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A Conversation with Kathryn

Q: What drew you to fiction after so many years in dance and as a dance critic?

Kathryn: During my first marriage, back when I was a dance critic, I was known for saying, “With so many real stories in the world to tell, why make one up?” Hardly an intro to a career as a novelist, right?

Then, s**t got real. My sons (8 and 10 at the time) and I lived through the unfolding drama of my husband’s suicide standoff against a massive police presence. What does a writer do with an experience like that? Well, if she wants to learn and grow and create meaning, she writes about it.

But what to write—nonfiction? Turns out, I didn’t want to cite statistics or convince or warn. I wanted to write to show how, in the face of one of the most unconscionable acts to be taken by someone who says they love you, the characters in this family sustained hope.

Life can seem random and chaotic. People come to fiction in search of a world ordered through consistent characterization. A carefully constructed story gives us a chance to point readers toward an equally true, yet better ending.

So, in the end, I wrote fiction.

Q: Your novels are informed by your own life experiences (your dance/choreography/critic career and your husband’s death by suicide), yet you succeed in ensuring that they do not feel autobiographical. Your characters are unique, and they own their experiences. How difficult was that, to draw so strongly from your own life, but remain true to the craft of fiction?

Kathryn: Thank you for these kind, very hard-won words!

How I did it is best exemplified by THE FAR END OF HAPPY, since that story was hung on the frame of my first husband’s suicide standoff. For each change away from “fact,” I had to ask myself, “How does this change improve the kind of story I want to tell?” For instance, my mom and dad were sequestered with me during the real-life standoff. It was comforting to see their faces that day, but they could have been framed pictures on the wall for all they did to impact the unfolding drama—that doesn’t fly in fiction. What characters could I create, that could better drive the narrative?

For the novel, I placed in the same room Ronnie, the wife whose self-actualization will cause her to leave her husband; her mother, with an unresolved past as concerns both suicide and elusive love; and a mother-in-law who judged worth through monetary value. I did this to show that the three women closest to Jeff didn’t really know him at all. They hadn’t seen the threat of suicide coming, and yet they were left behind to clean up the mess. Each of them also kept shameful secrets that blow up from the standoff’s tensions, exploring the very real phenomena of blame after a suicide.

Once I changed who Ronnie was with, I changed Ronnie, too, as she interacts with these characters. My sub-genre is called “psychological women’s fiction” and I pay close attention to the development of these relationship arcs.

Q: Do you have a favorite character or scene in either your novels? Could you tell us about it?

Kathryn: I still miss Marty Kandelbaum, the baker, whose car and doughnuts helped save Penelope Sparrow’s life. He believes in comfort food, love, and the unconditional support of and responsibility for people God has placed in his path, even when that becomes exceedingly difficult. His unexpected wisdom delighted me.

As for favorite scene, it has to be the dance that Penelope choreographs for her friend Angela in THE ART OF FALLING. In that one scene, I had to tap my experience as a dancer, choreographer, and dance critic.

Q: You spend a great deal of time giving back to the writing and reading communities. Why is this so important to you?

Kathryn: Because I believe:

The arts are crucial to our humanity.

Without volunteerism in the arts, the world would stop spinning and we’d all fly off.

If you want to live forever, mentor someone. They will never forget you.

Writers may write on their own, but they cannot be published, well, all on their own.

There is no better way to network (find critique partners, meet agents and editors, find published authors who might one day blurb your book) than to roll up your sleeves and volunteer.

So, I do!

Q: I understand you are working on a third novel. Can you tell us more about it and when we can expect to see it one the shelves?

Kathryn: I am not writing this one under contract, so I have no publication date, nor do I know if it will ever get published. (Ah, the vagaries of the writing life!) I do love it though and have been writing it for four years.

In the end, we all must write to please ourselves. Otherwise, writing novels is just too hard to be sustainable.

In its broadest sense, this next one is a story of a woman who seeks to reclaim her true nature after trauma, set within Nature’s own violent reclamation during a Northeastern ice storm. It is a love story grounded in place and belonging, in which trees play major characters.

What's up with my books?

Creativity has not come easily during this pandemic. I had counted on having six hours to myself on school days, time I could split between my part-time job and writing. That hasn't happened.

My twins are thirteen and are fairly self-sufficient. Still, they need me when they are learning at home. I keep them on track and I keep them fed. I help them navigate confusion, uncertainly and misunderstandings with their teachers and their assignments. I make sure they move throughout the day, and actually shower and dress. I find I have just enough time for my part-time job and that I reserve errands for days when they are physically in school.

My writing time has taken a huge hit.

Still, I have passed the halfway point with the third novel in the Lisa Jamison series and I expect to finish it before Christmas. My mind is swarming with thoughts of another historical crime novel set in the Adirondacks, where I grew up. My editor has started working on my debut novel, A Dead Man's Eyes. She will toss it back into my hands for revisions in just over two weeks.

I think I am not writing, but I am.

Somehow, creativity always fights its way to the surface and I write.

What's up at home?

As our house was nearing completion more than seven years ago, I told my husband I would paint the exterior doors myself. I still needed to decide on the colors. I didn't want to rush the decision just so the contractor could do it.

I definitely did not rush.

I will paint the final door (There are six, in my defense, and two of those are French doors.) this week in the earthy hues of Adirondack green, brown and red. I will have spent more time avoiding door paint than I spent writing my first novel.

Otherwise, life is moving fast in our household. The twins will wrap up cross-country season this week and our daughter will complete the fall semester at NC State before Thanksgiving. Our oldest will come home from Penn State for the holiday, but he will return to his apartment for more classes and finals.

My husband relies on a kerosene heater to keep him warm in his tree house/office these days, but he is determined to work in the midst of nature as long as possible. Someday, he might have to return to his windowless office 40 minutes away. He wants to enjoy the opportunity to choose his work environment as long as possible.

This year has flown by. Sometimes, I wish I could slow it down, but I always get excited to see what is next. When you hear from me again, our Christmas tree will be up because I am one of those people. We select and decorate our tree Thanksgiving weekend because I crave that coziness. Best of wishes from our family to yours in the month ahead.