Photographer Turned Spy Thriller Author? Kirk Vo Klain on Writing Double Exposure & Creative Storytelling

[00:00:00] Welcome to Plot Twist Radio, the show where creativity, storytelling, and the unpredictable path of the creative life all collide. I'm your host Erin Egnatz. Hi Kirk, welcome to the show. Thank you very much, I appreciate you having me. It's great to have you. Can you tell the audience a little bit about yourself? Sure. My name is Kirk Vo Klain. I own and operate, actually, Kirk Vo Klain Photography. This is my van behind me.

[00:00:26] You're sitting in my studio right now in the big town of Houma, Louisiana, which is, if you wonder where Houma is, it's like 50 miles southwest of New Orleans. Depending on where you're from, you're thinking right now, I didn't know there was anything south of New Orleans, but there is, and that would be Houma, Louisiana, which is where I'm from. So there you go. And that's exactly what I was thinking. The last time I was there, I was like, could you get further south than there? Yes, you can. Welcome to Houma.

[00:00:55] Very cool. I love Louisiana. It's always a pleasure. Yeah. So you spent quite a bit of time behind the camera, correct? Yes. I mean, it's getting close to 50 years. I mean, I'm 63. I did my very first wedding as a professional at 15 years old, which more impressive than the fact that I did a wedding at 15 is the fact that some idiot out there hired a 15 year old to do their wedding.

[00:01:20] Which if you want me to tell that story, it is kind of hilarious. But anyway, but yeah. And then from there, it just continued to grow. I worked for a camera store for a small period of time. I then ended up, you know, falling in love with my wife, Tammy. And we've been married for it'll be 40 years next year. And I mean, I've been a photographer the whole time. It is the only thing I really know how to do.

[00:01:41] And so, yeah, I mean, I've just about photographed everything there is to photograph. I have seen everything there is to see practically in the photography world. And that, not that you asked the question, is kind of where the book business came in. Is because, I mean, if I say it, you're going to know the answer. If I say a picture's worth. A thousand words.

[00:02:06] Everybody says it. Everybody knows the answer to that. So one day someone made that comment to me and I started thinking about it and wondering, could I do the reverse? And, you know, the more I thought about it, and I'll tell you my experience about things in a minute. But, I mean, the more I thought about it, I thought I could take a thousand words and put a picture in someone's mind. And the more I thought about it, the more it seemed easy. It's not easy, okay? But it seemed easy.

[00:02:36] And so I started fiddling with it. And, you know, it happened. So there you go. That's the book world. That's who I am. And that's how I've come to this path, you could say. Very interesting. And you are my first photographer. So that is very interesting because, as you said, picture's worth a thousand words. And, you know, pictures tell stories. I'm interested in some of your most interesting stories behind the camera.

[00:03:02] Oh, my goodness. I mean, well, I mean, I'll tell you the story about how it literally happened almost 40 years ago. It was 30-some-odd. I could pinpoint it exactly, but it was 30-something years ago. And in the photography world, there's a device for a tripod that is literally, every photographer knows it if you work with, you know, pro gear. But it's called a pistol grip. And it's called a pistol grip because you use it just like a gun.

[00:03:30] Okay. So I'm out. I'm going on a job. I was at the New Orleans airport. I'm going through security. Well, the dude loses his mind. I mean, you know, the security. This was before 9-11 and all those kinds of things. So it was a little bit relaxed, but it wasn't, you know, airport security's never really been relaxed. But anyway, so I'm going through security. His eyes get all like this, you know. Two big old months, the dude's come standing right on the back side of me. And he's like, I got to look in this bag. Who's that? I got to look in this bag.

[00:04:00] And I'm like, go right ahead. You know, no big deal. And while he's digging through my bag and then as he's pulling out stuff, he gets to the pistol grip. And when he pulls it out, I mean, it hit me. I was like, I literally said it. I was like, oh man, that looks like a gun. And he was like, he was like, he looks at it. He looks at me. He's like, are you kidding me? And I'm like, man, listen, trust. This is not a G-U-N. Keep digging.

