Please tell us about yourself.
Well, let’s see, here is my
official bio: “Ksenia was born in Moscow, Russia, and came to US in 1998 not
knowing English, having studied architecture and not dreaming that one day
she'd be writing. SIREN SUICIDES, an
urban fantasy set in Seattle, is her 1st novel. She lives in Seattle with
her boyfriend and their combined 4 kids in a house on top of the hill that they
like to call The Loony Bin.”
What made you choose what you are
doing right now?
Writing? I started writing for
therapy, to understand why I was suicidal at the age of 16, why I ran away from
home, digging back into the pain of my adolescence, ready to face it at last in
my 30’s. I had a very dark and abusive childhood in the Soviet Union and have
suppressed most of it to survive, which I had to do, becoming a mother at 18. I
had to function and have shoved it all in the back of my mind. Now that my
daughter has gone to college and my son is finishing elementary school, I
finally found the time to look at my past and to do something that I always
wanted to do – to heal from my pain. I have been sexually abused by my father
and step-grandfather. My step-grandfather is long dead, but I have confronted
my father, who denounced me, and I wanted to kill myself at 33 again. Writing
literally gave me a new will to live and share my stories. Writing is my life
now.
Tell us more about your typical day.
I’m a social media fiend, so I wake
up in the morning thinking about the first tweet I will post and what it will
be about. I don’t eat breakfast, only a cup of black coffee, and start off my
day by tweeting, snapping pics of myself or of some berries or bug or whatever
else interesting I find and posting them on Instagram, and then ultimately
posting an update of what I will be writing this day across all of my social
media channels, close the door into my room and don’t come out of it until I
either have written for 4 hours or have written at least 2,000 words. When I
take breaks, I pedal on my stationary bike, stand on my head (to get the blood
flowing), or play Words with Friends, and get back to writing again. Then, when
it’s school time, I go to pick up my son from school and read on the bus on the
way . We read together on our way back. Evening is the usual, you know, family,
dinner, stuff. Then in the evenings I write my blog posts or tweet again, or
write interviews, like this one I am writing right now. Here is more about my
daily schedule:
http://www.kseniaanske.com/blog/2012/12/19/let-your-novel-thrive-in-schedule-numbers-and-routine.html
What do you do when you are not
working?
Err… I’m always working, I’m a
writer, even when I’m not in front of my computer, I write stories in my head!
Though, of course, to be specific, I read. I read a lot. Sometimes I watch
movies based on the books I read, after I have read them, like I did a whole
Harry Potter marathon recently, rereading the books and re-watching all the
movies. I also go on motorcycle rides with my boyfriend into the Pacific
Northwest mountains, taking pictures with my phone on every stop and blasting
them on all my social media channels, again. What else? I also have been
walking to a post office an awful lot lately, because I’ve been shipping signed
copies of my books and t-shirts with my tweets on them!
Tell us the best part of your work.
I get to come up with the craziest
stories ever, putting in a spin of unimaginable ferocity and wonder, like when
I was 5, coming up with the most ridiculous scenarios, and people pay me for
it! I mean, people pay me to partake in my imagination! If this is not a dream
job, I don’t know what is.
Where do you see yourself and your
work in 3/5 years?
Same place, at my desk, writing
books, because it’s what I love doing. Though I hope by then maybe I will be
able to actually travel too, and see my fans across the globe! Currently, I’m
totally broke as I quit my career to write and am burning through savings. I
hope in 3/5 years I will still be able to afford to write full time!
What do you think of the world's
obsession with technology?
It’s not an obsession; it’s a way
for us to connect. We developed in close-knit communities of hunters/gatherers,
huge “families”, if you will, of about 100-150 people. At least that’s how it
was about 10,000 years ago, before we settled, because there were so many of us
and moving around became harder and harder. Since then we have been slowly
losing our connection with each other, especially once we deposited our behinds
in cars and have completely isolated ourselves from one another. With
technology we can connect again, through messages, pictures, videos, you name
it. Of course were obsessed, we are social animals, we thrive on togetherness.
Alone, we wither and die.
Who is your inspiration/role model?
My idols are Stephen King and J.K.
Rowling, both for their personal stories of how they came to write such amazing
books, and for their books, which I love.
If you could meet anyone in the
world dead or alive who would it be and what would say to them?
J.K. Rowling. I would ask her when
she stopped doubting herself, when did she start believing she can do it, on
what book number. It’s my biggest struggle as a writer, to believe in myself.
What is your favorite holiday
spot/food/gadget?
Lisbon, Portugal, and their tiny
fish restaurants and coffee shops. The have the best espresso that I have
tasted, so I would fly back for that alone.
What is your next project?
After I’m done writing ROSEHEAD,
the book about a teenage girl who discovers with the help of her talking pet
whippet that her grandfather feeds something else besides normal plant meal to
his rose garden, I will be writing IRKADURA, a literary novel set in Moscow,
Soviet Union in the 80’s, delving deep in the dark underground of the city and
exposing the life that a teenager led back then in the country that was
boasting of equality and achievement on the outside but was rotting on the
inside.
What is your message to all
teenagers?
Do what you want to do with your
life, no matter what anyone tells you. Its your life and it’s up to you how you
will live it. Follow your heart, the rest will happen, if you stay true to
yourself and to what you believe in. Do art. Do a lot of art to express
yourself. We need more beauty in this world.
What is your message to all
Pakistanis?
I would love to come and visit one
day! Never been, and sadly have no funds to travel right now.
What is your message to the world?
I love you. I love you all, people.
