What
are you working on right now?
I am finishing up a Gothic Werewolf novella set
in Southern Iowa. I have just finished a middle-grade book about young monster
hunters called Abigail Rath Versus Blood-Sucking Fiends. I have just begun
researching and writing a book about demon binders in the 1840s, which requires
a lot of research.
What's
your pre-writing ritual?
I’m afraid like many writers, I goof around on the
Internet. I usually do a little research, and then I open up Scrivener, and I
start in.
What
is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing
research for a story?
Just this weekend, I discovered that Venice was part of
Austria for a long time. This
means I have to rethink Venice during the time my characters visit.
Tell
me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what
does it mean to you?
So far, my favorite published story is a piece called The
Love Song of Oliver Toddle. My
husband and I use these wonderful mechanics who have a shop that is constantly
humming. It’s a shop that is a chain, however, and they keep it clean and neat.
I thought, how might that happen? Oliver Toddle became the house gnome
character who lived in the garage and cleaned it. In order to pass the time,
because gnomes never leave their home, he reads poetry on the Internet. And
then he and a female mechanic start leaving poems for each other. They become
love poems. And the story goes
from there.
You
can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?
I
would really like to sit down with Alexandre Dumas. I know he was a colorful
story teller, and I would like to ask him not only about his elaborate plotting
skills, but also about his vivid characterizations and integration of
history. I also know he was very
good at planning elaborate entertainments, so I couldn’t lose.
What's
one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?
This is a
hard choice, but recently the best novel I’ve finished is Beth Bernobich’s
Passion Play, which is a story about loss and redemption, love and the past.
It’s very good.
Writing
is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?
That’s an
excellent question! I have just recently developed osteoarthritis from an old
running injury, so my diet is undergoing a complete makeover. I would say I
could support a small family garden now given the amount of produce I eat. I
walk mostly, and I do tai chi. I am hoping for more yoga and weight training as
my knee becomes better at adapting to its new condition.
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To find out more about Catherine, what she's written, and what she does when she's not writing, visit her website.
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