Eric Kao – Fantasy Author

About Me

Some people call me Dr. Kao, but I always tell them that’s my sister! I do have a doctorate (in physical therapy) actually, but that’s too formal for me – Eric is fine. I live in Greenville, South Carolina with my wife, daughter, and dog. I’m a physical therapist and hypnotist – helping people change their bodies and minds. Writing is a passion – there’s nothing more interesting than creating and exploring a new world. You’ll see elements of my experience working with the body and mind in all of my works as well.

Writing has taken me on a journey, not just of exploring the worlds in my books, but of myself as well. I wrote my first book, The Shadow Spinner, with characters that were diverse, just like me. The eponymous character, Hermit (the Shadow Spinner) is a sarcastic and somewhat helpful person – also like me. I wanted to bring positive LGBTQ+ representation to my books so Hermit is bisexual and several other characters in the series are LGBTQ+. In particular, there’s Shoku – one of the Champions. He’s Asian and gay.

I wrote my second book, That Which Binds Us. The main character is Mei – she’s a quirky weirdo which, of course, I loved because that’s just like me! She’s also Asian and lesbian. Probably just a coincidence because I was bringing positive representation to the LGBTQ+ community with my writing.

I wrote my third book, Life for the Living “in the dark” – meaning I didn’t outline it, I just started typing and let whatever was in my brain tumble out onto the pages. What resulted was a book about a guy, Andre, and his best friend, Kala, fighting to survive in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that once was America after a zombie virus destroyed the world. I explicitly knew that the characters were me (as Andre) and my best friend Audrey (as Kala). Funny enough, Andre is Asian and gay.

But I’m not exactly like Andre! Mostly because, in addition to that, I’m also Mexican, Swedish, straight, and left-handed. So yeah, I’m a lot of things. My oldest friend, whom I’ve known my entire life, read The Shadow Spinner and said, “so Hermit is basically you, right?” Yes, David. Yes, he is. That’s probably why Hermit is so awesome. My brain, apparently, got tired of being cooped up and decided to out me through my writing. And it only took 3 books for me to find out! No, just joking, I won’t say I’ve known my entire life, but certainly since middle school.

So yes, you will always find LGBTQ+ representation in my work! You’ll find my characters have weaknesses, make bad choices, find courage, fall in love, feel pain, and laugh. But they don’t cry because that would be weak-sauce. No, just kidding of course, but my characters do love a good fight! That’s me and I hope you enjoy sifting through the pages of my twisted brain. If you’d like to know more about me, my life, and my random thoughts on things (from my writing process to new book ideas) then subscribe to my newsletter! Full warning: I’m a weirdo. Subscribe at your own risk, you’ve been warned!