Not only does he write books on his own, but he's shared that process with a number of coauthors. Cowriting a book can be more difficult than writing one's own story, but Kevin's found a way to consistently produce quality, bestselling books with his writing partners. Chief among those would be Brian Herbert, son of revered author Frank Herbert. Through their efforts, Kevin and Brian have expanded the Dune universe far beyond Frank Herbert's original novels. As someone who views Dune as a monumental work of fiction, I appreciate how they've entertained diehard fans while bring new fans into the fold.
In addition to writing and cowriting stories, he and his wife are also publishers. Through their company Wordfire Press, they've published many novels by established and up-and-coming authors. This is a noteworthy effort, as the publishing industry is always changing and fraught with risk. As a book editor once told me, "If we made any real money doing this, why would publishers keep having to buy each other out, constantly invent new imprints, and regularly force writers to adopt pseudonyms?"
Recently, Kevin's ventured into the teaching profession. He's always been a beacon of professionalism at science fiction conventions, offering valuable advice and leading panel discussions on how to have a successful writing career. He's also a longstanding member of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest, a prestigious organization that helps give young writers and artists a start in their careers. In the last few years, he's teamed with other professional authors to hold an annual seminar on jumpstarting one's writing career. But now he's gotten his own Masters degree, and is teaching classes at a university in his home state of Colorado.
Of course, for most readers, what really matters is his fiction. So I thought I'd take a moment to share with you some of his books that I've enjoyed the most, and provide useful links so you can read the posts in which I shared how much those stories meant to me.
Death Warmed Over (the first novel in the Dan Shambles series)
Resurrection, Inc. (his first novel)
Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (an early anthology of Star Wars stories he edited)
Clockwork Angels (a novel he cowrote with Neil Peart, drummer and primary lyricist for the rock group Rush)
Darksaber (a Star Wars novel)
Heirs of the Force (a Star Wars novel he and wife Rebecca Moesta cowrote about the children of Han Solo and Princess Leia)
A blog about meeting Kevin and his wife at a convention
And finally, a few words about Kevin and Brian's collaboration on the Dune novels
This is by no means a complete list of posts I've written about him. It doesn't do justice to all the books he's written that have touched my life in one way or another. There's so many other great books I've given little mentions to here and there, and others that have meant a lot to me, but I've failed to write about. Hopefully, it gives you an overview of who he is as a writer, and how much he's contributed to the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres.
For more on his fiction, check out his Complete Booklist and Readers Guide, available when you join the KJA Readers Group at Wordfire Press.
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