If you ever find yourself on the lookout for more science fiction to be reading, then let us bring your attention to Kristy Gardner’s books (if you haven’t heard of them already). The second of her series is out this September, meaning it’s the perfect time to dive into the first in preparation. But don’t just take our word for it, let Kristy herself convince you in this interview!
Before we start, quickly, you can also follow Kristy on twitter!
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
My earliest memories as a young child are of sketching story ideas and imagining distant worlds. So in a way, yes, I’ve always wanted to be a writer.
I’m regretful to say I forgot about writing novels (the dream) as I grew older, and did what was expected of me. I tried to fill the gap telling stories on a food blog for about 10 years, but something was missing. I survived this way for the better part of my adult life.
It wasn’t until I broke free of other people’s expectations (and my own) that I gave myself permission to write something true–but set in an alien apocalypse. That was seven and a half years ago, and I haven’t stopped writing fiction since.
What are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
Queer sci-fi, queer YA fantasy, queer horror… Make it queer and speculative, and I’m in.
I’m a big fan of the phrase “never say never.” After all, we, ahem, never know where our journey is going to take us. So I won’t say I’ll never write certain genres or tropes, but I am currently pulled toward the more fantastical and far out stories than modern/contemporary or historical. Give me stars and magic and aliens!
When you close your eyes and imagine an apple, what do you see? An actual apple, a sketch of one, a blackness? Do you think that impacts your writing process?
An actual apple. A lush red one with just the right amount of shine, as if someone polished it on the cuff of their sleeve. A bite has been taken out of the yellow flesh, there are indents where the teeth collided with fruit. I can almost taste its sweetness, a spritz of fresh juice clings to the skin and my fingertips.
I tend to not only imagine things visually, but with other senses as well. In that, I’ve been learning to balance descriptive writing while still leaving some details up to the reader’s imagination. The initial draft of my first novel was short by about 20,000 words; it flowed more like a TV script than a book. So learning how to effectively share what I imagine has been a whole new adventure for me and one I’m excited to say continues with each new story.
If you wanted to learn about craft, which three authors would you suggest reading?
That depends.
If I want advice about the craft, I turn to Anne Lamott, Stephen King, and Julia Cameron.
If I want to study the craft itself, Cormac McCarthy, Neil Gaiman, and Becky Chambers each have a style that pushes my creative boundaries and breaks all the rules in the above list. It’s fantastic.
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
For me as a writer and reader, a rich world is about the characters, understanding their motivations, and connecting with them on a human level–everything else is a device to tell the story. So, most of my world-building comes from observing people in real life, as well as sociological and philosophical studies on human behaviour.
For example, for The Stars In Their Eyes, I analyzed Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment, Jeremy Bethem’s Panopticon, Judith Butler’s Undoing Gender, and Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. The deeper I dug, the more obsessed I became with why people behave the way they do, how we’re shaped by internal and external forces, and what that means for our future.
Once I know who the main characters are on a deep level, it’s only then that I create a world to mirror or contrast their internal environment and add conflict to drive the story forward.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’ve got a few engines firing right now.
I just handed in the second book in The Broken Stars series and am now outlining the third and final book.
I have two books on sub with my agent–a sci-fi adventure novel about a woman who wins an all-inclusive vacation to an alien planet, and a YA sapphic fantasy novel about an all-female helmed ship in a futuristic water-world. Hopefully I’ll have more to share about these two books soon.
For fun, I just recently self-published a horror short story on my website. It’s available for free to anyone who signs up for my monthly newsletter. Folks can get it here.
Three pictures that capture the aesthetic of your book?
Three songs you would put in your book’s soundtrack?
Bury A Friend – Billie Eilish
Ghost – Halsey
Compass – Zella Day
This playlist exists. If folks would like to gain free access, they can sign up for my newsletter here.
What would be your dream project?
Honestly? I’m kind of doing it. Every manuscript is a dream project. I’m finally writing the stories that live deep inside me, and I’m so grateful for that.
That said, I would DIE–just die–if The Stars In Their Eyes was adapted for the screen. Or if I could collaborate in a writer’s room to write an episode for any of my favorite shows (I realize not all of these are on TV anymore, but I love them so hard): The Walking Dead, 12 Monkeys, Colony, Into the Badlands, Firefly, Falling Skies, Invasion, Lost, Helix, The Last of Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, Sweet Tooth… I could go on.
Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Tess, from The Stars In Their Eyes. She’s beautiful, clever, and ruthless. Calay wouldn’t have survived four years into the alien apocalypse without her. And while I believe I could do what needed to be done to survive, Tess would do some of the hard stuff too, saving me some of the emotional damage of doing it myself. She’d be a true partner, right until the end.
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth.
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki.
The Monk & Robot series (I know, that’s cheating) by Becky Chambers.
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
I know I just mentioned her above, but I would love to co-write a book with Ryka Aoki. Her queer sci-fi epic, Light From Uncommon Stars, was not only a delightful surprise, it was a wild ride that jumped genres in a fluid and graceful way that was pure magic. It was exactly the book we all needed this past year. I’ve been craving a cozy sci-fi project recently and it would be an honour to get to pry open her brain and create something fresh, sweet, and new together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristy Gardner is a bi sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writer. She is the author of the Broken Stars sci-fi series, and the award-winning cookbook, COOKING WITH COCKTAILS.
Furnished with degrees in Gender Studies and Sociology, she crafts queer characters that adventure through space, time, and emotional maelstroms questioning what identity – and home – really mean.
When she’s not jet-setting words on her laptop, she’s chasing stars, mountain adventures, belly laughs, curating playlists for her books, and packing her carry-on for another escape to SE Asia. She resides in Vancouver B.C. with her partner.
She is represented by Julie Gwinn at The Seymour Agency.
Find her on Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Goodreads, Etsy, buy her a coffee, or sign up for her newsletter here.
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