Illustrious Peep on Humpday: Eloise J. Knapp!
I like your style Eloise. Where did your love of blood, guts, guns, and cosplay come from?
Thanks! They came in stages. I got into guns when I was 11, going out shooting with my uncles. It was good fun, driving up into the forest and blowing up pumpkins and random junk we’d been saving. Blood and cuts came later, when I was about 15 and became obsessed with horror movies, then horror novels. As for cosplay, it is an extremely recent development. This year I did my first cosplay—a female version of The Comedian from Watchmen—and it was enjoyable enough that I wanted to do the Heavy from TF2. I like it because it encompasses many of my skills: fabrication, sewing, painting, and design.
Stuck in an empty house in the middle of the Z-pocalypse, would you rather have a good blade, or a good gun with a large magazine?
As much as I love guns, I’d say a good blade. It will last me longer and I can get more done with it than a gun. I can make more weapons out of anything I might find (hack off a piece of a staircase banister, make a spear) as well as using it for self-defense and food related things.
When did the writing bug bite you?
Since I was a kid I’d make up stories, but (and this is something only my family knows) I’d deliver them in song. Long, complex songs. Then I started writing them down, becoming more serious about short stories when I was a teenager. There was something compelling about writing, mixing up and crafting words to elicit a certain feeling. It wasn’t until one of my uncles wrote and self-published a novel that I decided I could totally do it, too. So I did. About a year after high school my first novel was up on Kindle.
What projects do you have going on right now?
Don’t ask me that! It’s all very top secret…. Just kidding. I just finished my third novel, tentatively titled Pulse. It’s headed into the hands of one of my favorite editors, John MacLeod. In the meantime, I’m working on my portfolio (went to school for graphic design) and trying to, as my mom says, “Get A Real Job.” {Interjection from your interviewer, who worked in Graphic Design for many years: learn PHP and make Drupal your bitch. Trust me.}
Have you found that being a published author with Permuted Press has changed your life?
Absolutely. Nothing in my life has ever been so humbling and inspirational than knowing people have read thousands of words I’ve written and liked them. Liked them enough to be a fan of me, to feel compelled by my character, and read more of it. After about four years, I’m still in awe. I’ve met so many amazing artists, fans, writers, and people during conventions I’ve attended, and made great connections.
To be honest, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if that author side of me was missing.
Is writing a craft, an art, a vocation, or a torment? A combination of those things?
All of those things, unquestionably. I like the torment bit especially, because sometimes writing is painful. It’s not like you feel inspired every day to write. Oh wait, some people do? Umm… I’m doing something wrong…
Every writer has a dream, whether it is money, or fame. What’s your dream?
I’d be a liar if I didn’t say I’d like to make some moola off writing someday. It seems like society lives in this weird reality where artists should do art for the sake of their art, and when they try to bring finances into the matter it becomes taboo. But that isn’t real life. My biggest dream is to be famous and have my books turned into an HBO/AMC/ or Showtime series. I think if I hit it that big, the money part would fall into place on its own.
What advice do you have for up and coming writers?
Stop dwelling on your writing as you’re writing. The biggest issue I see with up and coming writers is that they fixate on what they’re writing, as though every sentence has to be perfect before moving on. Write knowing you have the opportunity—and obligation—to go back and fix things. The goal is to get the first draft done, then make it good afterwards. But if you never manage to get a first draft done, well, you get the point!
My advice, if you want to find Eloise J. Knapp… well, take a look at these links.