[00:04:28] This is for a camera, as a tripod and as a camera. And you'll see how it all fits together. Well, okay. Fast forward. Obviously, I didn't go to jail. He did figure it out. He let me go through. I'm sitting on the airplane and I'm scratching my head. And I started thinking to myself, I mean, like, what if I was trying to sneak a gun on the airplane? It would have been the perfect way to do it. I mean, what if I was a spy? Okay. Which I'm not. Maybe I am. But no, I'm not.

[00:04:58] But anyway, and what if my cover was that I'm a photographer? Well, let me tell you something. That just led my brain down the craziest path because then I started putting things together. Like, for example, remembering how, you know, last week I was on an assignment. I was on a job. I walk up. Security. They lose their mind. This is a secure place. And I just went, well, I'm the photographer. And they said, oh, the photographer. Come on in.

[00:05:28] No security check. They don't look at my ID. They don't even look at my phone. They just let me in. Well, I'm not noticing stuff like that. Ever since that time, that moment, and I started realizing that, like, the perfect cover for a spy would be to be a photographer. Never. Nobody checks you. Nobody double checks you. Nobody cares. I get to be a paid observer. I observe. I wait. I take a picture of it.

[00:05:57] Then I wait again. I mean, that's what I do. I mean, I can sneak in places. Others can't sneak. I'm allowed to go in secure areas without a check. Anyway, so in my mind, 30-something years ago, I literally start writing this novel. And, you know, scenarios, real things that would happen to me. There was a golf course I played one time in Cabo, for example. Very cool golf course. It's a Jack Nicklaus design.

[00:06:27] I highly recommend it. But the way it's designed, you play three holes, and then they bring you to what is known as a comfort station. So you're sitting at the comfort station. You're drinking a tequila. You're eating a burrito. And then you go play three more holes, and they bring you back to the comfort station. Well, I thought to myself, again, to show you, you know, you start thinking about these things. I was having some kind of crazy clandestine meeting.

[00:06:51] This would be the perfect place to do it because everybody thinks I'm playing golf, but I'm just sitting there having a meeting the whole time. You know, because they don't know whether you're on a hole or not on a hole. Okay. So, of course, yes, that's in the book. But anyway, there's a whole bunch of things like that that literally happened to me and stories and situations where I was like, oh, man, I got to actually write a book about this. And so I did. And so I'm a little, yeah, I'm 63.

[00:07:19] I'm slowing down, and I have a little more time on my hand. So I sat down, and I actually did it. And so, yeah, here you go. Double exposure. There you go. All right. So that's how Kirk, the photographer, decides he's going to write a book. So that's the whole story there. Now, in the photography world, I mean, I'm not letting you talk at all, am I? You're fine. Go for it. You're very interesting. In the photography world, I mean, I cannot tell you.

[00:07:46] I was telling somebody the other day, maybe I should write a book about wedding stories because I got gazillions of them. Okay? I mean, I did two or three weddings for years every weekend, every weekend. And every wedding has a story and everything, you know. But anyway, there have been some absolutely crazy scenarios. The very last wedding I photographed, as an example, the bride hired two photographers. Competition.

[00:08:14] And I was like, why would you do that? In front of the other photographer, I was like, why? Well, I just couldn't take a chance, one of y'all not showing up. And, you know, that gives you a little indication of how wealthy these people were. Okay? But, I mean, it's just crazy, crazy radical things that happen at weddings. You know, it's just – and then same thing when we photographed people. I was telling this to a buddy of mine yesterday, in fact, how people – you pull out a camera.

[00:08:42] I don't know what it is, but I got a camera, and I'm going to take your picture. And something happens to the human psyche that you just do stuff you would never do under any circumstance. Okay? And so, anyway, that's the crazy world of a photographer. I will tell you this, by the by, along those lines. So, I write this book, Double Exposure, and all my photographer buddies are like, you didn't write that. You didn't write that. I'm like, I wrote that.

