A Conversation With Ida Keogh
Ida Keogh is a jeweller and metal sculptor, an aerial acrobat, model, and now a BSFA Award winning writer.
I first met Ida in person when we, and a few other wonderful people, kidnapped Gareth Powell from his Light of Impossible Stars signing at the Forbidden Planet just off Leicester Square. It was a friendly kidnapping - the destination was a pub - and Gareth made for a very amenable kidnappee - he even carried a handbag while one of our number put on their coat!
What followed was an entire afternoon and evening of shenanigans, forging friendships that have kept me sane through this most dismal of years.
I was delighted to hear that Ida had won the award, and I thought I’d make the most of my friendly privileges by asking a few questions!
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Let’s start with the obvious. You just won a BSFA award for your short story, Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe, published in the London Centric - Tales of Future London collection, edited by Ian Whates. How does that feel?
It feels incredible! Honestly, being the only unknown author in London Centric I was ecstatic just to make the long-list. I had no inkling at all that I would go on to win. It was a strong category with some wonderful stories, so I am honoured and humbled that the vote went in my favour. It has given me a real push to keep writing and to keep making time to write.
The collection features stories by M.R. Carey, Neal Asher, Aliette De Bodard, and many more awesome authors.
Isn’t it a fantastic anthology? There are so many great stories.
I mean I’ve read a few and the standard is high. Which is your favourite?
I am especially fond of Eugen Bacon’s fever dream ‘A Visit In Whitechapel’ and Joseph Elliot-Coleman’s vision of future Croydon in ‘Death Aid’, but my favourite has to be Aliyah Whiteley’s ‘Fog and Pearls at the King’s Cross Junction’ which was also long-listed for the BSFA. Aliyah has a way of making the heart-chilling seem so very beautiful. I adore her writing and this story is a real stand-out.
*folds down page* I’ll make sure I read that one next!
We’re always told that opening sentences are important, and the opening sentence of Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe is spectacular:
“Henry first suspected he was in a different universe when his waitress told him coffee didn’t exist.”
Did that sentence take work? Or are you going to stun us lesser mortals and say it came from a moment of inspiration?
It came to me in a flash as I was walking across Waterloo Bridge on the way to work. I knew immediately it was a good line and scribbled it down straight away.
I know this is a cliche question, but where did the idea for the story come from? Were you sitting in a cafe?
I used to write a restaurant blog when travelling for work (trust me, you get much better service dining for one if you take copious notes) and I love writing about anything food related. I’m also obsessed with parallel universes, so the idea of a someone travelling across worlds in a café setting came quite naturally. It only evolved into an idea about coffee and tea on that walk across the bridge.
Generally speaking, are you a coffee or a tea person?
Both! I start every day with a cup of rooibos Earl Grey and move swiftly to a cafetière of whatever blend of coffee is to hand. I have a fine collection of herbal teas and coffee syrups.
Matcha features in the story, with a somewhat loving description, are you a matcha fan?
I adore matcha! I first had it in Tokyo, but I sampled a great deal of it when writing the story so I could pin down the exact notes of the flavour.
It’s so vivid I could almost taste it! Now, I really struggle with short fiction, but I know you love it. What is it about the short form that appeals?
I grew up reading short stories, particularly science fiction which my grandfather collected. There is something really special for me about a whole universe contained in a few thousand words. It also allows you to write tight, controlled, beautiful prose which is harder to sustain in a long form.
Can you see yourself writing long form fiction in the future?
Yes! I’ve just completed a novella which is under submission, and I have two novel ideas scratching to be let out of the drawer. Winning the BSFA has given me a real spur to write more. I think I’m finally ready to dust off some of my unfinished projects.
I am very happy to hear that, tell us about one of these novel ideas!
The novel I have always wanted to write is a sci-fi set across parallel universes (naturally) where a young woman’s grandfather wakes up after forty years of cryogenic freezing. They work together to restore his memory and unearth his secrets.
Ok I won’t dig too much deeper there yet, but it sounds like a beautiful idea. You're a gloriously creative person, a weaver of words and beautiful metal things, does one area of creativity feed the other? Or are they very separate practices?
Writing and jewellery making use very different parts of my creative brain, but they are complimentary hobbies. When I cannot write I can usually still pick up a pair of pliers, and vice versa. In the end they are both directed at finding the best setting for sparkling gems.
That’s a glorious way of putting it. So you’ve clearly got ideas awaiting their best setting, you’ve won the BSFA, what's next?
Before I get stuck into a novel I have a novella to finish which delves into the frightening past of a tri-gendered space colony. It started as a poem, then it became a short story, but there’s just too much I still want to write about so it’s steadily growing!
Ah, it’s one of those! I can relate. Well now we've got to the really serious questions. What's your favourite movie?
That’s an easy one – it’s Labyrinth. I re-watch it at least once a year and its magic still grips me in the same way it did when I was a child.
And most important of all, because it truly gets to the essence of a person, what's your favourite biscuit?
The Moore’s Dorset biscuit factory used to be across the road from my mother’s house and in the summer the sweet scent of baking would drift across the road. They make white chocolate and Brazil nut cookies which crumble perfectly and always remind me of hot days walking down to the beach. They are also delightful with a nice cup of tea.
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Well thank you Ida, it has been wonderful to chat “officially”!
If you haven’t already bought the collection, you can find London Centric - Tales of Future London here
You can also find Ida’s beautiful jewellery in her Etsy shop: Silkyfish Designs