author feature: C. L. Kamm

C. L. Kamm is the fourth place winner from our 2025 Manuscript Challenge!

AUTHOR BIO

C. L. Kamm is a born-and-raised Chicagoan who now lives with her family in a smaller Midwestern city. She is a semi-retired professional writer whose current full-time gig is raising a tiny human. Besides writing fiction and occasional freelance projects, her favorite hobbies include hiking, boating, and baking. On the rare occasion when she’s not chasing after her daughter, you can find her chasing quiet moments in which to finish the novel that has consumed the better part of the last six years of her life. 

What first drew you to fantasy as a genre?

I am enamored with fantasy that lives in harmony with reality, creating this impression that anything is possible. Regular people living regular lives, suddenly stumbling upon something miraculous, magical, fantastic, or weird, is my bread-and-butter in fiction. Fantasy like that often shows up in children’s tales, but I’m an equal opportunity reader and writer. I may be an adult, but I still want my Hogwarts letter or my secret door into Narnia, and fantasy gives me the chance to feel like I’m living that dream. 

Tell us about your creative process! Are you a plotter? Pantser? Something in between? What is your ideal writing environment?

I explore first, like an archeologist, carefully unearthing the story beneath the few inspirational images that have tantalized my imagination. I handwrite my ideas in a special notebook, putting the entire first draft of anything I write down on paper with a pen before ever opening a document on my computer. From there, I begin to organize what I have, try to figure out what I still need, plot out the map of it, and embark on the next (and next and next) draft until I get it right. My ideal writing environment is a comfortable, sunny spot with my curated playlist, an iced oatmilk latte with honey, and a dog at my feet. 

What parts of writing bring you the most joy?

Some parts of writing a novel are a slog, so joy comes in those rare but precious lightbulb moments when long misfitting pieces suddenly click together with a satisfying aha! 

What authors inspire you most, and why?

I’m inspired mainly by classic writers whose work first inspired my love of stories, particularly women like L.M. Montgomery, Charlotte Bronte, Lousia May Alcott, and Jane Austen, all of whom wrote their novels by hand, out of necessity. I do most of my writing by hand as well, which feels like a kind of mystical time travel for me, as it allows me to connect and commune with these brilliant minds from the past. I often feel as if I am walking in their footsteps along the paths they forged first. 

Do you have writing favorites when it comes to trope, characters, magic system, etc?

I’m obsessed with the magic of portals, hidden worlds, and time travel. I love complexity in my characters, such as protagonists with hidden darkness and antagonists who are capable of love. And I adore an ensemble cast with plenty of banter and snark. 

What’s one piece of writing advice that has stuck with you?

“You can’t edit from a blank page” and “I'm shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles” were the two bits that got me out of my head and gave me the courage to put this fantastical whale of an idea onto paper in the first place. I know lots of people like to ruminate over an idea and wait for inspiration, but getting the whole “shitty first draft” (that’s another one) down on paper is the key for me. And trust me, the magic of building the castles will always beat the shoveling of sand. 

What are your goals as a writer? Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?

I would like to see Nowhen complete and shared with the readers it was meant for, whoever and wherever they may be. I hope it finds its way into the world. Once it has, I know I’ll be well on my way exploring another story. I’m a storyteller overflowing with ideas so I’m excited to tackle the next one. 

Where can people go to support you and follow your writing journey?

I am currently very sporadically on Instagram under @clkamm_author and publish newsletters infrequently on Substack under @clkamm. However, I am nearing the end of the writing process and intend to be more active on these platforms as I begin pursuing the next steps of the journey: seeking publication avenues! I’d love to connect with readers who are excited about what I’m excited about so Nowhen can find the audience who needs it most.