[00:09:12] No, you had someone do that. You just blockade your name on it. I'm like, no, man. I really wrote the book. Well, I got so sick of people telling me that that I decided to write a prequel to that book. And I'm calling it Zero Exposure. It's going to come out this June, by the way. And the premise is it's about a photographer, me. In fact, all throughout the book, it's I this and I that.

[00:09:39] You know, I'm literally telling my story and how I wrote about this. I created a villain. Well, the villain comes to life, and then I wake up inside my own novel. And the villain is writing that story. Yeah, the villain is writing this book. That's the premise. And I, the real author, have to circumvent and do things.

[00:10:05] I got to become a spy in a spy world to get him to not take over, you know, blah, blah, blah. All right. But anyway, that's coming out this June. And so the reason I did this for one reason, one reason when next time one of my photography buddies goes, you didn't write that. I'm going to say, you're right. If you want to know who wrote it, read this book. So now I'm a sale two book. Okay. Hey, that's the way to do it.

[00:10:35] That's a very unique concept, too, because, you know, I think it's really, really funny that you're doing that. But it's also like a really interesting story that I think audiences would really grasp because it's so unique. Because usually, you know, we get the hero telling the story all the way through. We rarely see from the villain standpoint. Yeah. Well, you bring that up. And I kind of introduced this in that book, Zero Exposure, that, okay, I'm a big Star Wars fan. Okay.

[00:11:04] And it fascinates me. I'm not sure. I can't. I'm having difficulty figuring out your age. So you may or may not remember when Star Wars came out, you know, that was, you know, Luke was the good guy and Darth Vader was the bad guy. Okay. So they come out with Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. Then they got the brilliant idea they're going to come out with prequels and they're going to do it 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Okay.

[00:11:28] Well, when they went back in time and told the story of Darth Vader, if you notice what they did, they took a bad guy and turned him into a good guy. Now, the story still fit and he still did become a bad guy. But in reality, I was like, I was completely fascinated by that.

[00:11:49] So I've decided, and in fact, I've written two chapters and I've decided that I'm going to have another book after double exposure. And it's going to be totally from the bad guy's perspective. So I'm now going to present the bad guy as a good guy. I'm going to tell his story, his side of the story. And then the good guy in my book is going to be the bad guy. And I ain't going to lie, I'm having lots of trouble with this.

[00:12:17] So it's going to take me a while. This is not something I'm going to be able to knock out in three, four, five months. It's going to take me a while because I do it and then I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm like, that don't work. That don't add up. You know, things like that. But anyway, I am having a blast with it. It is just, I don't know how to explain it unless you've done it.

[00:12:39] It is the coolest thing to be able to be writing a book, a novel or whatever, and then say, I don't like where that's going. And back up and change the direction. I, I get to write and decide where this goes. I ain't going to lie. This is like the cool, because I don't know if it's happened to you where you're reading a book, any book, love story, it don't matter to me. And you go, I don't like where this is going.

[00:13:05] Well, you ain't got no place, no place to go but far where you can't rewrite it. You know, you can only continue and hope you fall in love with it, that it becomes what you wanted it to be or whatever. Anyway, write just the way I want to write. And to me, it is just the coolest thing. So yeah, I've been having a blast with all of this. I just have been. So there you go. And that's how it should be. You should be having a good time. I actually, I'm working on a book right now. And I got about halfway through and I was like, I don't like it. I don't like how it's going.

[00:13:34] So I turned around and just scratched it. And we started over, completely over. I love that. I just love that. Okay. So anyway, if you want me to continue the journey with you, in the middle of writing, double exposure, I did the total no-no in the author world. At least that's what I'm reading about. I'm reading that what I did was a no-no.

[00:13:59] But a buddy of mine, she's a photographer and I call her our vacation buddies because we always go on vacation with these people. And so anyway, I'm sitting in the hotel and I'm writing double exposure. And she's like, what are you doing? And I'm like, I'm writing my novel. Leave me alone. And she was like, what? You're a writer now? I'm like, yeah, I'm a writer. God, doggy, leave me alone. And so I'm writing and writing. She goes, okay, well, I got a challenge for you. And I'm like, oh, okay, challenge. Let's hear it. What's my challenge? She said, I want you to write a love story.

