EJ Kavounas is a writer who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two poodle mix dogs. His first short story, ‘Soiling the Nest’ was published in Infinite Worlds magazine in 2022 and reprinted in Amazing Stories (and you can read it right here). His latest story, ‘Vagabond’ will be published by Penumbric later in 2024.
When he’s not writing, EJ is an investor and a producer. Previously, he was Managing Director of an investment bank and produced the feature film “Hero Mode,” starring Mira Sorvino and Sean Astin.
He is the Executive Producer of the science fiction audio drama Broken Road on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else podcasts are available. He spent a year as a volunteer
teacher in Thailand and worked on the television series Babylon 5.
A graduate of Middlebury College, The Odyssey Workshop, and The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, EJ also holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He is an associate member of the SFWA. In his spare time, he serves as Advisor to Caltech Connection and enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, and running.
If you were to create a superhero that had a weakness for something totally unexpected, like pickles or bubble wrap, what would it be and why?
Being a superhero sounds exhausting and I’d definitely need to keep my schedule getting plenty of rest.
I’d be in bed no later than 9PM with a hard stop at noon for lunch. On plus side, I’d be ready to fight crime at 6AM sharp so as long super villains would agree to synch schedules, it would work out great!
If you could have any magical power, but it came with a ridiculous side effect, what would the power be and what would the side effect be?
I’d love to be able to have limited range telekinesis so I wouldn’t have to get up for things after I’d sat down. I’d wave my hand the TV remote would float right to me on the sofa or force pull chips from the cupboard. The unfortunate side effect would be deep vein thrombosis but totally worth it.
If you could time travel to any point in history, which era would you choose, and why?
If I could time travel, I would go back and prevent my parents from meeting just to prove that the space-time continuum doesn’t work the way it’s dramatized in books or movies like “Back to the Future”…wait my hand is disappearing…
If you were to write a fantasy-themed cookbook, what kind of recipes would you include?
My fantasy-themed cookbook but would include dragon hot wings, spicier than any known food, and I’d then start a new show called Even Hotter Ones where celebrities tried to maintain composure during an interview while their tastebuds melted forcing them answer truthfully.
Define “Science Fiction” as Damon Knight did “What we’re pointing to when we say “Science Fiction”), but without using your finger.
Science Fiction is fantasy but with there’s an attempt to explain how the magic might be real using concepts from physics, chemistry, and biology.
If you could transport yourself to any fictional universe you’ve seen in a book you liked, which universe would you go to?
If I could transport myself to any fictional universe it would be the alternative 2017 of Elan Mastai’s “All Our Wrong Todays” in which the future as per the 60s, including flying cars and routine travel to the moon, all came true.
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Learn more about EJ’s fiction as well watch the latest awesome science fiction short films and listen to the best science fiction audio dramas at www.recursor.tv
