I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Today we are joined by Kayli Scholz. Kayli is the author of Saint Grit (Ghoulish Books, 2023) and Black Rain Season (Curious Corvid Publishing, 2024). Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Moon Digest, A Formal Invitation, and others. Kayli lives and writes in the wilds of Florida.
Why do you write?
I write because it’s deeply enjoyable for me to build and create. Without it, there’s a restlessness and energy inside of me that has nowhere to go. Writing also helps me make sense of things.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I read and listen to music in excess. I like to draw even though I’m not skillful at it, hiking, just being outside. Watch movies.
What’s something that’s true about you but no one believes?
About ten years ago, I was knocked out by a rotting coconut that fell 40 ft. from a tree. I was told I should’ve died instantly. Only suffered a minor concussion.
What’s the best money you’ve ever spent as a writer?
I don’t skimp on notebooks. Once a year, I’ll buy a stack of really nice Oasis notebooks from the Itoya brand. Their notebooks are so bendable and sturdy, clean lines and thick paper. I could write and take notes on a dollar brand spiral if I had to, but I love a good notebook.
Describe your book in three words.
Degenerate, American, Bleak.
Describe your book poorly.
A group of unlikely friends unite to locate a missing girl and make friends along the way in the summer of 1999.
If you met your characters in real life, what would you say to them?
Marilyn Manson cannot save you.
What are some of your favorite books/authors?
Hardest question ever and I will attempt to answer it as concisely as possible; Denis Johnson, Shirley Jackson, Brian Evenson, Kanae Minato, Tananarive Due, Dorothy Allison, Ottessa Moshfegh, Truman Capote, Joyce Carol Oates, C. R. Foster, Karen Russell, Miranda July, Johnny Compton, Cormac McCarthy, J. G. Ballard, Rachel Kushner, Wrath James White, Sarah Waters, Hailey Piper, Dennis Lehane, Ryu Murakami, Laurel Hightower, Danger Slater, Ronald Malfi, King, Faulkner, McCullers, Woolf, James Baldwin.
Do you read the reviews of your books or do you stay far, far away from them, and why?
I read everything, yes. Some authors say that reviews are none of our business and I like that sentiment, but I can’t feel that way when I went from writing for nobody to having an audience. I want to know if people liked it or not, even if they disliked it.
Are you a book hoarder or a book unhauler?
Book unhauler. I purge books every year. Even if I loved a book I don’t necessarily need to have it on my shelf forever. I check out books from the library and buy books all the time, so there’s always books coming and going. With that said, I probably own around 500-600 books.
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“Welcome to Yeehaw Junction, Florida. I’m Skeet. The date is June-something, 1999 and I’m gonna be a school shooter when I grow up.”
When a family of thieves and runaways joins the search for a missing girl in rural Florida, they’re drawn into a chemical conspiracy that extends far beyond their worst nightmares. Told through the eyes of Skeet, an aspiring school shooter and Marilyn Manson fan, Yeehaw Junction is a gritty, fast-paced Southern noir packed with unforgettable imagery and horror.
Yeehaw Junction is one of the bleakest slices of nihilistic rural noir you’ll ever read. It’s a stellar piece of work about squalid lives lived not on the margins of society but instead in a more homeless place somewhere beyond, a place where the forgotten and the shunned do whatever it takes to survive and the most ruthless predators are always on the prowl. Read it. It’ll scar your soul. —Bryan Smith, author of Depraved
Kayli Scholz’s Yeehaw Junction is a contemporary Southern Gothic that immerses its readers in the bleak reality of a world that exists between fuel pumps, cigarette cartons, dive bars, and sinister homemade videos. A smart psychological thriller that burgeons with sadistic pleasures. —Grace R. Reynolds, author of Lady of The House and Neon Moon
“It’s just the way it is sometimes; you’re not wanted at the diner downstairs from the titty bar.” Yeehaw Junction feels like Fernanda Melchor novelizing Gummo. Kayli Scholz’s style of sleazy trailer park narration will leave you feeling implicated in the sickliest of ways … This is the fastest I’ve read anything in a while. —Ira Rat, author of Participation Trophy, publisher at Filthy Loot
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