I will be hosting the American Historical Novels Facebook group page this week! Join me for discussion of the topics that inspired Real Estate. Giveaways for participation. Check out the site. I have discovered new works by several amazing women authors there. Interview with Jess Neal Woods, page administrator:
Rebecca Rosenberg: Hello Kathryn & thank you for hosting this week! What inspired you to write Real Estate? Kathryn: Real Estate was my first Nanowrimo novel. I set the novel in the Santa Clara Valley where I was raised. Grounded in familiar territory, I followed characters based on people I knew and the by-now-familiar story of Silicon Valley. I tried to convey the Valley’s evolution from a wide expanse of apricot orchards to the center of the Tech universe, through the eyes of two next-door neighbors, each from a very different family. Rebecca: Can you give us insight into your writing process? Kathryn: I start with an outline. I write five days a week, usually following my characters chronologically, stopping to do research as necessary. Although I have met the Nanowrimo goal of writing 50000 words in a month three times, the initial draft is followed by revisions and editing that have taken several years. Rebecca: What type of research did you do for writing Real Estate? Kathryn: For this novel, I was already familiar with the landscape. I did however do extensive reading on the developments in the tech industry, as well on issues that affected my characters, one of whom is a Japanese war bride, and another an Aikido instructor. I (very loosely) based the tech whiz in the story on Steve Wozniak, a classmate of my brother, so I also researched his life and career. Rebecca: Did you find anything in your research that was particularly fascinating or that helped shaped the novel? Kathryn: Silicon Valley was fueled by both the military (the Moffett Air Force Base) and the engineering industry. The discipline required by both fascinated me, thus my research into the role of the military and aikido in shaping my characters, as well as the class-based differences between the families that shaped their arcs. Rebecca: What was your favorite scene to write? Kathryn: Steve Wozniak was a Star Trek Aficionado who plowed some of his initial wealth into pursuing this. I had fun writing the scene where he reunited with the character based on Steve Jobs at a Star Trek convention. Rebecca: What was the most difficult scene to write? Kathryn: My protagonist is the daughter of an Air Force pilot and his Japanese war bride. Her father asks her to be his eyes and ears. In exploring the price she pays for his reliance on her, I needed to show a character denied a childhood. When a family tragedy occurs and he holds her responsible, I struggled to make her plight believable, and yet keep her a sympathetic character. Rebecca: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? Kathryn: This was always the plan, although like for so many, for a while there, life got in the way. Rebecca: What has been your greatest challenge as a writer? Have you been able to overcome it? Kathryn: I find myself constantly walking the tightrope between writing as a passion and writing as a business. For a while, my profession took priority. Even though I always wanted to nurture my passion, the business end of things is a necessity I still cannot ignore. Rebecca: Who are your writing inspirations and why? Kathryn: Ann Tyler, Ann Padgett, and Elizabeth Strout. I am in awe of their ability to make ordinary people’s stories riveting. Rebecca: What was the first historical novel you read? Kathryn: Probably Hawaii. I read a lot of Michener as an adolescent. Rebecca: What is the last historical novel you read? Kathryn: Hamnet Rebecca: What are three things people may not know about you? Kathryn: As an administrator, I’ve worked with poets, public inebriates, dentists, urologists, and cardiologists. I love Vermont, stacking wood, and sitting in front of the fire. Guess that’s more than three, but these things offer different facets of what makes me me. Rebecca: What appeals to you most about your chosen genre? Kathryn: I love immersing myself in another time and finding the commonalities. Digging through old newspapers and discovering the keys to another’s life. Rebecca: What do you like to do when you aren't writing? Kathryn: Hike, kayak, spend time with family, cook, read, read, read. Rebecca: Lastly, will you have more projects in the future? I am in the process of signing a contract for my second novel, the Cost of Electricity. Number three, Granted, is out to beta readers now. Stay tuned to American Historical Novels this week for more from Kathryn Holzman!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
September 2023
|
© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|