An Interview with Analee Kirby Kluge

Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
I live in Florida with my husband and three children. When not writing or chasing kids, you can find me at the beach or in my backyard hanging out with my chicken.

What can you share with us about your writing process?
I write early in the morning. I begin at 5am and work typically until 6:30/7am when the rest of my family is up. Coffee, always. I also write during ‘stolen moments’ throughout the day—in the car, during nap time, etc.

How do you handle writer's block?
I avoid it by writing.
Write. Write. Write.
Work. Work. Work.

Where do you draw inspiration from? What was the inspiration behind Another One?
I think inspiration can be found anywhere, even in—especially in—the mundane moments, circumstances, thoughts, and dreams of day to day life.
I wrote this piece a couple of years ago when my oldest began elementary school. It reflects the fears I felt for the first time as a parent, faced with the reality of school shootings in our culture. It was also my intention to evoke empathy for those families who have suffered the loss of loved ones from a mass shooting.

Did you face any challenges writing this piece?
I went back and forth when writing this piece with the point-of-view. It began as first-person and I eventually decided it should remain as such.

What do you hope your readers take away from this piece?
I hope it evokes empathy for those families who have suffered from the tragedy of a mass shooting. I hope it also helps to remove the veil that we all cover ourselves in to a certain degree—the veil that says: “This could never happen to me.” How might it change the way we think...the way we vote, etc?

Was there a defining moment that led you down this writerly path or a person who encouraged or helped shape you as a writer?
I have been writing since I learned how to put words together to create a story, but motherhood has shaped me as a writer more than anything else. My husband and my mom have been the most encouraging and supportive in my pursuits of publication.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
“Hey, you! Yeah, you! Get organized, get to work! You can do this.”

What is your favorite childhood book?
The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis had the biggest impact on my imagination as a child.

What are you reading right now?
Maps in a Mirror: the short fiction of Orson Scott Card, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and I’m re-reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison

What words do you live by? Do you have a personal motto?
I have had this quote by Oswald Chambers taped up somewhere in my house for 15 years (atleast): “Once I press myself into action I immediately begin to live. Anything less is merely existing. The moments I truly live are the moments I act with my entire will.”

What’s next? Do you have anything special that you’ll be focusing on in 2020?
Just to keep at it—to keep writing and pursuing publication.

If you could share any advice for aspiring writers, what would it be?
Do the hard work. Write everyday. Rejection is evidence of work. Keep at it.