When I’m not working on Khasran stories, or blogging about worldbuilding, I’m a professional writer and journalist. For the past 12 years I have specialized in writing about film and television, especially science fiction, fantasy and adventure TV.
Publishing Highlights:
Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy., edited by Robin Anne Reid, Greenwood Press, 2009. 1 encyclopedia article.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Press, 2005. Encyclopedia articles on 5 major genre TV series. Try summing up Buffy or Farscape in 800 words, or less. I dare you!
Titan Magazines. I’ve been writing articles for Titan’s huge stable of licensed entertainment magazines since 1997, starting with the Babylon 5 and Star Trek, and covering virtually every major SF show since, plus a few big movies. I’ve written interviews, behind the scenes features, reviews, story analysis, humor and in-universe pieces.
Currently: in Stargate #30, my interview with Hugo Award winning author and SG Universe creative consultant John Scalzi; plus “Richard Woolsey’s Personal Journal” shares Woolsey’s (Robert Picardo) fictional reflections on his transformation from annoying bureaucrat to Atlantis commander.
Xena: Warrior Princess, The Complete Illustrated Companion. Titan, 2003. An officially licensed book, fun to write. The only drawback has been that if you do a web search for K Stoddard Hayes, the first 15 or 20 hits are this book. Makes people think I only write about Xena, which is far from the truth.
Smart Pop Books: I contributed an essay each to two titles in this BenBella Books anthology series: Five Seasons of Angel, and Farscape Forever! Sex, Drugs and Killer Muppets.
Along with whatever properties I’m currently writing about, I follow a wide swath of media entertainment, including TV, movies, books, art, and comics. Though speculative fiction is my first love, I’m also a fan of westerns, adventures of all kinds, and any story where character is more important than blowing things up or getting a cheap laugh.
I’ve been to San Diego Comic Con as a working reporter (much shorter registration lines!). I had to switch from buying single comics to buying trades because I ran out of shelf space. And I still have at least 10 boxes of 1990’s genre TV series on VHS in my basement.
Other biographical details that might be relevant to my worldbuilding interests and the kind of stories I like to tell:
I majored in Medieval History (Europe and the Middle East) at Smith College, where I also took a fair number of courses in medieval literature. No writing courses, though, because college writing classes at the time were limited to Freshman Composition and the Literary Short Story. I wish Jane Yolen had started teaching at Smith back then!
I’m a bit of a language nerd, having been fluent in French, German and Spanish at different periods in my life; I also studied the history of English, and enough Latin to read a bit and identify Latin roots of many English words.
I’m a third generation professional horsewoman (retired at the moment except for helping my mother, Gincy Self Bucklin, promote her brilliant riding books and teaching methods). Now you know why horses are so important in Khasran.
