwendolyn Kiste
Stay in the and.

54:20.72
Michael David Wilson
Your own interpretation onto it. So like ironically despite the fact that we've kind of spoke about this for free episodes. It is quite difficult to talk about.

54:33.35
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, there are things that yeah do spoil it if you know if you say too much but you know I don't personally mind spoilers but definitely some people do So I understand.

54:43.82
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and I guess different listeners are going to be in for different things for for me when I come into something I try to come into it as cold as possible to just see what happens like sometimes I'll read something or watch something I don't even know. What the genre is so sometimes I'll be surprised if it starts off like it's 1 genre and then oh oh we took took a dark turn. Great I'm even more in for this now.

55:11.71
Gwendolyn Kiste
Do a very different dream. Yeah yeah.

55:18.42
Michael David Wilson
But what is it that you're watching and reading at the moment.

55:24.56
Gwendolyn Kiste
Oh what have I been watching and reading I'm trying to think people always ask me this and I always blank out on what I've been watching and reading like ah.

55:36.94
Gwendolyn Kiste
Can't believe I can't come up with anything like I've definitely been reading a whole bunch of different like works and maybe that's it I've been kind of dipping in and out of a lot of things so it's like I can't think of any good recommendations right now like what is like um I'm always trying to think of like cool horror to recommend to people. The problem also is I write a lot of lists. So I just did an early so I can say this even though I didn't necessarily just watch these but I just did an article on early slasher movies like that influenced the genre and so like I was talking about. Of an old Val Luton movie called the leopard man that a lot of people don't seem to talk about peeping Tom which is sort of like psycho before psycho was released and an old precode horn movie called 13 women which is very dated in a lot of ways. But it is sort of like 1 of the first films to actually kind of have that idea that there's a killer stocking people like 1 by 1 throughout throughout the story and they're trying to figure it out like the way they do in a slasher movie. So like those ones are the ones that are on my mind right now but I didn't just watch them but they're like. Making it so those are the only films I can think of right now.

56:48.20
Michael David Wilson
And yeah, yeah, and I totally understand in terms of like reading multiple books at once and so.

56:54.11
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

56:58.88
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, it can be if someone's like what are you reading? It's almost like goodness. What? what am I not reading. There's so many things that I'm reading right now.

57:09.40
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, exactly.

57:11.47
Michael David Wilson
But yeah, then it then it can make it difficult for kind of saying what is the the dominant book that I'm reading but I I think I've been really fortunate at the moment like I'm in such a kind of happy spell of just quality books. Obviously I've read. The haunting of velkwood but I read the reformatory by Tanana Reve do which is absolutely amazing I read Eric La Rockca's most recent collection and honestly the one he put out before.

57:35.27
Gwendolyn Kiste
Peace over her.

57:48.11
Michael David Wilson
For me was a best of year candidate. So I was a little bit nervous to read the next one. It's like how can you better it and it's like well by god he did. It's so good and you know, um. Kev Harrison's got a novel out which is very very good as well. That one is set in Tunisia and I think turkey as well is going all over Europe that one. It's a very very good story.

58:24.36
Michael David Wilson
I'm reading Bella Mackey's how to kill your family so there's so many good things that I'm reading at the moment some current some from a few years back

58:36.22
Gwendolyn Kiste
very cool very cool I do feel like we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of the horror Jean right? Or right now there's so much good stuff out there. It's just so many great books to read so little time too. But so many great books.

58:49.65
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, now that that's it. It is a good problem to have all considered and I mean you mentioned before writing the article about the slash years and max boof wanted me to. Just like mention and thank you for all that incredible work. You do all that incredible work. You do rounding up the open calls and the submissions I know that I mentioned it. To you before but this is ah specifically from max boof. So now you've got to thank you from him too.

59:26.38
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, well I appreciate that. Thank you max.

59:31.34
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, now I Wonder what are some of the biggest struggles that you have battled with recently and how did you go about overcoming or navigating them.

59:50.56
Gwendolyn Kiste
Who that's a that's a big question um what are the biggest struggles you know, finding enough time for everything I feel like is a really big one I'm not always great on time management and so. Like really trying to find time to make sure that I write make sure. Also I know it's like a Buzzword and it's almost like cliched but self-care is a real thing that we all need and also making sure that we make time for that. Whatever that looks like for each of us because obviously self-care isn't the same for every person some people run and that's their self-care I hate running I do not like running that would not be self-care for me, but it is for some people and so it's like figuring out to make some time just to do something that can help you decompress and everything and and you know. Rebuild that energy get enough sleep make sure I get enough sleep eat healthy, a lot of the basic stuff like sometimes I always say I'm not that great at being an adult like I'm not always good at being able to be like okay now I need to eat healthy now I need to you know brush my teeth and go to bed I'm like you know crash rather than. You know do the good self-care so trying to do that. that's always a big that's always a big thing

01:01:02.34
Michael David Wilson
Yeah, yeah, and I guess the caveat is finding the self-care that works for you because like you say like I mean for for me running is not a thing eve of fellow podcaster Neal Muck robert for some reason he likes to do that i.

01:01:08.22
Gwendolyn Kiste
That that living.

01:01:16.78
Gwendolyn Kiste
He loves it and honestly I almost gave a shout out to him because I was like I know he always posts like running he loves it. But I'm like that looks terrible but he you know and I have friends that run and they love it and I I get it I do understand. Dan like there's like a lot of endorphins that you get from running that that does sound great but like I try running and it makes me and very unhappy.

01:01:38.48
Michael David Wilson
I Yeah I I prefer walking relatively quickly. You know, walking quickly around the block or hiking and maybe listening to a good audio book that is much better. You know, hi for me.

01:01:47.70
Gwendolyn Kiste
That.

01:01:57.54
Michael David Wilson
And then when it comes to exercise more like body weight or lifting weights. But I don't need running I don't need that in my life. Yeah, the only time I run is if I'm late for a bus and then okay now we've got a purpose so but running.

01:02:12.69
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:16.82
Michael David Wilson
In and of itself will leave that to Neil he runs enough for all of us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well before we.

01:02:19.59
Gwendolyn Kiste
Yes, yes, he does he does? Thank you Neil you do the running for the both of us.

01:02:33.80
Michael David Wilson
Close this episode did you have any final things that you wanted to say about felkwood. Did you have any final requests for the audience.

01:02:46.96
Gwendolyn Kiste
Ah, no, just like if you like ghost stories if you like Queer horror if you like sci-fi horror Apparently like I got that works too. You know just consider picking up a copy of elput if you've read it like leave a review and.

01:03:03.10
Gwendolyn Kiste
Just keep reading Queer horror keep reading women and horror just keep supporting the whole horror community or good people.

01:03:09.95
Michael David Wilson
All right? Thank you very much.

01:03:12.97
Gwendolyn Kiste
Thank you.