Jason A. Kilgore (he/him) is a multi-genre writer in speculative fiction, including horror, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as poetry, scientific publications, and essays, and has published five books so far. By day he is a scientist.
Jason lives in Oregon and when he isn’t writing, he loves hiking and camping in the mountain wilderness areas and the Pacific coast.
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Christmas time in the UK is traditionally a time to tell ghost stories, so let’s talk about your paranormal collection of shorts, Around the Corner from Sanity. How did you choose the stories for the collection, and decide which opened and closed it?
I love that tradition! What better to celebrate it than with a collection of supernatural short stories? This book has a mix of traditional horror stories, some “gentle” haunting stories, and even four humorous stories. I want the reader to be taking on an emotional rollercoaster through the supernatural as they read through all fourteen short stories.
I decided to open the book with a humorous one, though, because laughter and joy is the best emotion. But then this is followed by a traditional horror which has dire consequences for the protagonists. I also end the book on a humorous story so that the reader can sort of “cleanse the pallet” with laughter after reading so much horror. Also, supernatural humor isn’t very common, so opening with such a story helps readers appreciate the novelty of this collection. In fact, one of the stories, “The Last Gift of Christmas,” is about a family opening gifts and one of them is uniquely supernatural. It’s another of the humor stories, actually.
What inspires you to weave the paranormal worlds of gods, angels, demons, and other entities, into the mundane/contemporary settings of these horror stories?
I grew up in an actual haunted house, with shadow people darting around, things moving on their own, strange sounds, and general creepiness all the time. It primed me to understand that there is a spiritual world all around us, everywhere we go, and it isn’t always benign. The (fictional) stories in Around the Corner from Sanity tap into that feeling. Supernatural entities shouldn’t be limited to decrepit mansions or cemeteries. So the stories in this book are set in everyday settings, such as a corporate office, a person’s yard, or an apartment being renovated. It brings a novelty to the stories.
Are there any themes/tropes that link these stories, for example, dark secrets, haunted by the past, etc? What is it about these themes/tropes that drew you to write about them?
There’s no particular theme between these fourteen stories, other than that they all explore supernatural entities and situations, and I generally try to avoid tropes. I want each story to be fresh and novel from one another. But I guess if there could be anything else in common between them, it would be surprise at the supernatural situation that the protagonists find themselves in and having to deal with the situation as best they can.
The collection has been praised for its atmosphere, descriptions, and how effective they are at horrifying the reader. Do you have any tips on building suspense in a short story?
The best stories are the ones with a slow burn. Start by describing what seems like a normal setting and situation, with maybe slight creepy tones or a subtle supernatural element.
I think of the story as a placid river with the reader in a boat enjoying the ride. Then slowly add more supernatural or horror elements (as if things are seen lurking along the shoreline) until suddenly the reader is carried along on rapids, descending into a horrorscape and unable to steer the boat any longer. Will they survive the trip to placid waters again?
The “author tools” to do this include subtle foreshadowing, careful word choices that leave subliminal emotional traces in the reader’s mind, and symbolism in the “props” in the settings. I might also include hints at unresolved situations in the beginning of the story – the sort that can come back to haunt the protagonist (literally).
Tell us more about the story you opened with, the story that is in the middle of the collection as the midpoint of the book, and the story you chose to end on. Why did you pick these stories to go at these points of the collection, and what do readers enjoy about them?
I mentioned in an earlier answer how I started and ended with humorous stories, since I like making people laugh and it sets up the “rollercoaster of emotions” for the reader, and I also like to leave readers laughing.
In the opening story, “Purgatory’s Price,” a man dies and discovers he has to play a game show to get into heaven. He tries to change up the rules, even. And in the final story, “Corporate Spirit,” an office worker discovers that his workplace is haunted by a spirit that seems to feed on employees’ despair upon hearing corporate-speak. He comes to realize that the managers are in on it. How will he deal with the situation, particularly since he’s been angling for a promotion himself?
The midpoint of the book is a novelette called “Magnolia House,” which is one of the “gentle haunting” stories. This tale is about a young couple and their two small children who have moved into a grand plantation-style home in central Mississippi. But the couple’s children start playing with young friends: children who are only glimpsed by the parents from afar or who seem to disappear when they come around. They come to realize that these playmates are ghosts of children who had lived on the property in times past. How will they come to grips with this?
As a multi-genre author, what is your biggest challenge when starting a new project, and how do you pitch it to different audiences?
As I write this, I’m actually in the process of starting a new book: book 3 of my fantasy series (The Heartstone Series). As with the prior two novels, it is told from the point of view of an ancient dragon and a young female mage. Additionally (as with book 2), it is also told from the point of view of a scheming demon and a cruel general.
These novel points of view give this series a very unique perspective that is fun to write and fun to read. Additionally, they are all seeking an ancient relic. Whomever can possess it will wield incredible power and the potential to control the world’s magic. But it is a challenge to balance these points of view evenly through the book, weaving the different story lines in a coherent way. It certainly adds to the amount of time it takes to finish the project.
Though there can be a lot of overlap for readers between the different speculative fiction genres, they do have different audiences. My fantasy series is very popular among teenagers, especially girls, though I hadn’t written it for that demographic. They get excited when I mention dragons, a young female mage, and the adventure of it all. Though adults certainly are entertained as well.
My science fiction space opera novel, The First Nova I See Tonight, however, has explicit sex scenes (with aliens!) and thus only sold to adults, has lots of fast-paced adventure, and is most popular among middle aged men. And my poetry book, Guide Me O River, is most popular with older men and women. So the pitches vary widely in order to serve those demographics the most.
What other work would you recommend readers go for after this collection, and do you have anything in the pipeline for readers to look out for?
I’ve got an exciting supernatural thriller coming out in 2026, which will be titled The Parable of Sam.
The novel is told from the point of view of a young man, Ed, who discovers that his lifelong friend, Sam, has been hiding incredible powers of supernatural strength and invulnerability. Sam saves Ed from a mountain lion attack by killing the beast with his bare hands and is unharmed by the beast’s teeth and claws.
Sam claims that these powers are gifts from God and that God speaks to him directly, asking him to do things, and tells Ed that this is only the beginning. He makes Ed swear to stay by his side and be a witness to what’s to come.
But these actions take a darker turn, leading to murder, and challenging Ed’s friendship and loyalty. Just how far will the chaos will go?
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