Interview with David Kemph

Hi David. Thank you for doing this interview. Where are you from? What is your background?

My pleasure. I was born in a small town in Tennessee and spent some time in Trenton, New Jersey as a kid, but I have spent most of my life in a place called Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

What inspired you to become a writer?

Actually, I grew up watching Creature Feature TV shows with my family, especially on Saturday afternoons. So, I always wanted to read something scary. I took my aunt’s copy of Peter Benchley’s JAWS. I was hooked on storytelling in one form or another. I wrote the scripts for some very low-budget horror movies for our local cable television channel in town. Stuff that drunks saw come on as filler material around 3 a.m.

My dad took me to see JAWS and I was comparing and contrasting the book and movie. It became my favorite movie of all time. The tension in the movie is between Quint and Hooper because of class differences and perhaps because the actors had some issues in real life. In the novel, it’s between Brody and Hooper because he is having an affair with Brody’s wife. I was inspired and ready to write about unfaithful wives and killer sharks.

What was the first thing you remember reading at an early age?

The same as above but my second book was Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. After seeing the TV movie with my grandparents when I was a kid and being scared out of my mind, I became obsessed with the book. Being raised in the faith I was in; I was also happy to finally see a vampire slayer from a Baptist background. And I’ve read the book a ridiculous amount of times. I have lost count. I just love Salem’s Lot and what I love the most is that it’s more about the folks who live in the town than the actual vampires who feed off of them.

What performer or artist/writer inspires you the most?

Although Benchley and King wrote some of my favorite stuff, I would have to say, William F. Nolan. He truly could write anything. Detective fiction, straight horror, or dystopian science fiction. The man was a genius and one of my most influential literary idols. I got to interview him for the British website I write for. When he agreed to write a blurb for me for my collection of interviews called The Horror of it All, I was on cloud nine.

What inspired you to write They Laughed at Me and Wager of Sin?

They Laughed at Me I wrote because I am increasingly afraid, we are losing our freedom of speech and that we are becoming a police state. My libertarian beliefs and dark sense of humor pushed me into writing it. It’s about an alcoholic comedian on house arrest who has a sense of humor that really pushes the envelope. If you don’t like the show, don’t buy a ticket. The Wager of Sin is the conclusion of my dark fiction trilogy. It deals with the Jinn, and ultimately the devil. It’s all about a writer who wants to be immortal. Not just for his work but to literally live forever at the cost of his own soul. I was also very inspired by Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone to give my trilogy a great twist ending.

You also write poetry and plays. Is it hard to switch from prose to poetry or playwrighting?

I have not written too many poems but my friend Jeff Oliver who is an amazing poet asked me to contribute to his book Venomous Words. It did so well that it was on the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards. I wrote the plays in part to deal with my own addiction issues because all four of these short murder mystery plays revolve around alcoholism in some way. I am in recovery so it was easy for me to write about. I am also a huge fan of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap. I have seen it live many times and I always wanted to create my own detective character. His name is Andre Dupin, a nod to Poe. It always goes back to writing novels or short stories in the end. I just love doing it so much.

Can you tell us about Four Murder Mystery Plays?

Yes. My detective character Andre Dupin visits a rehab, a mental hospital, and a laundry room, and has a bad dream. Each of these settings revolves around a murder related to addiction and recovery in some way. I also wanted to make sure I had the twist-ending thing going for me in all four of these short plays. Minimal settings and props so I think a rehab could actually put it on. They might also make a good series of short films or radio plays. We’ll see.

What do you think culture will be like in ten years?

I don’t know but I hope it’s one where we can see past our differences and be kind to one another.

I’m curious, do you outline before you start writing?

What a great question. First, I tried to let the characters fend for themselves as if they were real people and sometimes that works out really well. Sadly, most of the time it does not. I know Stephen King discusses this in his book On Writing. I think the problem is that he is a genius and most of us are not. I do outline now and constantly write things down. I do it now mostly because I am getting older and don’t want to forget my best ideas. I think John Irving is known to actually write the last page or paragraph first. I don’t go that far but I have a pretty good idea where my characters are headed.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve been asked to do in your profession?

Well. I wasn’t asked to do it but the second time I was a guest on the radio show NBC’s House of Mystery, I kept doing my Michael Caine impersonation. It all started because I was discussing how JAWS is my favorite movie and how I got a blurb from someone who worked on JAWS: The Revenge, and in the sound department. That man helped make the shark growl and for that, he is my hero.

What projects are you working on now?

I am working on a box set for my Dark Fiction trilogy. It will also include my time travel dystopian novel Travel Bug. My friend Jeff Oliver is writing poems to enhance all four novels for this project. I am also about to publish the last of my two short stories based on classic monster characters. My cousin Heather Slawecki has been doing the covers for these and they look truly amazing. She is also an author and helps writers produce their books and get them out there to readers. They include introductions from some of my fellow writers like Gary Raisor, Lorraine Evanoff, Tamara Thorne, Chris McAuley, and Richard Alan Scott. You’ve got everyone from Dracula to Frankenstein covered in these stories. When all is said and done, they will be on Amazon under Classic Monster Madness. They will eventually be a short story collection. I owe a ton of gratitude to my cousin Heather and my editor Al Sirois for this project. Honestly, it might be the best thing I have ever done.

Except for being interviewed for Twisted Pulp Magazine. Thanks for having me!