Kris K. Alfred is a December 1998 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in English and a minor in Psychology. Currently, he is working on a novel, a novella, and a screenplay, and hopes that somewhere between the three major projects he can find a way to break into the mainstream and see the fruits of his labor. Kris has been writing fiction since his first short story attempt when he was twelve, a horror piece entitled "Rest In Pieces".

"It was horrible," he says. "But not bad for a kid who hadn't had his first date yet. I detailed the blood pretty good."

Since then Kris has moved away from the horror genre and into a world that is all too often a reflection of reality, a fictional world of manipulation and psychological turmoil. Refusing to pledge allegiance to any specific genre, he simply writes what he sees. "Nobody likes Othello anymore because it's not happy, but I like tragedies," he says. "Happy endings are misleading."

"Epiphany" is intended to be read as a metaphor, and the first draft was written after a painful breakup in the fall of 1993. Since then, it has undergone several "face-lifts" and, according to the author, still isn't finished yet. "I was preaching to myself," he says of the piece. "I do that a lot."

"God Rest Ye" is loosely based upon a true story, a phenomenon Kris observed about hypocrisy in a prominent Southern Baptist church in Lexington, Kentucky when he was only in high school. "She didn't suicide like the story says," Kris adds. "But she might as well have. Girl died on the inside. Rest assured I've still got that church in the crosshairs; I'm just waiting for a clean shot."

"Times Like This a Boy needs his Mother" is more a character sketch than a story, just some background scenes for a fictional character Kris likes to work with. Currently, the protagonist has a starring role as Kendall in Kris's novella "Putting Annie to Bed". "I love this guy," Kris says. "Not much gets past him. Have to admire that."

Kris belives that writing is a calling for him, one that will not let go.

"It's like pissing," he explains. "If I don't do it, I'm gonna' bust."