[00:14:28] And I'm like, Lisa, that ain't happening. Okay? I'm a spy guy. Okay? No, no, no, Kirk. No, you can do it. We're going to name it Boots and Stilettos. It's going to be about a rich Italian heiress. And she falls in love with a Montana rancher. And it's this and that and that. And she lays this thing out. And I'm like, boo, why don't you write it? You got the whole story. Now I want you to write it. And so I was like, no, that ain't happening. Oh, well, I thought she was a writer.

[00:14:57] And I'm like, all right, well, what do you think? And she was like, oh, I got one more challenge. This is the kicker. She says, it has to be G-rated. Well, I don't know why that turned my crank, but it did. And so as a joke, I swear, it was a total joke. I was not looking to write romance. I wrote a couple of chapters. I was into the third chapter. I'd already sent her one chapter one and chapter two. And she was, oh, it's so wonderful.

[00:15:26] I want the next chapter. You know, all this noise. Anyway, so I'm in the third chapter. And now, I mean, I got involved, God dog it. You know? Like, I wanted to know what happened. And so I kept writing the stupid thing. And so, yeah, boots and stilettos. Okay? Okay. So that comes out. She thinks it's wicked cool. Now, that's the big no-no, by the way. I have a, I'm a, what are you, Kirk? Thriller guy or you a romance guy? Okay? All right.

[00:15:55] So I'm like, I don't care. I'm a photographer. Okay? I don't care what y'all think. You know? Think what you want. Buy the book. Don't buy the book. I don't care. I already have a career. Anyway, so in the middle of all that, she buys a bunch of books, gives them to all her kids. She thinks it's the wicked, wicked cool. And she's like, oh, now you got to tell the story of Clem. I'm like, who the heck is Clem? She's, Clem is the grandfather of Bob, her husband, who this, the guy in this book is kind

[00:16:25] of loosely based against. Clem, Clem is his grandfather, Kirk. And the name Clem did it for me. Okay? I mean, I'm like, who's named Clem? So I decide I'm going to write the prequel to Boots and Stilettos to explain how the Spiker Ranch came into being. And so I wrote Dust and Inheritance.

[00:16:49] And it is absolutely loosely based on the real Clem and Millie. So it is based on them. And he was, okay, so I didn't tell a lot of people this, but I'll tell you. It's, gee, Clem, they tell me, I've got all kinds of notes about Clem. Okay. He was in the war. He was a con artist. And they told me all these stories real quiet, you know, blah, blah, blah.

[00:17:17] Well, you don't have to slap me over the head. But in the book, Dust and Inheritance, Clem, when he was in the war, has an illegitimate son who eventually will become. Oh. So, yeah, I'm connecting my world. Doggone it. So there you go. I don't know when that's going to happen, but I left that breadcrumb there so that I can do that. So there you go. See? So it's not a no-no. It's time.

[00:17:47] We all branch together. That's right. Well, a little buddy of mine, his name is John. He's in our little writers group here in Houma. And that's always my question. Hey, can I have a chapter zero curve? How many times I got to tell you? You can do whatever the heck you want. I'm like, all right. So, yeah, who cares? Exactly. It's your story. Just think of what you want. That's how I feel, too. I mean, I write two different genres and they're like, how can you do that? And I'm like, well, because I have two different interests. Yeah. That's how I do it.

[00:18:16] So that's what I'm doing. Yeah. I did write a blog post yesterday and I thought about it, thought about it, and thought about it. And the more I thought about it, I was like, I got to turn this into a blog post. And it was, how can you write two different genres? How is it that possible? And it's like, okay, from a photographer's perspective, they're kind of the same. Okay. I mean, yes. Okay. There's danger and a spy, you know, puts his life on the line and all this kind of stuff.

