Word Out 2012

This weeks featured fiction author was kind enough to do a question and answer with us. The questions were developed by the North York Central Yag. So please take a moment and better aquaint yourself with the delightful author Kendare Blake.

1. The book is very much a teenage coming of age story but set within the realm
of the supernatural, both Cas and Anna have problems that they need the other to
overcome which is a very unique way of recreating the coming of age tale, was that your intention in writing the book? If not, how did the book begin?

I don't think I set out to do anything besides tell Cas and Anna's story. But you're right, it is a coming of age tale. The interesting stories, to me, are those where the characters undergo significant change. Mostly though, it started because I wanted to play the new Silent Hill but was too scared.

 2. The character of Anna is so fascinating as she is literally trapped in the house, trapped in time and trapped by her paren'ts which is a very 1950's notion,
Cas on the other hand has way more freedom than more teens his age would have.
Did you intend to have this parallel between the two characters?

No, but I like the way you think. That's very true. The contrast between them. Yet in a way, they're both boxed in. Cas by duty, and Anna by a curse. Great question, great observation.
I foresee many excellent term papers in your future.

 3. What are the reasons behind choosing Thunder Bay as the setting for the novel? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Thunder Bay has the highest per capita murder rate in all of Canada? Do you think American readers will have difficulty picturing Thunder Bay?

So far, American readers haven't had any trouble with the locale. I love Thunder Bay. Chose it because it had the best ghost stories. Also, because it was close enough to where I was living that I could go and stay there for a long weekend, and scout the area. Also, I wanted something by Superior. I've always found her to be the creepiest of the Great Lakes.

4. Your writing is very strong and with amazing characters and plot development, ironically your first book (Sleepwalk Society) lacks the supernatural elements but is just as an enjoyable read. What made you decide to write a ghost story?

Oh, thank you! I'm so glad you thought so. Sleepwalk Society is another coming of age tale, but yes, the forces Violet and her friends struggle with are the ones we all struggle with. The future. What to do with ourselves. What's expected of us. What we want. When I wrote Anna, I'd been writing literary fiction for a long time. But then I read some Angela Carter, and started to branch out into a little more fantasy. It seemed to work. Sold a few fantasy stories, so I ran with it. Someday, maybe I'll go back to realism. But not yet.

5. Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate. Silly question! 🙂

6. What is the writing process like for you? How do you manifest the ideas from
in your head onto the computer/paper?

The writing process for me is thus: Idea. Okay, idea, go away, I'm busy. Idea says no, idiot, I need to be written. I say no, jerkwad, I've got other things to be doing. Idea says okay. But I'll be back. And then it is. If I'm ready to write it, I start gathering scenes. I daydream a little, about the characters, things they say, interactions they have. After I feel like I sort of know who they are, and they've told me where the story starts, I write. From there I write a few days a week, a few thousand words a day if I'm lucky. And the story comes. I don't know where it's going to go, where it's going to end, how it's going to get there. I only see a few chapters ahead. But it all works out.

7. If any actor living or dead were to play you in the movie of your life, who would you choose?

I'm Asian, so I feel sort of limited. I have a strong urge to say, Jackie Chan in drag, because that would be awesome.

8. What is the best writing advise you have ever been given?

Oh, I've heard so much advice, and I've integrated it to the point where I can't remember what it was, or who said it. It just feels like the golden rule, you know? Ingrained. The one I repeat most often is from my MA writing professor, the short story writer Linda Leatherbarrow. She said, "Just get it down. That's the important thing. You can always fix it later."

 9. If you weren't a writer, what would your career have been instead?

Well, I went to school to be a stock analyst but that wasn't for me. So I don't know. Might be neat to be a dermatologist. Or some other doctor where you don't have to deal with death and stuff.

10. What do you do when you finish a book and put it to rest? What rituals or ceremonies (if any) do you have to celebrate?