K.S. Walker writes speculative fiction while forgetting about their tea. You can often find them outside with their family or starting a craft project but probably not finishing it. K.S. Walker has been published or is forthcoming at FIYAH, Fantasy, The Deadlands, Apex, and elsewhere. “Hands Like Gold and Starlight” is their third appearance in Uncanny, a beautifully crafted story of summer romance and transformation.
Uncanny Magazine: What was your starting point or inspiration for this story?
K.S. Walker: When I began drafting, my intention was to write a horror story set in a coastal town. I was quite surprised and delighted when I finished the draft and discovered this story was a romance! Martha’s Vineyard makes for an interesting location for a horror story because of its isolation, but really what I find most interesting about the island is its cultural history, so perhaps it’s not that surprising that the story evolved differently than I anticipated.
Prior to attending Viable Paradise in the fall of 2022, I only knew of Martha’s Vineyard in the context of Black history. Prior to traveling I sat down to learn about the many people that have called, and still do call the island “home.” For nearly two hundred years many people there were bilingual in spoken English and Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language, and that really stuck with me.
I am Black and Hearing; I am very grateful to Carol Scheina and Sheryl Emery who provided guidance and insight to help ensure I represented my Deaf characters faithfully and respectfully. Any mistakes are my own.
Uncanny Magazine: There are beautiful details in this story that make it feel grounded in both time and place. When you were doing research for this story, what were some of your favorite details? Did you come across anything that surprised you?
K.S. Walker: The fairy-tale-like “gingerbread houses” in Oak Bluffs were so captivating—the colors, the trim, the intricate details, those were a “must” to include.
Uncanny Magazine: What was the most challenging thing about writing this story? What was the easiest part?
K.S. Walker: One of the more challenging parts was writing the relationship between Helen and the narrator. I really wanted to evoke summertime romance vibes and their often inherently ephemeral nature. It was tricky to acknowledge that summer romances are often the result of “right place, right time” without the nascent romantic relationship feeling passive.
The easiest part of writing this story was the opening scene. I love story beginnings, there is only opportunity ahead and you’re not yet wallowing in the “Oh, what have I done?” stage of revisions.
Uncanny Magazine: If you were a character in this world, would you rather be someone who transforms and goes to the ocean, or someone who stays behind in Chilmark?
K.S. Walker: I would absolutely rather be someone who transforms. All the wondering and what-ifs of being left behind would undo me. Transformation can be terrifying but I fear stasis might be worse.
Uncanny Magazine: “Hands Like Gold and Starlight” blends elements of romance, speculative fiction, and historical fiction. What are some of your literary influences, in any (or all!) of these genres? What’s something you’ve read recently and loved?
K.S. Walker: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favorite novels. There’s mythology, adventure, danger, and yes, romance, across a backdrop of Jazz Age Mexico. The storytelling is so clean and the details are so lush.
I recently read Reel by Kennedy Ryan. It’s a contemporary romance where the protagonists are involved in making a biopic about a 1920s musician. Ryan blends history, romance, and an interesting structure in a very exciting way.
I’ve also recently read Kai Ashante Wilson’s A Taste of Honey and The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps. Both novellas blend the speculative and romance in beautiful ways. Wilson can wield language so masterfully and with such precision. His writing is truly an experience.
Uncanny Magazine: What are you working on next?
K.S. Walker: I am currently finishing a draft of a space-fantasy novella but to be frank, my own creative pursuits feel small while witnessing an ongoing genocide in Gaza. Let this not be normalized. I call on you, dear reader, to draw courage from compassion and in whatever ways you can, throw sand in the gears of oppression. Resist. Resist. Resist.
Uncanny Magazine: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
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