We are now at the final "Share Your World" offering! We go to Colorado where I interview KD Webster! Well, KD the Person, that is. Not to be confused with me, KD the Writer (a common mistake). Is there a difference? Yes, indeed. People that have followed my Twitter timeline have known me to make references to KD the Writer separate from KD the Person. Guess now would probably be a good time to add some context, huh?
Okay, so here's the short version.
When KD the...wait, am I gonna have to keep adding "the Person" and "the Writer" behind every "KD", or can I just pepper them here and there, knowing y'all pretty much know which is which? Let's see.
Anyway.
When KD became a writer a few years ago, it was strongly suggested he get social media accounts. Well, KD wasn't a fan of social media (and he still isn't) but he recognized the logic in getting his name out into the world. And since the whole point of having social media accounts was to promote his projects, and him being a writer with a vivid imagination, he came up with the idea of KD the Writer. Yep, this guy (okay, picture me pointing my thumbs at myself).
So, KD the Writer is an avatar/caricature of KD the Person. A version of KD who only exists on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). On Facebook I'm in skits where I'm a writer (duh) who interacts with my creations. "KD's Place" (the unofficial name of my abode in the skits) is where my characters come to hang out in between the adventures in their respective books. The skits are a way to promote or mention any projects I may be working on. On Twitter it's the same, only I have two of my characters I use in skits for promotions and creative #VSS365 tweets. Those are Pandora and Scratch - characters from my "Scratch's Urban Legend's" series. On Instagram I...well...ugh, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my Instagram account.
So the next time you read "KD the Person is hardly ever on social media, and KD the Writer doesn't exist" (except on social media), it might make a bit more sense. Clear as mud, huh?
Okay, what say we get down to the meat and potatoes?
KD: So, of course you know what the icebreaker will be. Say you were on the world stage, tell said world what makes you me...wait...you.
KD: I'm a father first and foremost. I'm an old soul but a huge kid at heart. A nerd who can and will talk comics for hours. An avid chess player who takes all victims, including women and children. A human on a journey to improve his body as well as his mind.
KD: What do you do for relaxation?
KD: Was a time that question would be very easy to answer. Was a time I studied Tai-Chi (long form/yang style) and meditation. Now I've mastered the art of taking naps at any hour of the day. Also, taking in a movie, or binge-watch one of my favorite shows. Reading, of course. I live for days when I get to spend hours in the Barnes & Noble café with a coffee and a cookie, buy a book and just sit there and read until life taps me on the shoulder and tells me to get back to the real world. My job is very demanding and mental intensive, so even when I'm off work my mind is constantly moving, trying to untangle issues and solve problems. Music and movies settle the synapses and tell my mind to not focus on anything for a while and just go with the flow, wherever that flow leads.
KD: Speaking of job, what do you do for a living?
KD: I'm a pipeline controller for an oil and gas company. Before that, I worked in cryogenics, and before that, an aircraft mechanic.
KD: Yeah, definitely mental intensive. Okay, now give a shout-out to your corner of the world by telling me the best thing about your neck of the woods.
KD: I came to Colorado from Texas a little over 3 1/2 years ago. Where I'm located in Littleton, Colorado, I'm less than ten minutes from the mountains, I enjoy a change of the seasons, winters are really not that bad, summers are pleasant. The mountain view has yet to get old. I doubt if it ever will.
KD: One sentence parenting advice.
KD: Get them to sleep in their own bed from jump street.
KD: Who are your greatest influences as a writer?
KD: Hands down and bar none, Octavia E Butler. I didn't get into her until some years ago, just before I became a writer. I love how most of her books are done in series. Her mastery of science-fiction done in the style of speculative fiction. If I could be even half as good as she, I would count myself blessed. Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" and Chris Claremont's run on the X-Men also played parts. Both writers have a style of not only giving layers to their characters, but interconnecting their characters in one way or another. I'm going to limit myself here because I know I can go on and on when it comes to comics, but Claremont's X-Men dialogue - you could read a line and know who said it without looking at the character, just by the style of what was said. To me, that's what makes a character stand apart - the personality.
KD: And what would you say is your writing style?
KD: I would say take a look at the Home page on my website.
KD: Uh...okay. So what genre of music/movies & shows/reading do you listen to/watch/read more than others?
KD: Because my taste is eclectic, I'm going to key in on the "more than others" part.
Music - chill music from artists like Enigma, Delerium, and E.S. Posthumus.
Movies - sci-fi like The Matrix, Marvel/DC, and pretty much anything that has Christopher Nolan attached to it.
Shows- sci-fi and animation like Raised by Wolves, Sense 8, Doctor Who, Ghost in the Shell, Fate/Stay Night, and Love, Death & Robots.
Read - crime thrillers like James Patterson's Alex Cross series, comic books, books by Octavia E Butler and Michael Crichton. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, about one a month, and recently I've decided to get into indie horror. My first selection is "The Ancient Ones" by Cassandra L Thompson. I plan to dig into it when I take my upcoming flight.
