That might be my favorite description yet. Harrow: Like if John Muir wrote a novel after watching The Secret Life of Pets and World War Z. I’ve been describing Hollow Kingdom as a “humorous literary dystopian novel with some horror elements and nature writing.” Why not?! I don’t think it should be the author’s burden to worry about whether their work fits squarely in the “mystery” category as they create, for example, and I don’t see why a speculative novel can’t be literary. I think we’re seeing a lot more cross-genre novels and I think that’s a good thing.

I just wanted to write a wild story and enjoy every minute of the process. You know, when I wrote Hollow Kingdom, I had decided to give myself total freedom from expectation of publication, or hopes of landing an agent. speculative divide, more broadly?īuxton : My previous novels (the novels in the drawer) are humorous mystery novels, so it was a bit of (another!) surprise that my first published novel wasn’t in the mystery genre. What’s your history with genre fiction? And how do you feel about the literary vs. Harrow: Zombies feel very firmly rooted in sci-fi or fantasy, to me. Also, maybe I kind of relate to them? I’m tired a lot and have a bit of a “lurching” gait. I found it interesting to imagine that even in (relative) death, humans are still wreaking havoc on the earth. There’s a long-running tradition of zombies being used as a form of social critique and a stand-in for current societal anxiety (race relations, terrorism, consumer culture, war, etc.). The zombies are never named “zombies” in the novel and I don’t consider them to be the focus either. I wanted to find a way to highlight environmental issues (loss of animal habitat, deforestation, climate change–mainly the anthropogenic destruction of the natural world) using an adventure story and humor to make its themes accessible. I’m not particularly enamored of them, nor do I consider myself well-acquainted with the pantheon of zombie literature, but latterly I do understand why I chose them. I surprised myself with writing about zombies. Kira Jane Buxton : Thank you, that’s especially lovely to hear given how much I loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January! I read it ridiculously slowly because I didn’t want it to end! Nothing on the cover or marketing said the word zombies, and yet: zombies! Of all the apocalypses to choose from (biological plague, nuclear, climate-based, asteroid, alien invasion), why zombies? It was so smart and weird and fresh and funny, and I feel lucky to have read it. Harrow : Hi Kira! I want to start by leaning across the digital table and telling you, with tears of devotion shining in my eyes, how much I loved Hollow Kingdom.

Jane buxton author