Kelly Moyer On Books And Writing

For my latest author interview, I’m joined by Kelly Moyer. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

This interview has been edited lightly.

You published “Hushpuppy” last year. Would you tell me a little bit about it?

“Hushpuppy” is a collection of, for lack of a better term, experimental haiku. Most of the pieces were written in the two years prior to the book’s publication. It is basically a narrative of falling in love with my husband, the challenges we encountered and my coming to terms with the imperfection of the world beyond our snowglobe.

How long did it take to write? Do you have a writing routine?

For decades now, I have written nightly. It was only this past year, after my twenty-two-year battle with Lyme Disease was finally diagnosed, that I was forced to take a break.

Even at my worst, I wrote prolifically. It was the first few months of treatment that rendered me empty. I began to wonder if the spirochetes were responsible for my creativity all these years! During that time, I rediscovered my passion for photography. Fortunately, I’m writing again and thoroughly enjoying my editorship at Failed Haiku.

How did you go about getting the book published?

I didn’t put thought into compiling the pieces until they were already written and published within a number of haiku journals. I had the pleasure of meeting Roberta Beach Jacobson, the editor of Five Fleas and Cold Moon Journal, on a trip back to the Midwest to visit my son. She mentioned that Jerome Berglund of Nun Prophet Press was interested in publishing my work. I emailed him from the hotel room where I was staying. When I returned home, I began sequencing the poems.

What sort of feedback have you gotten thus far?

Everyone has been tremendously supportive. From what I understand, “Hushpuppy” is Nun Prophet Press’s most successful publication to date. Fevers of the Mind posted a glowing review shortly after it was published. The reviewer, Sara Dobbie, touched upon some of the topics addressed in the book that I thought might not be evident outside my own head. In addition, the haiku community, as a whole, has been endlessly enthusiastic.

Any big projects in the works?

I’m currently compiling my collection of original fairytales, entitled “Mother Pomegranate and Other Fairytales for Adults.” Late last summer, my husband directed a staged reading of several of the tales that was incredibly well-received.