[00:18:44] But in a ranch romance, the weather is your enemy, you know, and the situation, the winter is going to be the problem you have to overdo. So my point of it is like, when you think about it from a photographer's perspective, it's the same thing, but, you know, different kinds of stories going in different directions. And that's what a lot of people tell me.

[00:19:10] The good reviews I've gotten from these and friends of mine and others, people who I don't even know have all said that. They said that your style, if you have a style, Kirk, is it's like a movie going off in my head. And I'm like, well, that's what I'm aiming for. You remember, you know, thousand words, draw a picture. That's, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to do what I do as a photographer just in reverse. So there you go. That's, that's the story and I'm sticking with it.

[00:19:40] And that's excellent. I remember, you know, when I first got into writing, my editor was like, show, not tell. And I was really, really bad about telling. But, you know, I guess from a photographer standpoint, you know how to show, you know what to do. So that's probably it. That's all I do is show, you know. I mean, and, and as a portrait photographer, it's nobody wants to look like they really look. They want to look like they think they look. You understand?

[00:20:07] So, I mean, I use lighting and posing and, and, you know, angles all as a way of fooling the camera. It's, I mean, it's kind of the same thing in the, in the writing world. It really is. It's the same thing, just in reverse. No matter how you slice it, it is the same thing. I don't know. Yeah, that's a, that's a good metaphor. So as far as writing goes, you said you're, you're working on the prequel now. Do you have any other stories lined up after or? Yeah, absolutely. No, absolutely.

[00:20:38] I mean, you don't ever stop thinking about this crazy stuff. I mean, like I said, it's going to be called counter exposure is going to be the one I'm, I already started it from the villain's perspective. And then after that, I'm going to create one called negative exposure because, you know, I mean, they, I left, I'm, I left this book. I didn't, I didn't completely close it to where, oh, and everybody lived happily have after, you know?

[00:21:03] So I left it to where you, the reader is like, wait, did the bad guy get away or is, did he not get away? And so it's, I don't know. I like, like inception. Did he get away? Did he not get away? And they leave it, they leave it up to the viewer to decide. So that's kind of what I did. And so in, in this counter exposure, the one from the bad guy's perspective, I'm going to, I'm going to basically let everybody know. Yeah, he got away.

[00:21:32] And so now I got to tell another story, negative exposure. I'm going to have to tell, I'm going to have to pick up from that point and continue the story. Anyway, but that's my plan. And then someone at the, again, the little writers group I'm part of, they were like, well, what about positive exposure? What about bright exposure? What about underexposure? What about, and I'm like, yes, I could go on forever, you know? And they're like, man, that's a good idea. So I don't know. We'll see if it's a good idea. Yeah.

[00:21:59] It's a brilliant idea because then you can go in so many different directions and you can keep the readers hooked. That's a really brilliant idea. And I look forward to it. I, I find this very, very intriguing. Where can the listeners find your books? Um, most of it is on Amazon. I mean, like, um, um, the, the boots and stilettos one, only the print version is on Amazon. Um, the others are like, I think it's a Barnes and Noble, Google, different places like that.

[00:22:27] You can get the ebook of, of the boots, but everything else is on Amazon. You just, Hey, it's one of the cool things about having a crazy name like Kirk Volklane. I'm the only one. If you search Kirk Volklane, you only find in one of them, me. So there you go. Hey, that works, right? So are you, are you on any socials that the readers or listeners, not readers, absolutely. No, my website is KirkVolklane.com. The writer's website.

[00:22:54] If you want to look at my photography, it's KVphoto.com. And if you, any social platform, if you search Kirk Volklane or put, you know, like Facebook slash Kirk Volklane or Instagram slash Kirk Volklane, you're going to come to me. So all of them would, I mean, I did that on purpose. X.com slash Kirk Volklane. So everything is Kirk Volklane. It's just my name. So yeah. Perfect. We will make sure those are in the show notes so everyone can find you. Sure.

[00:23:23] Thank you so much for joining me. You're very interesting. Thank you so much for having me. That was fun.