Kim DeRose

Kim DeRose grew up in Santa Barbara, California, where she spent childhood summers holed up in her bedroom, reading and writing stories (which she was convinced her local bookstore would publish). She now lives in New York City, where she still holes up in her bedroom reading, and writing stories. DeRose earned her MFA in film directing from UCLA, and she currently works in digital media. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can be found geeking out over her favorite obsessions (Twin Peaks, Harry Potter, and anything Halloween-related, to name a few), drinking way too much coffee, listening to way too many podcasts, and spending time with her family. For Girls Who Walk Through Fire is her debut novel.

 Instagram: @KimDeRoseWrites

Threads: @KimDeRoseWrites

Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?

Music is a huge part of my writing process. I always create a play list for each book I write, though the genre varies widely depending on the tone of the book. I’ll also often listen to a single song on repeat while writing a particular scene or chapter. When I first started drafting For Girls Who Walk Through Fire, I listened to Sharon Van Etten’s “Seventeen” on repeat for weeks on end. Tori Amos’s “Cornflake Girl” and Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” were also on heavy repeat. Elliott, the main character in For Girls Who Walk Through Fire, uses music as a form of self-expression and tends to pick songs that unconsciously communicate how she’s feeling. That’s something I find myself doing in both my personal and writing life. In fact, when I was writing Elliott’s scenes, I’d often sense which song she was listening to, and then I’d look up the lyrics later and be surprised by how relevant they were.

Is there a work of art that you love? Why? Have you ever visited it in person?

I am a big David Bowie fan, and several years ago I had the great fortune of going to see the “David Bowie Is” exhibit at Brooklyn Museum. As a fan, I knew I would enjoy it, but I didn’t expect to be so profoundly moved. Being surrounded by art and artifacts that inspired his own creative work while simultaneously listening to audio of him describing his creative process was incredibly engaging. But it was the final room that got to me. After journeying through his creative life via various displays and video installations, viewers were led into a huge open space filled with his iconic costumes and a jumbo screen projecting one of his live concerts. It really felt like walking into one of his live shows, which brought him to life and made me very emotional. In that moment, I felt deeply grateful for his existence as an artist—this person who continuously reinvented themselves and always walked to the beat of their own drum.

Is there another profession you would like to try?

I’d love to be a Death Doula. For those who are unfamiliar, Death Doulas help guide the dying through their last living moments, and work with the dying person’s loved ones to help them process their grief. Death and grief have been central to my life and are themes I find myself drawn to in both stories I read and write. When I was 15 years old, I witnessed the death of a close family member and it profoundly transformed me. I felt awakened by that experience, with a newfound awareness that we all die, and that we will all lose everyone we love. Death is a universal experience, and yet it’s a topic we often avoid or are uncomfortable with, at least here in the United States. But I’m a huge proponent of the death positive movement and Memento Mori. In fact, I have a tattoo of a skull transforming into flowers as a personal daily reminder that one day I will die. To some people, the idea of regularly thinking about death can seem morbid and dark, but I’ve found that it keeps me present and grateful and reminds me to not get caught up in superficialities.

What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?

What I’ve come to feel, partly in thanks to Beth Pickens book “Make Your Art No Matter What,” is that, for me, being a writer and being an author are two very different things. Being a writer is about the act of creation. As an artist, I need to create in order to feel connected to myself and the world around me. I’m happiest when I’m engaging with the writing process. Writing is also something entirely within my control. Being an author, on the other hand, is about sharing what I have created, but it’s somewhat outside of my control. In part because I wanted to go the traditional publishing route, but also because I can’t control whether or not my books get read, or, if they’re read, how they’re received. And yet becoming an author was important to me because sharing what I’ve created feels like an act of communion. I might never meet the people I am communing with—just as I have never met the many writers and artists who’ve impacted me—but that doesn’t lessen the value of that transaction.

What brings you great joy?

Hands down, my kids. I have a 10-year-old and a 4-year-old and they are both little joy factories. I love the traditions we have—dressing up in themed family Halloween costumes, apple picking in the fall, holding our annual Christmas cookie decorating contest—but it’s really the small daily moments that are so deeply rewarding. Moments like reading together at bedtime, playing DJ at dinnertime where we take turns playing our favorite songs, dancing together in the kitchen, making up silly songs on our road trips. Much like becoming an author, I had a very long journey to becoming a parent (with years and years of infertility treatments for both kids), so I am incredibly aware of my deep privilege in watching these two amazing young people grow, and in getting to be their mom.