Today we’d like to introduce you to Titan Lightfoot Carrillo.
Hi Titan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Titan, but most people just call me Ty. Titan sounds a little formal, don’t you think? Haha!
I started writing at a very young age, like lots of writers, and I was always particularly obsessed with dark literature, like gothic, sci-fi, and horror. I published my first book in 2014, but took a brief break while life whipped me from one corner of the globe to another. Recently, I’ve re-focused my vision of the stories I am driven to tell, and am back on the road to publishing my dark, dreamy stories in their most honest, refined, and fully fledged selves.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I mentioned before, my life always seems to be in a constant state of flux. I can’t think of anything less conducive to a smooth road.
Right out of high school, I joined the Army, so anything that was individual about me took a backseat to life as a soldier. Nevertheless in 2014, four years after I enlisted, I published my first novel. A year later, I published my second.
Then I started to have trouble with my physical and mental health while I was deployed in Turkey. A long struggle finally led to a diagnosis of a chronic pain and fatigue condition called fibromyalgia. The tumultuous road of learning about it, and living with it, really sucked the life out of me for years.
Not to mention, for most of my life, I have not aligned with my birth gender. It’s impossible to describe the crushing pressure of trying to live within the gender binary unless you know what it’s like for yourself. And so, trying to be something I am not inevitably also damaged my progress with writing.
It wasn’t until I was medically retired from the military that I set out to regain my sense of self with purpose and gusto. That included accepting my gender identity and beginning my transition, but also taking my writing to new heights that I could be proud of saying were my creations.
That is the path I’ve been on since 2017.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a writer of speculative fiction—which is a fancy umbrella term for a story that blends two or more genres—and I publish my work independently.
I write about horror, and fantasy, and romance, and sci-fi, like any other speculative fiction writer, but no matter what the genre is, my stories are always set in or inspired by the city of Houston, and populated by a diverse cast of Black and brown characters with a range of sexual and gender identities. If you ever see a story out there about a gay Black angel falling in love with a devil, just know: It’s mine, and there’s plenty more where it came from!
I also make YouTube videos about my life and writing, as well as my transition, my favorite games and anime, and all the traveling that informs so much of my novels. I still have terrible-quality videos up from way back in 2013 documenting the journey of publishing my first novel haha!
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My default keyboard is 한글 (Hangul), or Korean!
Contact Info:
- Email: titanhoustonc@gmail.com
- Website: https://permashift.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titansylvanc/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuF0qWX61MCmar41IalinWg
Image Credits
Titan Lightfoot Carrillo
