Kim Fielding


Hi! I’m Kim Fielding, here to teach you a lesson: don’t screw with your muse.

The ancient Greeks believed that the Muses were the source of knowledge. Muses inspired artists and scientists so strongly that sometimes the humans were thought to be simply instruments through which the Muses worked their wonders. I can understand this. Sometimes I sit down to write, and the story just flows through me, appearing on my computer screen as if by magic. Later, I look back at my words, at the plot twists that appeared out of nowhere but worked out perfectly, and I think, Where the hell did that come from?

Well, from my muse. Obviously.

But here’s the thing: what muses give, they can take away. They are stubborn and proud, and they are not amenable to compromise or constructive criticism. Sometimes I don’t want to do what my muse tells me. “Kill off that character,” she orders. “Make those guys over there suffer some more. And you know how you thought you knew that man’s motives and you were pretty sure you had all those loose ends tied up so neatly? You were wrong, bucko. Because that man really wants something totally different and I’m throwing in a whole new twist.”

I’ve tried fighting her over these issues—because I’m pretty stubborn too. “But it’s my story!” I insist. “I get to choose what happens!”

At which points she leaves the scene, her stilettos clicking on the floor. And she stays far away until I’m desperate enough to come crawling back to beg her forgiveness.

She always wins these arguments. Always. I don’t know why I even try to resist her anymore. And the thing of it is, the bitch is always right. Listening to her makes my stories better. Dammit.

The Greek Muses were sometimes believed to be water nymphs. This may explain why many of my stories end up with unexpected nautical themes. A muse also features prominently in my new novel, Bone Dry. Ery Phillips is an artist who’s lost his muse. Not because he argued with her, but because she became bored and wandered off due to the banality of his day job as a graphic artist. Illustrating catheterized penises was just not what she had in mind. Ery goes off in search of his muse and finds her beside a pond on his friends’ farm. He finds someone else there too—someone he didn’t expect at all.

Bone Dry is one of my five (!) new releases. Yes, my muse has been keeping me busy! I’m doing a Fieldingpalooza tour, complete with prizes. You can find all the details on my website. Please come join me!

 

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Kim’s new releases:

 

Bone Dry—book 3 in the Bones series—available now!

 

Brute—French translation!—available now!

 

Standby—in the Stranded anthology—releases October 10—available now!

 

The Dance—in the Bones anthology (Gothika vol. 2)—releases October 27—available now for preorder!

 

The Festivus Miracle—releases November 1—all proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders—available now for preorder!


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