Q&A with Author, Kyle Derek McDonald
Kyle Derek McDonald – Author Bio
Kyle is an award-winning poet and voice-over artist, a Toronto based actor, operatic bass, writer, digital composer, director, and producer. He’s also the co-founder of Indie Opera Hub, and the Managing Director for North American Operations at Octant Aerospace Consulting. His current claims to fame are voicing Drago on the animated series Bakugan, and Batman on the fan-made series, Batman: Just A Mortal.
As a writer, he’s been produced as a playwright (Macbeth’s Head, Don Juan: An Episode), and screenwriter (Street Smarts, This is Bill, Revenge for the Duchess of Malfi, Movies Matter, Actorapists, The Car, Gamers Anonymous), and has written libretti for three original operas, The Lion Heart, The Bat and the Bells, and Possession, and created the book and score for two new operas in pasticcio, James Bond: A Convenient Lie, and Conan and the Stone of Kelior. He was awarded the Winning Writer’s War Poetry award for The Rose Of Ilium (now called Achilles and the Queen), a poem composed in heroic couplets that tells of the doomed love between Achilles and Penthesilea, and, after a long break, he’s returned to poetry recently having completed the writing and recording of his novel length epic poem, The Blessed, a selection of which is featured in Dragon Dreams, and which is pending release. He’s currently assembling a chapbook of his love poetry called Ravenous.
Q&A
What is it about dragons that you love so much?
Majesty, Power, Mythos! I’ve always been interested in subjects and creatures of nobility, strength, and terror. In many respects, these are traits that I’m interested in cultivating in myself. One of my girlfriends’ nicknames for me was Dragon, so I can probably afford to relax it a bit, ha!
Why do you enjoy writing about dragons?
They’re alternately presented as sentient beings of great wisdom, or as creatures of terrible cupidity and cruelty – as complex as any human and an excellent analog for our best and worst characteristics. They also embody mystery and wonder – two feelings that should be summoned without reserve when creating almost anything.
Dragons of the dangerous sort are found in tales like Beowulf, the parable of St. George, and of course, The Hobbit. But in other popular media, they’ve evolved into more positive representations – The Last Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon, Skyrim, and of course, Bakugan, where I get to play one!
It hasn’t gone without note that, as humankind has pushed back the dangers of the animal kingdom, we’ve become much more sympathetic, translating erstwhile destroyers into present day friends. Dragons are no exception, mythical though they be!
In my story (excerpted in the anthology) one of our protagonists, Virilus, has just undergone a divine transformation, wherein he mortally wounds a God whose purview is probability. The God gifts the dragon – Fanthar – to Virilus, who is then instantly connected with him telepathically. Fanthar, who, at the beginning of the story is maligned as a vicious traitor against the other Gods and mankind, turns out to be a discerning and loyal companion – but, only for the worthy. In this case, Fanthar represents first terror, then mystery, and then ultimately wisdom, for only those who know the truth will earn his trust.
As far as anyone knows, he’s the only one of his kind, and much of his background remains an enigma. However, should a sequel ever be called forth his role will be expanded, offering me many marvelous opportunities to explore!
What are some of your favorite books to read featuring dragons?
I’ll confess that the majority of my fiction reading features work written before the 20th century, so all I have to draw on from recent written properties (outside of movies and video games) is LOTR/Hobbit and The Witcher.
I like the Hobbit’s use of Smaug – certainly a very charismatic portrayal, his turpitude notwithstanding. But I think my favourite dragon in literature (that I’ve encountered) is from Beowulf. A dragon, who remains unnamed, descends upon Beowulf’s kingdom as punishment for the theft of riches from his hoard. In this tale, the dragon represents the chastisement that comes to those who succumb to greed and who fail to respect nature’s sharpened edges. In the ensuing conflict, Beowulf and the dragon annihilate each other (a recurring theme in Norse mythology, as typified by Ragnarok), conferring upon each other a worthy death. I prefer this to The Hobbit because Smaug’s defeat isn’t nearly as poetic – while Beowulf and his dragon are worthy matches for each other, I feel that Smaug is defeated by heroes unworthy of him. This trope certainly doesn’t make for bad literature, as another one of my favourite heroes, Achilles, is slain by the arrow of an unworthy adversary. Doesn’t mean it isn’t rude though!
What got you into writing?
I started when I was very young and have always been keenly fascinated by the power that words hold – they are a kind of magic. Beyond that, I largely just can’t help myself.
If there was one piece of advice you could give to other writers, what would it be?
I see that you’ve asked for one piece of advice, but, given that I have some words left to spend, I’m going to give TWO!
One.
It’s terribly un-sexy, but – HAVE A JOB, LIVE A LIFE. I’ve been a professional artist for over 20 years and the landscape has changed considerably since I started out. There are so many positives – self publishing, software, inexpensive printing and communications – but there are also catastrophes – saturation, rapid-turnover, a dearth of mentorship, and increasing financial pressures, making it very difficult for the little guy to be seen. Write because you must, but live because submissions, workshops, and PR are never free. Work because publishing fees are incredibly modest and unless you become one of the top authors in a genre, you’re still going to be scrounging. And, not to continue to be the bearer of bad news (although I AM), the market is going to contract even more as spending decreases from massive inflation, outsourcing employment, and AI. I’m happy to be wrong, but I think we’re in for a rough ride. Get that cash flow secured!
Two.
Read exponentially more than you write. I’m sure most of us already do this, so I’ll add another challenge: read things you know nothing about. Read outside your genre. Read outside your voice. Make a point to read as much of humanity’s great literature as you can, from Gilgamesh, to Homer, to the Vedas, to Shakespeare and the King James, to all the Russians, and beyond. Become entranced by the breadth of our language, the majority of which we don’t use anymore, but which we need more than ever to cleanse a palate whose surfeit on refined immediacy is losing all of its ability to savour nuance and delight.
Learn about the world – the titanic and quantum forces of the physical universe, the astonishing intricacy of cellular processes, the dynamism and bafflement of ethology, the bizarre, counterintuitive, and subconscious idiosyncrasies of human behaviour. I cannot tell you how generative it is to read about the fate of Easter Island, or that the early Earth was a menagerie of belching volcanoes, or that blood courses at essentially the same pressure, regardless of the size of the organism, or that a run on Tulips in the 17th century caused one of the first major stock market bubbles and attendant crashes.
Never stop learning!
Where can readers follow your writer platform?
Learn more about Kyle at: Author Website | YouTube | Instagram | Amazon