Meet Kaos Emslie | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaos Emslie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaos, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I always wanted to be an author. It was one of those no thought decisions that I always seemed to work toward no matter where I was at in my life. Writing has always been a need, a necessity in my life, not just a hobby or a want. It’s like my brain needs that creative release, and when I realized I could publish my books it was an automatic decision.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started writing in 5th grade, but I didn’t really focus on it as a career option until high school when I started writing The Perfect Nightmare, which is the current series I am working on. I started out as a way to manage the symptoms if my schizoaffective disorder and depression, but it was very well written at all. That was in 2006. I left it for a while, wrote other things, grew my own style and voice through trial and error, and decided in 2022 that I wanted to rewrite the whole series as not one single book but as a trilogy. This whole series is inspired deeply by my mental health and the state of my mind over the time period between 2006 and 2017, and I feel like I bring a unique and special view of mental health to the world. We don’t dive deep into healing or recovery in my stories, though. These are not happily ever after tales. They are tragic, dark, horrific, and filled with pain and questions and more pain. I’ve met many challenges along the way, mostly from within my own mind. Writers block is a very real thing that happens to me, I experience depressive episodes regularly that cause me to not have the energy or motivation to write. We often talk about the outside obstacles but rarely acknowledge the ones within ourselves. I still have low self esteem and a fear of failure and a need to be perfect, but each time I sit down to write, even if nothing gets done, I learn a little more a out myself. A huge lesson I’m still in the process of learning is that perfection doesn’t exist, especially in art, no matter how we feel or what we’re told.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, we’d definitely spend a ton of time in Bisbee and Tombstone! I think we could fill up an entire week just hanging out in those two towns. There’s so much nightlife in Bisbee, so much art and music and history to explore. Definitely a big place on my list whenever someone comes to visit.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My sister and best friend and amazing editor, Demarus Mayer. She has been here for over a decade, supporting me and encouraging me. Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nightmare.food_

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaosEmslie