It's worth being suspicious of writers - or anyone! - who does that myth-making thing. There's always a tendency to retrospectively impose structures on a life. Life as it's lived has a far more complex shape. Guy Gavriel Kay compleximposelife share on social
The poems were the only thing I wrote that was not for everyone else. Then my editors at Penguin, who were also friends and had seen several of them, aggressively urged me to do a book. Editors can be aggressive, especially after drinks. That's how 'Beyond This Dark House' appeared. Guy Gavriel Kay aggressiveaggressivelyappear share on social
I don't plan ahead; each book finds me. History itself, the resonance of the past with the present, is the common denominator in all of them. Guy Gavriel Kay aheadbookcommon Change image and share on social
I spent many years writing and directing in radio drama, so I am comfortable with an audience or a microphone, but I do worry about the blurring of an author's public persona with the work itself. A good 'performer' can make a mediocre book sound strong, and a shy author can leave listeners missing the excellence of his or her writing. Guy Gavriel Kay audienceauthorblur share on social
Fantasy is more than an escape from the truths of the world and the past: it is an open acknowledgment that those truths are complex and morally difficult. It offers a different route to creating something which will resonate with readers, in a way which resists the erasure of privacy and autonomy which pervades our modern world. Guy Gavriel Kay acknowledgmentautonomycomplex share on social
I never talk about books in progress. I could decide to change it to a series of seafood recipes, after all. Guy Gavriel Kay bookchangedecide Change image and share on social
I say 'as it were' or 'so to speak' too often because puns and double entendres keep insinuating themselves into my consciousness as I'm talking. Guy Gavriel Kay consciousnessdoubleentendre Change image and share on social
Everything you have ever heard about the strangeness of Hollywood is true! Guy Gavriel Kay hearhollywoodstrangeness Change image and share on social
Even if we remember the past, odds are good we'll still repeat it. Guy Gavriel Kay goododdpast Change image and share on social
I ruefully admit that if the cat is asleep in my chair - which she regards as hers, of course - I tend to leave her there and take the other one. Guy Gavriel Kay admitasleepcat Change image and share on social