Kay Kenyon
I grew up in a family of idealists who believed that the world should
be a better place than it actually is. This is a dangerous belief, and
got me into a lot trouble eventually, including writing science fiction.
We were the only left-wing family in Duluth Minnesota, or so it seemed.
Although we lived in a tenement next to a nun's convent, kitty corner
from a synagogue and one block from the First Presbyterian Church, this
spiritual environment had little effect on my parents, who were staunch
atheists. Despite this, they were generally loved in the neighborhood.
Our kitchen table was a meeting place for working-class folks including
the local priest who liked talking politics with my father and sharing
a bottle of whiskey.
My father was a handsome, fiery speaker who once ran for governor of
Wisconsin on the Socialist Labor Party ticket. When my friends were
reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, I was reading Mark Twain. After
that came Sinclair Lewis and Sartre. It wasn't a bad life, but it was
pretty serious. My mother was a depression-era woman who could make
ends meet no matter how little we had. My sister and I just wanted to
listen to rock and roll and have a normal life, and that was not to
be. To rebel, I joined the First Presbyterian church. Every Sunday my
parents gave me a few coins for the collection box, and cheerfully sent
me on my way, while no doubt hoping that their upbringing hadn't been
in vain. The church stuff didn't last long, but it made me feel more
like other kids.
After I started writing science fiction, I cared less about fitting
in. Ironically, that was when I found a community where I did fit, that
loose and unruly congress of sf/f writers and fans. Thank goodness for
that.
Until I started writing science fiction (beginning with my novel, The
Seeds of Time) I had several aborted careers, including bartending,
copywriting for radio and TV, voicing commercials, modeling, and urban
planning. It all made sense at the time -- although in retrospect I
wish I had started writing earlier.
My fifth novel, Maximum Ice was short-listed for the 2002 Phillip
K. Dick Award, and my sixth book, The Braided World was nominated
for the John W. Campbell award in 2004. My short stories are listed
on my web page, www.kaykenyon.com.
I live in Wenatchee, Washington in the high desert side of the state,
wedged between the Columbia River and the Cascade Mountains.
 
Order Kay Kenyon's books online using these links and infinity plus
will benefit:
...Bright of the Sky from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk
... The Braided World from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk
... Maximum Ice from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk
... Tropic of Creation from Amazon.com
or Amazon.co.uk
Elsewhere in infinity plus:
Elsewhere on the web:
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