We recently had the chance to connect with Ken Macgregor and have shared our conversation below.
Ken, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Who are you learning from right now?
Really, I’m learning from everyone and everything around me, all the time. I think that if we stop learning, we die. Most notably, I’m learning from my kids (one recent adult and one in high school), as they assert themselves, finding their own paths as human beings, outside of who they are as my children. It’s fascinating to see them grow into adults, and I could not be more proud of them. Also, I learn from my peers in the writing community, as well as those wildly more successful than I.
I am also learning from myself: every new story I write, every interaction with an editor, every bit of research I do in the course of writing, is an opportunity to learn, to better myself. As long as I’m still breathing, I’m learning.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve been writing professionally for about fourteen years now, and came up with a unique idea roughly four years ago: I do a thing called “Killed by Ken”, in which I write real people into short stories, based on the answers to a questionnaire, and usually kill them. Sometimes, I let them live but do something equally horrifying to them. Earlier this year, I finally had enough of these to create a book: it’s called “Some People I Have Killed”. My son, who is a very talented 16-year-old artist, did the cover for me. The publisher paid him, and he was incredibly stoked. The cover art is very simple but effective: the title in typewriter font on a white background with blood spatter. When I do in-person events, a lot of people stop to look at it. This thing, the writing of real people into fictional stories, seems to be something nobody else is doing, or has done, as far as I can tell. I’m quite proud of that.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
This is a fun one. When we were kids, my brother and I would sometimes do the airplane ride thing with our dad. He would lie on his back and hold us up on his legs and we would fly. Then, he would give us a turn, and we could never lift him, so he would fall to one side, and we’d all crack up. I know that lots of us probably have this experience, or at least the first part. When we were traveling one year, I can’t remember where or how old I was at the time, but I clearly remember the first time I could not only support his weight, but I launched my dad a few feet away.
It was the first time I felt strong, and it was heady.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
It’s going to be hard. Sometimes, it’s going to seem impossible, in fact. Keep going. It’s worth it.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
To the extent that I write under my real name, and that I speak my truths on social media, yes. I’m not shy about expressing my opinions or beliefs, and the ones I post are the ones I believe.
However, there are aspects of my life I keep private, because I don’t feel like the world needs to be privy to my personal life. My relationship with my partner, with my kids and hers, are things I keep to myself for the most part. Being a public persona (though I’m far from famous outside of horror circles) means living one’s life somewhat out loud, but I prefer to keep the private stuff private. I respect other’s privacy and hope they’d respect mine as well. This is not to say that I am inauthentic in my public persona–just that I won’t share everything.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If immortality were real, what would you build?
My own skills and knowledge. I would immerse myself in music, and art, and books. I would learn as much as I could about everything that always sparked my interest. If I were immortal, I would dedicate my existence to making myself a better person. Also, I would do everything I could to improve the lives of others, to fight injustice and poverty, to institute positive change. I’m already doing the former in the limited way I can with my human lifespan, and the latter by donating to the Southern Poverty Law Center four times a year. I know it’s not enough, but it’s what I can do for now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kenmacgregor.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macgregor2437
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ken.macgregor.3
Image Credits
Milo MacGregor, cover artist. Photo by me.
