Kenneth Rogers Jr.
This week: Kenneth Rogers Jr.
This year marks the first year that I made the step to attend a Comic Con. I was not disappointed! Nor was I at a lack for friends! This is where I met Kenneth Rogers Jr, a writer and an author who's passion shone through during our chat! Kenneth has more to offer than being an author - as an advocate for breaking social norms, his answers will be a read you will definitely walk away from with a new perspective!
Name: Kenneth Rogers Jr.
Website: www.lostimaginations.com
Genre: science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, young adult, memoir, self-help
That is a difficult question. Most of my inspiration comes from life. The life that I live now, and ever returning memory of the lives I used to live. It can come from spending time with my daughters and seeing the rotating galaxies of infinite dust float through the rays of the basement window, or a science podcast about the number of satellites orbiting the Earth and what would happen if each began to explode in a chain reaction that knocked humans back in progress about 200 years. It all depends.
Which character in literature do you associate yourself with the most?
This is a tough one. Sometimes I feel as though my soul is eternally trapped in the picture of Dorian Grey after listening to the deadly musing of Lord Henry. Other times I feel sane in my insane thoughts as Kilgore Trout and Yosarian, while also knowing the rest of the world is looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. I wish I had the ability to solve problems like Sherlock, the intelligence of Microft, and the fortitude of Moriarty to do what needs to be done. However, at the end of the day I’m just Watson, recording the deeds of others in the fashion of a true Liturian in a desperate attempt to change the world for the better as it spirals to oblivion.
Which piece of your writing was the most entertaining/enjoyable to write? Why?
Honestly, all of my writing is extremely frustrating. Most of the time, everything I write is battling for space in my brain. Each story is like its own big bang. Sometime they explode to create a universe, expanding forever into oblivion. Other times they implode in on themselves, never to see the light of day, but possibly fueling the material needed create another pocket universe. Even then, after the universe begins to expand, it is up to me to create the rules, order structure, and detail of each planet, sun, asteroid, tree, and creature that takes a breathe or dies by the stroke of my pen. I enjoy it all, and love the challenge of the puzzle, but it can take months or years before I write a single word. The frustration is always there, but so is the love and joy when I finally piece it all together and everything clicks.
Was the first novel you published the first you ever wrote? What was?
The first novel I ever wrote was in sixth grade, for the Young Authors program in Peoria, Illinois. It was called The Forgotten War. Somehow, these kids get sucked back in time while visiting a museum and experience details of a battle no one knew existed. Of course, I did not win, but I always enjoyed writing. However, more than that, I loved reading fiction and fantasy back then. It was a form of escape, and help me understand humanity at my own pace. I believe this is more important than writing when young.
When I’m not writing I’m usually…
When I’m not writing I’m writing I’m usually thinking about writing, marketing, planning signings, keeping track of my daughters, raising my daughters, being a good husband, planning lessons, teaching those lessons, grading, grading, grading, thinking about writing, reading, watching Trolls, watching Lion Guard, watching Chicken Little, doing laundry, thinking about writing, attempting to stay mentally and physically healthy.
If you could tell or ask any character in literature or film anything, what would it be?
I wish I could be like The Pagemaster. Just get sucked into a novel and experience the story first hand. That would be fun!
If you had lived a different life, made different choices, what would you be doing now?
I loved to act in plays and perform on my speech and debate team. If things had turned out differently I may be an actor somewhere.
What are five things you couldn’t do without?
(In no specific order)
- A good pen
- Notebook
- Mirus (daughter)
- Amare (daughter)
- Sarah (wife)
What do few people know about you?
I write about every aspect of my life. I am literally an open book. All you have to do is read it.
Are you working on any current projects?
I am currently working on volume #2 of Heroes, Villains, and Healing: A Guide for Male Survivors Using DC and Marvel Comic Superheroes and Villains.
What work of fiction made you want to be a writer?
Ray Bradbury’s, The Martian Chronicles. His ability to write stories using simplistic language, but grand ideas made me wish I could do that one day.
What tools do you use for writing, organization, marketing?
I am prone to using a notebook, pen, and paper when I write. My daughters won’t let me on my laptop long enough for me to type a sentence. I sit and jot a few lines while watching a flick or playing. After they go to sleep, or early in the morning is when I type everything out and piece it all together. For marketing, I usually rely on word of mouth. I go book festivals and conventions to speak. Social media is good and all, but there’s nothing like working for what you earn.
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Author Bio: Kenneth is a member of the Rape Incest National Network (RAINN) Speaker’s Bureau. He has been living and teaching in Baltimore since 2010 with his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Mirus and Amare. In that time he has taught 6-10th grade English in Baltimore, Maryland. Kenneth has earned a masters degree in education from Johns Hopkins School of Education, the number one ranked school of education in the country. Since growing up and moving from Peoria, Illinois he graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio in 2008 with a dual degree in Political Science and English, he has written and published seven novels. Those seven novels are: Thoughts in Italics, a book of short stories that range from speculative to science fiction; Writing in the Margins, a novel that intertwines the characters of Jack Mueller and John Rubaker that makes the reader question what is reality and fiction;Sequence, winner of 2011 Next Generation Book Award and 2011 NABE Pinnacle Achievement Book Award, is a dystopian science fiction novel telling the story of Andrea Remus and Thomas Charon through each memory they are forced to relive as they are downloaded in a computer known as the Pandora Complex to save the human race; The Diary of Oliver Lee, the first in a young adult trilogy that tells the story of Oliver Lee, his ability to “stream” stories from the minds of those around him, and his search for the first couple he ever “streamed”; Love and Fear, book two in the Liturian trilogy which tells the story of Kevin and his continued search for Oliver Lee and answers to his possible future and fate; Infinite Truths and Impossible Lies, the conclusion to the Liturian trilogy; Raped Black Male: A Memoir which tells Kenneth’s story of what it means to be a male rape survivor, overcoming stereotypes of what it means to be black, and male, and that men can’t be raped; Heroes, Villains, and Healing: A Guide for Male Survivors Using DC Superheroes and Villains, 2017 winner of the NABE Pinnacle Achievement Book Award and 2017 winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, uses comic books and back research to help male survivors of child sexual abuse understand and heal from their childhood sexual trauma.
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