Whether he’s busy writing the sequel to Forgotten Prophecies, editing his online eZine or working on his latest album with Citizen X, Anthony R. Karnowski is always creating and his work ethic is something that truly shines through when you listen to his music or read his stories.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Anthony and see what he’s been up to lately.

What's been happening in the past 4 months in the world of Anthony R. Karnowski?

I've been finishing up the final touches on Path of Darkness, the sequel to my first novel, Forgotten Prophecies. In addition, I've been playing a lot with a band called Blue Revolution, which is unfortunately disbanding after next month.
Citizen X, however, is coming along strong. We just released Songs From Dead End, our third album. We've also just finished The Quiet Ones, a short dark comedy.
It should hopefully be available for viewing online soon. I've started attending sci-fi conventions to help promote the book, and I'm loving
it!

In addition, a friend of mine Jason Trotter and I started an art and literary webzine called splinteredmagazine.com. We're accepting submissions of fiction of all genres and art in any medium that translates well to a website. It's going slowly, but we've managed to scrape together enough material for two issues so far.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing in one form or another for most of my life. I only started taking it seriously about three years ago, though. Since then I've written two novels and a young adult novella that I'm still trying to find a publisher for. I've published three op-ed articles on strike-the-root.com. Most of them are old and were about the needless rush to war I was forced to witness from my country's administration. However, I don't feel like now is the time to go on another rant about the ineptitude of American leadership. Even though I do have lots to say on the topic.

How long have you been in Citizen X?

Ron Hubbard, the other half of Citizen X, and I have been playing together for about seven years. We started in a band called the Wicked Cow People that eventually disbanded after our keyboard player moved to Florida. Seeing it as an opportunity to really delve into some heavy experimental music we formed Citizen X in late 2000. It's been difficult to find other like-minded musicians in our area, so we've kept it as mainly a studio project with Ron and myself covering the rest of the instruments.

Where do you draw your inspiration? Both musically and in literature.

There are so many things I find inspiring. I'll do my best to sum them up. The series of novels by George R. R. Martin called A Song of Ice and Fire never ceases to inspire me. I've read the first three books three times and they still surprise me. The Harry Potter books rock, and I've yet to read something from Neil Gaiman that I didn't like. Musically, I find Mike Patton's many projects an endless well of inspiration. Everything that man touches becomes genius. Beyond that, though, I look for inspiration in places you wouldn't expect it.
I've found it in the subtle swaying of tree limbs and the soft murmurs of the wind. Life itself is an inspiration and I never have trouble finding it for long.

Any current projects?

I recently started my third novel which will be the first in a new series. While I say series, it won't be one long, connected story so much as a collection of stories based in a particular realm. Right now I'm tentatively calling it The Princess of Stone. We'll see if that sticks, though. Citizen X is hard at work on our fourth album, which is getting close to half-way finished. I hope to have it out by the first of next year.

Any plans for the near future?

I plan to keep attending conventions. I'm starting to get somewhat addicted to them, actually. On top of that, I plan to keep writing, keep making music, and basically just keep being creative.
What else is there to life?