Move over Edgar Allen Poe: Thrilling short stories surface from Plano author

by Caitlyn Buckley

PLANO — Though Plano author CK Gauntt's new collection of thriller short stories explores alcoholism, depression, and downright angry people, he's surprisingly candid and friendly. The dad of two constructed the book with Edgar Allen Poe's influence, and we all know how dark and twisted he is.

Excerpt: "Timing"

“I really enjoyed writing that one, and found the character to be very dark in a way that I almost had trouble keeping up with. Nonetheless, the passage here showcases [the complexity of character personalities] that dominates the entire collection.”

Memories. Like flashes of a movie trailer playing in my head. Previewing my past. Present. Future. Some time ago. Ahead. She was in the bathtub upstairs. The overflowing water had already begun to seep through the floor and was dripping from the ceiling onto the carpet at my feet. Raining inside. I was naked. Just noticed. Blood smeared across my legs and the left side of my face. The sirens are in my head or, in the front yard of the house now. Knocking on the front door. Voices screaming. I think of the girl upstairs and her screaming. The door flies off its hinges in the foyer—and I can't stop smiling.

Compare Gauntt to today's writers, like Chuck Palahniuk, author of book-turned-movie Fight Club. Gauntt's characters in The Usual Grievances plumb to emotional depths and dance with schizophrenia. And they're all based on his own psychological quirks.

He recently took some time to talk with Pegasus News about his new collection.

Q: Where did you come up with the theme for The Usual Grievances?

A: Actually, the idea came from the first story in the book itself. I had begun writing “From a Child, the Writer's Hands” as an autobiography exploring those things in my past that made me what I am today. As it progressed, I took it steps further, even jumping into a make-believe future.

The ideas of The Usual Grievances are, to me, those everyday aspects of everyone's personality -- taken to a dark extreme. Some of the stories are twisted, and some are even darkly humorous, but in each one, we see those daily grievances that make us who we are. [They] even make us out to be those things that we try to hide from ourselves, a darker side of life.

Q: When exploring your personalities, were you able to discover anything about yourself that you didn't know beforehand?

A: After jumping into the theme at full speed and writing in this dark area of personalities, it was very amusing to take on the extremity of that "other side." This was a great collection for me, and as far as discovering anything about myself … I really enjoyed that Dark Side!

Q: Was the process of writing about inner turmoil and loneliness emotionally exhausting?

Author CK Gauntt

A: In a way, yes. I immerse myself in each and every one of my stories and get lost in the characters and their thoughts and feelings. This collection was easier, I think, for me because I can relate to many of the loneliness issues that these characters face. The first half of the first story, “From a Child...,” showcases this better than I can describe it here! However, I do recall getting a little upset when writing “Suburb.” That one hit home in a lot of ways.

Q: What are the merits of writing a collection of short stories as opposed to a novel?

A: Although my first book was a short novel … I will always find the short story by far the best means of storytelling out there. Short stories take a theme and roll with it. They happen in an instant, taking the reader as well as the writer on a fast-moving roller coaster as opposed to the long novel, which I would compare to a slow-moving train ride. Edgar Allan Poe always said that short stories are the only true form of storytelling.

Q: You mention that the stories included in your collection are similar to those of Edgar Allen Poe. Was it conscious or subconscious?

A: Unlike my first book, which I wrote in the style of Poe, H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne, this one is very much written in my own style. However, the very essence of the stories themselves follow Poe's pattern of psychological torment and darkly profound situations. Irony runs rampant throughout the collection, much like most of Poe's storytelling. Irony is truly a subconscious nature in these stories!