Dragon Soul Press took some time to interview M. Kelly Peach, a poet in the Soul Ink: Volume 2 anthology.

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1. Introduce yourself.
   • I am a husband to my beautiful bride Monica; father to Melissa, Tristan, Christiana, and
     Ariana; grandfather to Aiden, Harvey, Grayson, Rand, and Asher. I am retired and live in
     the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language
     and Literature with secondary teaching certificate from Lake Superior State University, a
     Masters of Education degree in Generic Special Education from the University of North
     Texas, and Mathematics certification from University of Texas, Arlington. I like to read
     and collect books, hike, camp, and bake.
2. What prompted you to begin writing?
   • My fifth-grade teacher, Marshall Rafferty at Lathers Elementary School, introduced me to
     a number of authors of wild and wooly tales (as he would put it) including Rider Haggard,
     Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Jeffrey Farnol. I devoured their novels and fell in love with
     their stories of adventure and romance, the written words on their pages. I wanted to
     capture some of that sorcery with my own writing.
3. Do you have a favorite story or poem you’ve written? What’s it about?
   • As soon ask me which is my favorite child or grandchild. I love them all and each in their
     own way. The same is true for each of my preciouses, whether it be poem, story, essay,
     or novel. But if I must choose, then let it be a very early poem of mine called Writing
     Free (of Glass Lines) which seemed to capture for me the magic of metaphor. The
     process of its composition was visceral and enthralling. The poem is available online at
     Riddled with Arrows, 5.3.
4. How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about one.
   • I do not have things planned out over the next few years. I am currently working with
     Translucent Eyes Press to publish my novella The Death of Tintagiles Death while also
     endeavoring to self-publish my fantasy novel The Adventures of ArgyLe Sock.
5. What is your writing process like?
   • I strongly prefer to write in the mornings until about noon. I’m usually a pantser. I find it
     extremely difficult to just ignore bad sentences, as most experts advise, so as to keep
     writing and get all the ideas out and then go back and revise. Instead, I trust I will be
     able to recall the ideas after I’ve rewritten the offending sentence, often several times,
     until I’ve gotten it right.
6. Where do you draw inspiration from?
   • Dreams, readings, tv shows and movies, songs, and totally random shit. Really, it’s a
     mystery I’ll never solve.
7. Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?
   • It is impossible to name one favorite author or one favorite book. What cruelty is this?
     There are so many and they’ve changed over the years. Currently, I’m liking Zadie
     Smith, Jonathan Lethem, Richard Russo, Thomas Ligotti, and Robert Sawyer. Others
     include (but are not limited to): Pratchett, Howard, Lovecraft, King, McCarthy, Wallace,
     Ellison, and Vance. A seminal book in my youth, to name just one, was Arthur C.
     Clarke’s Against the Fall of Night.
8. What is one goal you have for your writing future?
   • I hope to someday publish a collection of short stories, a collection of essays, and a
     poetry manuscript.
9. What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?
   • I hope something, anything about the story, poem, essay, etc. will grip the reader
     whether it be a memorable character or action scene, a turn of phrase or description, a
     metaphor or idea.
10. Where can readers learn more about you?
    • On my website, Twitter, and Facebook.