The Ceaseless Way anthology launches today on Amazon, so it’s appropriate that this interview is with Katherine Traylor, who was the person who had the idea and gumption to start this project in the first place. I feel honored that I was one of the writers she invited to take part.
Ada: The Ceaseless Way is about journeys. Tell me about your journey as a writer.
Katherine: I’ve been writing fiction almost since I could write, but I had a terrible time finishing projects until relatively recently. I have stacks and stacks of notebooks with stratified traces of stories that I don’t even remember thinking of. (Yes, I am heavily symptomatic for ADHD.) Every once in a while I’d open one, think ‘Oh, yeah, I remember that story!’ and think fondly for a moment of picking it back up again before putting it back in the box.
Until I was 26 or 27, writing was something I always did, and I always had dreams of being an author, but I always let it take a back seat to pretty much everything else. After my first four-year stint in South Korea (I taught English there for a total of ten years), I finally made the decision to make writing a priority in my life, and to make a sincere effort to improve my craft and seek publication. For a year and a half, back in North Carolina, I leaned heavily on the goodwill of my mother and stepfather, who were kind enough to let me live in their house rent-free while I tried to become a full-time writer. During that time, I completed several short stories and multiple drafts of a contemporary YA fantasy novel called THE WOODS AND THE CASTLE. I also regularly attended the Durham Writers’ Group (Fantasy and Science Fiction Branch), where I met Ada Milenkovic Brown, Fraser Sherman, and Allegra Gulino. (If you’re particularly interested in my work from that period, you can look up a short ebook called Five Stories For The Dark Months, which I put out as an early self-publishing experiment. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, though, as I’d like to think my writing has improved since then!)
Unfortunately, my money ran out, and before WOODS was quite finished I was heading back to Korea again, once more to work as an English teacher. Since then, I’ve been writing part time and teaching for a living, first in Seoul and then in Prague (where I had the fantastic good fortune to meet and later marry my wonderful Italian wife!). I enjoy my day job, especially now that I’m working as a private tutor, but there are never enough hours in the day and progress can be frustratingly slow.
Gradually, through trial and error, I’ve been developing a writing process that allows me to bring more work to completion. In the last few years I’ve been able to make quite a few short fiction sales, and I’m really excited about some of the longer projects I’ve been working on. I have a few fully drafted older novels that I’m hoping to revisit, as well as several others planned or in progress, and I really hope to have some of them audience-ready within the next few years.
Fairy tales and fantasy novels (and a strong dash of science fiction) made up the majority of my literary diet growing up, so those are the metaphoric languages that make up most of my writing now. I write horror, too, but I like spooky atmospheres more than I like being scared. I’d love to write science fiction (I have a few ideas), but I don’t have a lot of time for scientific research, so for now I’m sticking to fantasy. If you’d like to check out a few of my stories, you can find them on my website (katherinetraylor.com).
Ada: What was it that led you to write your stories in The Ceaseless Way?
Katherine: “Jenny and the Fairy Queen” was the story specifically written for the anthology. I was working on a darker, more serious story (which I may someday return to), but at the time I wasn’t having much fun, so I decided to be self-indulgent. “Jenny” is thus a tribute to every quest novel I ever read where the plucky hero/ine/s head out on the road to save the road, stopping at taverns for stew on the way and fighting evil armies in cold fortresses to the north. There’s a lot of courtly romance in it, as well, and I’d really like to return to that universe someday to see what those characters are doing.
“We Go Hiking” was drafted in 2019, though it’s been reworked a bit since then. It was inspired by the mountains and pine forests of North Carolina, where I grew up, and by unfortunate stories of hikers being lost on the Appalachian Trail. I’m not sure if I’d call it fantasy, surrealism, or what, but I had a really nice time writing it. It’s definitely an odd piece, though!
Ada: Plotter or Pantser? (For those unfamiliar with these writer terms, a plotter means a writer who outlines what’s going to happen in their story before they start writing it. A pantser is a writer who writes by the seat of their pants. They just start writing and see what happens.)
Katherine: Both! I use outlines HEAVILY to keep myself on track and make sure I’m not leaving anything out. These days, I usually come up with an idea, write up some important sensory notes to set the scene of the story, make a detailed outline, and then set it aside until I’m ready to work with it. So far this is the best way I’ve found to capture the vibe of an idea without having to devote weeks or months to writing it up fully as a story or chapter. However, sometimes I’m in the mood to just start writing and see where it goes. In those cases, I get to the end of the story, transcribe it (I usually write by hand), make a detailed outline of everything that happened in the story, and study that outline to make sure that everything runs smoothly and nothing’s missing. It’s a laborious process, but it’s been really helpful for me!
Ada: What are you currently working on?
Katherine: My main ongoing project is an epic fantasy series called THE VOID AND THE RAVEN. It’s a secondary-world story, set in a region inspired by 16th-century Europe, and it focuses on the adventures of a teenage sorceress named Pearl Bourra. I’m also working on a lot of ghost stories at the moment (I’m eventually hoping to release a collection). And there are a few other things in the works, as well.
Ada: What’s your next writing project after what you’re working on?
Katherine: Currently I’m drafting a contemporary ghost story called “Ace of Spades,” which will probably end up around eight or ten thousand words. When the first draft is finished, it will go on the to-be-edited list, and I’ll start drafting the next chapter of THE VOID AND THE RAVEN. I’ve been working on an epistolary fantasy collaboration with my friend Sonya Lano, and it’s my turn to continue it, so that will be next. Then I’ll draft the next chapter of VOID, and so on and so forth. Meanwhile, I’m editing a short story and have three more waiting, so there’s plenty to do!
Ada: Do you have anything else coming out soon?
Katherine: Actually, yes! My story “Coven” will be published in the Ruadán Books anthology Winter in the City under the title “Prague.” It’s coming out December 10 and is available for preorder now. I’ve also placed two short stories that should be out sometime next year, so I’m looking forward to that!
Ada: What story that you wrote are you proudest about and why?
Katherine: Of course I’m really happy about the two stories in this anthology, so I should probably say one of those. : ) Actually, though, I think it might be “In This Grove,” a very short piece I wrote several years ago. It’s a very strange story and deals heavily with death and loss, so I haven’t been able to place it, but it’s gotten some of the nicest feedback out of everything I’ve written. The most meaningful review was from a friend of mine, who had recently lost her father and said she found the piece very comforting. I don’t think you can ask for more than that. Please let everyone know about our book. As it is Black Friday, we are having a Black Friday sale. You can get print copies of The Ceaseless Way for $9.99, a savings of $3 a copy. https://www.amazon.com/Ceaseless-Way-Anthology-Wanderers-Tales/dp/B0DNSDQXTD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15A1NWU5NI4BA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hzYUQlMGoYYbNoQzUzAlTjJjROkbJgSfW7lK27D8WDGyJI8P-soim5eE0ZUmoviAYyos1ey_vmpUh1dViRQqD9kURc4urm4qrDNlyXCKEofttqIj0NnP9MCiXoyWr7Dn-HenpKl9yAzyS1nbnjN5QMXj0B-Pduq_AmdULR9sFiMq49SwCo9a-ARIWd14rT0YM5uXl0rO0uKE96iiRH9hapLQ_PcxcjCdV0fOefZrgIA.EneDUHJl42qx92RblmApatvus2vdiwecTRzrFLaofEY&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+ceaseless+way&qid=1732892065&sprefix=the+ceaseless+way%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1
Ada Milenkovic Brown 