Please welcome Kat to Books for Company.
Thank you very much Kat for stopping by!
Was there any part of the book you found particularly hard to write?
Because this is the second book in the series, I found it was a lot easier to write in general because all the characters were still "talking to me." That said, I delve deeper into my version of werewolf mythology in The Night Has Claws and that presented the biggest challenge in my writing. I had to get my ideas down in a way that makes sense to readers while also touching on the complexities of the werewolf societies in the world of the Magdeburg Trilogy. On the other hand, if we're talking about "hard" in terms of emotions I'd say the last chapter in the book took a lot out of me.
What three things do you always have near you when writing?
1. My iPhone which is basically my reference library.2. A dog-eared copy of The Night Has Teeth because I oddly feel the need to look back at what my characters have said and done in order to move forward.
3. A glass of water.
This is probably the most boring three things an author can possibly list but my real life isn't very exciting.
Do any of your characters have characteristics from people who you know?
If there are, I didn't do it consciously. When I developed the characters they kind of took on lives of their own. If anything, I think there are probably elements of my own personality in both Connor and Madison: his tendency toward obliviousness and her dry sense of humor.
Do you have a favorite character?
If I had to choose it would probably be Roul but it's mostly because he has a lot of back story that doesn't make it onto the page. So much so that one day I'd like to do a graphic novel prequel about him. Arden's a close second though. He's actually the least complicated of all the characters in the series, his motivations are fairly single-minded and focused on loyalty, but that's what makes him so dear to me too.
How did you come round to writing Young Adult books?
I'm a huge fan of the genre. As a freelance writer during the day a lot of my writing is non-fiction which can be kind of dry. I've always been a writer on some level for as long as I can remember, really. Because I enjoy reading YA books and write for a living anyway I felt I could contribute something new.
Part of the book takes place in Germany. How did you research the locations?
The first book (The Night Has Teeth) and part of The Night Has Claws take place in Paris. That was easy because I've been there. Germany's on my travel bucket list still. Whenever I can't draw from a personal experience, I go to the internet. You can find enough online to piece things together. I chose Quedlinburg because of its proximity to Magdeburg and for its historic charm. Google Maps and Flickr were a great help when I needed visuals. Travel forums also provided a lot of details that I wouldn't be able to find unless I visited the places I mentioned. I have to say, I love doing the research on locations, science, etc. about as much as I enjoy writing the books!
Music and playlists play a large part in your writing. If you had to pick one "theme song" for Connor, what would it be?
Connor's character is evolving as the books progress. At this point in the series I'd say his theme song is "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper. He's new to this life as a werewolf, trying to figure things out. Because he wasn't born into their world he has to find a balance between being human and being one of them.
Heaven's Hand is a pretty steeped in religion. Are they based on a real group?
In a way, yes. When I was doing my research on werewolves, I looked into the Benandanti who are mentioned in Kelley Armstrong's series among others. It led me to a mention of an inquisition in the 1600s where a man named Thiess of Kaltenbrun was accused of being a werewolf and he testified that he was a "Hound of God." I kind of ran with that idea, taking elements from other religions in order to create Heaven's Hand (a.k.a. The Hounds of God).
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