Writer Katie Marie joins me today to chat about her horror novella, A Man in Winter.
Bio:
Katie Marie is a horror enthusiast and writer from Norfolk, England.
She has been published in several anthologies and magazines, and Brigids Gate Press recently released her novella, A Man in Winter.
Katie started writing while studying at Aberystwyth University in the early 2000’s and several years later she has received a Master’s Degree and published many short stories, a novel and novella.
You can connect with Katie on Facebook or on Twitter. You can also visit her website, to sign up for emails about new releases, short stories and blogs gushing about the horror genre.
Welcome, Katie. What do you enjoy most about writing short stories/novellas?
I sort of fell into writing short fiction.
When I first started writing many years ago, I never intended to write any length, I simply sat down at the keyboard and wrote the story. It just so happened that the majority of my stories were short stories or novellas. Then when I started writing a bit more seriously I reviewed what kinds of writing there were and studied up on the kind of writing that best fit my style which just so happens to be short fiction and novellas, with the occasional dabble into Novel length fiction.
I love writing shorter form fiction, probably because I’m so often impatcient with stories. I want to get right in there nice and fast. I get boared easily and shorter fiction is often more fast paced and grabs me. I also like that I can knock out projects a little faster, as every time I start writing something I usually have only a few months before my brains already nagging at me to move onto the next thing.
So from a reading perspective, I enjoy the fast pace and action focus of short fiction. From a writing perspective I enjoy the ability to knock out a project without having to live in it too long.
Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?
My favorite is my novella A Man in Winter.
This story follows Arthur, whose life was devastated by the brutal murder of his wife. He is also coming to terms with his diagnosis of dementia.
At the start of the novella, he moves into a new home at a retirement community, and shortly after, his life is turned upside down when his wife’s ghost visits him and sends him on a quest to find her killer so her spirit can move on.
With his family and his doctor concerned that his dementia is advancing, will he be able to solve the murder before his independence is permanently restricted?
It’s my current favorite because of Arthur, he was a joy to write and I hope that he connects with people. He’s one of my most ‘real’ characters, probably because he was an amalgamation of several people who I’d had the joy to meet. He was compelling to write and I hope to read.
What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?
I have been a horror enthusiast since I was very little.
The first book to influence my love of horror is The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. This was the book that hooked me into horror when my mum read it to me as a bedtime story when I was small.
The story revolves around a young boy who discovers a mysterious house, where magic is real, and wishes come true. Every day in the house is equivalent to a year in the real world. The house in the story is a trap for unhappy kids and the vivid descriptions stuck with me for years, fueling my love for horror. Everything I love about the horror genre today; I can trace back to that one book.
I love how wide and versatile the horror genre is. Two people can both say they like horror and be talking about completely different things. For example, I like a good supernatural story, but also psychological horror whereas my friends enjoy a good slasher horror or body horror.
I love the kinds of stories you can tell in the horror genre, how we can examine things you might not in other genres. Dr. Steven Schlozman’s TED Talk revealed how horror can help us approach sensitive topics without feeling overwhelmed. It happens almost surreptitiously.
“The kind of horror I like, and the kind that I think has the most staying power, are less about the monsters and more about the way people band together to hold off the monsters; they are about friendships,”
What exciting story are you working on next?
I currently have two active projects, a novel called A Walk in the Woods, which is about a search and rescue officer, Tobias, who is trying to solve a series of impossible disappearances, that started hundreds of years ago and still happen today. This project is currently out to agent.
The second project is currently called The House, mostly because I’m unimaginative with my titles when I’m actively working on something. The House is a traditional ghost story turned on it’s head, when the main character dies at the beginning of the book and has to solve the ghostly mystery from the other side of the equation.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
At different points I’ve called myself a writer.
What I mean is that every time I hit a milestone I tend to think, right now I’m a writer. The first time I had a short story accepted for the school newspaper, the time I had a short story accepted for publication in an anthology, the time I finished my first piece of longer fiction. Everytime I think I’m a writer I find another milestone to hit that makes me think, right now I’m a writer, the me before now was wrong.
But the las time I had that thought was when I got paid, and then subsequently used that payment to pay a bill. I remember Stephen King once saying if you sell something and use the money to pay a bill then you’re a writer. Stephen King managed to silence my constant self doubt lol.
How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?
I tend to have an idea then do a lot of research, the idea starts of teeny weeny and grows during the research stage. Researching markets is probably the hardest kind of research that I do, as I often do it by comparing my work to other work out there and then trying to figure out who the audience is for the existing work.
My advice for other writers is simple, invest in yourself.
I cannot stress this enough. Always be learning, every time I finish a book on writing I pick up another one and every single one has something new and interesting to say. It doesn’t matter how much I think I know there’s always more and with every little bit of knowledge we pick up we get a little bit better.
Invest usually has connotations of money but it doesn’t have to be, Libraries are free and easy ways to access a wealth of books, YouTube is full of budding writers, agents and readers all of which are sharing advice, experiences and community. Give Google a go, a Google search can often reveal lots of websites and writers’ forums which offer free information. There are free courses which can be completed online in your own time as well, the Open University has several free to access writing courses.
Invest in yourself, invest in your craft. You and your writing will be better for it.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Honestly, I don’t think I have a quirk. I don’t need a sound, or a smell or a setting to get me going. I’ve built up a very flexible writing habit, I make time for it each weekday (weekends are for videogames after all) but my timing isn’t consistent, sometimes I write at my desk, sometimes on the couch, I’ve even caught myself sitting in a carpark on OneNote jotting down an idea or a scene.
So I don’t feel I have a quirk, unless flexibility is classed as a quirk.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was small I wanted to be either an archeologist, an engineer and work on big ships or a lawyer.
I became a lawyer.
I remember sitting in college thinking to myself what did I want to do, I had all these big ideas around what I liked doing and what career paths I could go down. But being an archeologist meant being outside, probably in warm weather or wet weather and I’m bad at being outside, I’m a total wimp and can’t cope in cold weather or in sunny weather so that was out. I have tiny noodle arms and am bad a at math, so engineering was out. But then I passed some exams and it turned out I was pretty good at law, so I went down that path.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Hello, I’m not sure what brought you to come across me, but I’m very glad you’re here.
Come and tell me about yourself, what do you like? What do you wish was different? Are there trope you love/hate? Do you like scary movies?