KD: Coffee, tea, or...?
KD: Coffee mainly. Every so often I'll acquire a taste for tea.
KD: How would you describe yourself as far as personality and character?
KD: Very laid back and easy going. I lean toward the cerebral. I will be the first to admit when I'm wrong but I will stand firm on something I believe in, especially if I feel I'm right. I believe in "it's not what you say, it's how you say it", "it's not what you do, it's the intent behind what you do", and "it's the thought that counts".
KD: How do you think your friends would describe you?
KD: Loyal, very easy to talk to, and accessible. But also hard to figure out. Not the first person to invite to a sports game or party. Yet, at the same time, fun to be around.
KD: Where do you land on the introvert - extrovert scale?
KD: Introvert, definitely. I'm very private. Close to vest. Most of the things I do and enjoy are solo-oriented or geared toward a small handful of people. I'm a fan of quiet, intimate settings.
KD: How active are you on social media?
KD: Me personally, not very active at all. I have to phrase it this way because I created KD the Writer as a way of engaging on social media platforms. KD the Writer is both a brand and a representative of that brand, with his own online persona. Now, some Twitter tweets and Facebook posts that make references to real life events, most of that would be KD the Person. Skits, writing, promos, engaging with other writers, that would be KD the Writer. Clear?
KD: As mud. What, to you, is the greatest aspect of America?
KD: Our diversity. Not just in ethnicity and race, but in culture and values.
KD: What do you feel is the greatest issue facing America today?
KD: Hate. Not just dislike or disdain. Straight up hatred. You see it so much on social media. People seem to go out of their way to express their hatred for other people, other cultures. Sometimes based on race, sometimes based on political beliefs. We are becoming more and more a divided America, and no one seems interested in a United States anymore.
KD: Name something you wish you would have known or learned way earlier than you did?
KD: Loving someone and being in love with someone are two very different things.
KD: Pet peeves?
KD: Telling me to do/not do something I was going to do/not do anyway. Peeing with the bathroom door open. Chewing with an open mouth. Unresolved issues.
KD: What is your biggest accomplishment of 2021? What's a goal you have for 2022?
KD: For 2021, it was my weight loss. By year's end I'd gone from 273 pounds down to 220 pounds. And now I'm just a few pounds away from realizing my target goal. For 2022, it's to finally get serious about monetizing my projects. Sure, I'd get the occasional sale here and there, and I'm always grateful for every penny my stories make. But I was never really serious about seeing just what my stories could do. Since becoming a writer, two of my stories have been in two separate anthologies, one is soon to be in a literary zine, I've been interviewed by a member of the Horror Writers Association, a guest on two different podcasts, and read my stories as part of an online reading group ("Stories Live!" is somewhere on YouTube). But I still hadn't actually actively put my work truly "out there". This year, I intend to change that. I started with putting one of my projects on Kindle Vella ("Scratch's Urban Legends"). I must say, based on the reception to it, 2022 might be my year as a writer.
KD: What's an unpopular opinion you stand by?
KD: Ben Affleck sucked as Batman. Love Ben in most of his projects (especially "The Accountant") but Bruce Wayne, nope. Not even a little bit.
KD: What are things that you wouldn't mind others knowing about you and your world?
KD: I live with two health conditions, osteoarthritis (a deterioration of the joints) and polycythemia (a blood disorder affecting my red blood cells). I'm big on respect, both giving and receiving. My son is my legacy. He is what I leave behind, and it is an honor raising him to manhood. My job is to not only give him the tools to be a good man, but show him how to use those tool in society. To teach him not only how to play chess, but how chess relates to life. To not only tell him about the Riddle of the Sphinx, but the meaning behind it. I'm not an open book, I don't volunteer info, but I will answer any question asked of me...no matter what it is. Also, I will be that one person you can turn to when you need someone to talk to...because I know what it's like when its difficult to open up.
KD: If peeps wanted to reach out and connect, what would be a preferred method?
KD: Twitter - @kdwebster4 Facebook - KD Webster Instagram - kd.webster Email - kd@kdwebster.com
KD: I put your social media accounts as links to make it easy for people to get at you. Last thing, do you have a business, project, or website you'd like to promote?
KD: KDWebster.com. Also, look for my projects on Kindle Vella and Audible, both under KD Webster.
My thanks to...well, KD the Person for sharing his world. I also want to thank all the peeps that took time out of their schedules to share a slice of their world. And a final thanks to you, the reader, for engaging! This series owes its success to you.
I dunno, I guess my thing is this - with so much division in this world, maybe the key to at least some semblance of unity is to try to understand each other. Learn a bit more about each other. Perhaps that starts with sharing just a bit of our world with each other? And maybe (just maybe), this "Share Your World" series did just that.