Kat Richardson On Seriosuly Pursuing Writing

Kat Richardson’s first novel, Greywalker, was released by Roc in October 2006, followed by Poltergeist in August 2007. She is currently a full-time novelist and has worked as a non-fiction editor and technical writer/editor. As a fiction writer she's dabbled in many fields and media, including RPGs, film, computer games, and online graphic novels. Currently, Kat lives on a sailboat in Seattle with her husband, two ferrets, and a crotchety old cat. She rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and doesn't own a car or a TV.

Was writing always something you wanted to seriously pursue?

Kat Richardson: No. I'd always written and enjoyed it, but you know how it is with something that seems very ordinary and everyday: you just don't think of it until it's put in your face. It wasn't until I was out of high school and thinking of going to college that it occurred to me I was actually pretty good at this writing thing and liked it wouldn't mind making a living doing it.

Initially I was a Vocal Music student, but decided I'd rather do something in which I didn't feel so unlikely to excel—I like to be near the top of the heap and my singing skill was mostly leading to the chorus, not the solo slots. I decided I couldn't make money in fiction, so I got a degree in Journalism and worked at that for a while before I finally threw in the towel and started writing fiction seriously. Though I did keep my day job for quite a while—when I had a job, that is.

Was finding your preferred genre something that took some practise?

Kat Richardson: It actually wasn't an option. I just wrote what I wanted and someone else put the genre tag on it. I thought I was writing a Mystery with some Fantasy elements. I've always liked both SF/F and Mystery, so I just combined the two and let the chip fall where they would. I mean, I knew I wasn't writing “Great Literature,” but I didn't really care what it was called (so long as it wasn't called “crap.”) I still feel the same way—I really don't care what the label is.

Which authors would you count amongst those that have influenced you most?

Kat Richardson: Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, traditional fairy tales and myths, Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas (pere et fils), Isaac Asimov, Ron Goulart, Ellery Queen, and C.M. Kornbluth

Had you finished the manuscript for Greywalker before it was picked up by ROC?

Kat Richardson: Yes. I wrote the first complete draft in a month or so during the summer of 2000 but it sat around for a while before I tried to interest an agent or publisher. I knew it was pretty rough but I needed some guidance to make it better—I'm not always good at spotting my own mistakes. Eventually, I was picked up by an agent and we did a lot of work on the ms to make it saleable, but it was complete before I started shopping it around and that definitely helped get it an agent who got me my deal with ROC.

In another interview, read about Kat Richardson's Greywalker series.

Kat Richardson

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