1. You received a fellowship for a 1-week residency at RWC as winner of our 2023 First Ten Pages Fellowship for the gripping start of your historic novel, Love and Terror. What made you want to apply for the fellowship and what did winning mean to you?
My main reason for applying for this fellowship was to get time and peace and quiet to devote to my writing. It was a tremendous boost, from the moment I got the phone call, actually. Just knowing that Catherine Moore, who judged the contest, believed in my first ten pages and wanted to read more was so gratifying. And I’m very pleased with the progress I made on the novel during my time at Rockvale.
2. When did you start writing? Was there a specific moment when you knew you wanted to be a writer?
As a child, I enjoyed writing poems and stories. I can’t really say there was a specific moment I wanted to be a poet or a writer; it was just something I kept coming back to at various stages of my life.
3. Tell us about your writing. In what genre do you primarily write? What project are you working on now? Do you have a big goal for this year or beyond?
I mostly write poetry, and my debut poetry collection will come out from Cornerstone Press in 2026, which I’m very excited about. I’ve also written flash fiction and short fiction, but this is the first time I’ve worked on something as sustained as a novel. My academic background is in 18th-century French literature, and I wanted to write something set during the French Revolution. At first it was just going to be something short, but I realized there were other characters I wanted to develop and bring in, and that it would have to grow to accommodate them.
4. What are you reading right now?
I’ve been reading North Woods by Daniel Mason, which is a fascinating novel about a house in New England and the people who built it and lived there over the centuries. I’m also reading Vanessa Chan’s novel The Storm We Made, a dramatic debut novel about a family in British-ruled Malaya as the Japanese invade during World War II. I’ve been paying particular attention to historical fiction now that I’m working on a historical novel myself!
5. Many writers have to balance their creative life with other life responsibilities. Do you have a day job? What are other responsibilities that share space in your day to day life?
In my day job I’m a freelance French-to-English translator. I love my work because I’m always learning new things, and it’s also a creative way of working with language. My husband and I have two children, but this fall they’ll both be in college, so our day-to-day responsibilities as parents are about to change a lot.
6. Have you ever been to a writers’ colony before or been a writer-in-residence? What attracted you to this experience? Can you share thoughts about residencies in general or RWC in particular?
This was the first time I’ve done anything like this. I thought being at a writers’ colony would give me a chance to prioritize my writing instead of squeezing it into occasional blocks of time, and it really worked. Rockvale is a peaceful place and very conducive to thinking and writing.
7. Tell us about your writing community back home. Do you have a writing group that you meet/share with on a regular basis?
I don’t have a writing group. I guess writing has always been a solitary activity for me. At Rockvale the other writers and I would check in with each other sometimes about how our writing was going, and that was really nice!
8. Did you establish a routine at RWC? Can you share what your days looked like?
I did a lot of writing at my desk in the morning. Sometimes I’d sit on the front porch for a while and look at the cows and do some reading. After lunch I’d go for a walk to clear my head or I’d go visit the horses in the pasture before writing some more. It was great to have uninterrupted time. I didn’t have to stop and then try to remember where to start again; I was constantly in the world of what I was writing.
9. What advice do you have for other writers?
I guess I would give other writers the advice I give myself: be patient, and don’t expect everything to happen at once. Writing is rewriting.
10. Our tagline at RWC is “We believe in the power of words.” In your own writing, do you feel that your words possess power and purpose? Why do you write? What is your inspiration?
I enjoy writing for the same reasons I enjoy reading: the pleasure of encountering a beautiful image, or a musical line, or a satisfying structure. There’s the aesthetic pleasure and then there’s also the emotional response. The idea that something I have written moves me and then might also move other people is amazing to me.
11. Fun Facts (Kate’s answers are specified in bold.)
Computer / Pen & Notebook – but I like to print out and revise with pen on paper from time to time.
Coffee (in the morning) / Tea (in the afternoon)
Inside (for writing) / Outside (for thinking)
Morning / Evening – I think I’m more productive in the morning, but I’ll take either, depending on when I can find the time.
Actual Book! / Kindle / Audio
65% Introvert / 35% Extrovert
Something Old / Something New – I guess since I’m writing a novel set in 18th-century France, I will say making something new out of something old!