Hag
1. What really inspired
you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and
conveying it into a book?
I grew up listening to
my mother’s stories about her life, my grandmother and my
great-grandmothers. They were
fascinating. I come from a long Scottish
line and within that there is lots of Scottish stubbornness, superstition and
hilarity. My mother herself has led an
incredible life, she traveled extensively, experienced things that sound, well,
like they belong in a book.
I suppose the inciting
idea for Hag came about when I was
entrusted with a small book of family photographs, many going back to the
1800’s and even earlier. It was a
weighty realization that not only was I the only one, besides my mother, who
knew all the family stories, but I was the keeper of the family photos.
I wanted to honor my
mother’s life, but also the incredible women that preceded her. That being said, Hag is a work of fiction, and creative liberties have been taken in
all the story telling. I only hope I
don’t get haunted by a bunch of angry Scottish women after pub date.
2. What is it about and
whom do you believe is your targeted reader?
Hag is the story of Alice Grace Kyles, who immigrates to the
Colorado, United States from Glasgow immediately after World War II. Alice Grace has the ability to see the future
in the form of paths laid out in front of her.
All the women in her family have possessed unexplainable powers, each
different, and each equally potent.
Alice’s story is intermixed with the history of women who came before
her going all the way back to ancient times.
In doing so, we see the power and significance of Alice’s matriarchal
line.
Hag is the story of family, mothers and daughters, and the history
that binds us together. It is a story of
magic and purpose. It is a historical
journey told through a distinctly female lens.
It is the tale of a line of powerful and magical women who live in the
ordinary world. As far as my targeted
reader – I believe this story has a broad appeal. It is, perhaps, female-centric in the story
telling, but that does not exclude anyone.
This is the story of family, of the forces and influences that shape our
lives.
3. What do you hope will
be the everlasting yhoughts for readers who finish your book? What should
remain with them long after putting it down?
I hope they will call
their mother, grandmother, aunt and anyone else who carries the stories of
their family and listen. We live as
long as we are remembered, and storytelling is a sort of immortality. Record the history of your family, write it
down, archive the photos so that they last for generations to come. It may not feel like it matters right now in
the moment, but there will come a day when you are the only one left to tell
the stories.
4. What advice or words
of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?
Ooh boy. Writing is such an individual process, every,
single person goes about it in a different way.
My advice would be simply to ignore all the advice and just do what
works for you. I struggled for years
trying to follow advice about outlining, journaling, writers groups, etc… The times when I really feel my authentic
voice in my writing is when I ignore everything anyone has told me and I just
do my thing. I can only share the truths
I have learned in regard to my own writing.
Shut down my internal
editor. I firmly believe that a first
draft should be written as though no one else will ever read it. Don’t worry about who your audience is, who
you might offend, what facts and dates you got wrong, and certainly don’t worry
about your lousy grammar. Just
write. Once done, give it a little room
to breathe, take a break, then come back and start editing.
Once you enter the
magical and grueling world of editing, open your heart and mind. Choose your editors carefully. Trust those who want your story to succeed
and leave your pride at the door. I
know that everyone at my publisher wants my books to be as awesome as
possible. Therefore, I trust them when
they point out issues, suggest changes, and ask me to clarify or rewrite.
5. What trends in the
book world do you see and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading?
I see a huge resurgence in
speculative, literary horror and magical realism. For so long, these genres were seen as sub
categories and relocated to small presses or self-publishing models. As far as where the publishing industry is
headed? I think the traditional,
big-dog presses such as Simon and Schuster, Penguin, Random House and the like
are getting some competition. Same thing
happened with film not too long ago, indie-production companies rose up and
brought fresh material and perspective to the industry. There are so many exciting indie-publishing
houses out there right now. My
publisher, Turner, is just one of many new voices who are challenging the old
guard.
6. What great challenges
did you have in writing your book?
Hag started off as an entirely
different book. I had written much of
the Alice Grace storyline but the other half was entirely different. At one point, I realized that A. My book had no end, and B. It was
broken. So, I booked a cabin in the
woods with no television, no wifi, no distractions. My first night there, I scrapped half my
book. The next morning I started writing
what would become the Cailleach’s storyline.
By the time I came home, I knew where I was going and several weeks
later, I started the painful process of stitching it all together. A lot
of work was done smoothing out the edges, but I was continually surprised at
how seamlessly the two parts came together.
7. If people can only
buy one book this month, why should it be yours?
It will enfold you in two
intertwining worlds. The most consistent
compliment I have received is that the reader did not want the book to
end. I love it when a book captures me
so completely that I don’t want to go back to my normal life. I believe Hag will do just that. But for reals though, I think you should buy
many books in a month. So make mine one
of the stack you buy in October, I have some excellent company in upcoming
books, especially in the horror, fantasy genre.
It’s a good year for quality fiction.
Kathleen Kaufman is a native Coloradan and long-time resident of Los Angeles. Her prose has been praised by Kirkus Reviews as “crisp, elegant” and “genuinely chilling” by Booklist. She is the author of The Tree Museum, The Lairdbalor, soon to be a feature film with Echo Lake Studios and director Nicholas Verso, and her most recent, Hag, due out in October 2018. Kathleen is a monster enthusiast, Olympic-level insomniac and aficionado of all things unsettling. When not writing, she can be found teaching literature and composition at Santa Monica College or hanging out with a good book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, terrier and a pack of cats.
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