The first books that were read to me include Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland, as well as Dare Wright’s Lonely Doll books, and the works of Beatrix Potter. When I began reading on my own, my early favorites were the books of Beverly Cleary. That was when I first understood that books had authors. I was seven years old, and I was determined to be one when I grew up.
My all-time favorite book was Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, followed closely by Frances Hodgeson Burnett’s A Little Princess. I spent a lot of time in the world of E. Nesbitt, as well. I think, though, that the Hundred-Acre Wood of Winnie the Pooh has remained my dearest childhood home.
As a teen I read an eclectic assortment of classics, contemporary, historical and fantasy fiction, as well as some non-fiction. I read Shakespeare, Hardy, Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Twain, Steinbeck, Dickens and C.S. Lewis—much of it for school, but a fair amount on my own. Favorite contemporary authors at that time were Lois Duncan, Ruth M. Arthur and Joan Aiken.
I loved books with a magical or supernatural element and was fascinated by time travel. Norma Fox Mazer’s Saturday, the Twelfth of October stuck with me for years. I also loved nonfiction stories of great courage, and of rescue: both Anne Frank and Corrie Ten Boom made an enormous impression on me, as did Richard D’Ambrosio’s No Language But a Cry.
Would you say your childhood and teenage reading has had a distinct influence on how you write fiction now, and why?
Both my childhood and my teenage reading influenced how I write. By reading constantly, I learned the sounds and rhythms of good writing. I learned how dialogue works. And I learned to always put a little bit of magic and mystery into my work. In fact, without that the work doesn’t hook me. A book has to have an infusion of the otherworldly to keep me engaged—and it is the otherworldly that engages me in writing a book.
What did you do before you became a published novelist, and how did you come to write your first novel and get it published?
I was, and still remain a teacher. I have taught almost every age group from preschool to adult. I’ve taught French, English, music, drama, and elementary school. Currently, I teach novel writing to teens and direct a teen acting/writing community known as TEENWrite.
Over the last twenty years I’ve written dozens of stories for children’s magazines and anthologies, have written poetry and fiction for literary journals and a couple of books for young children. During most of that time I was working on one teen novel or another. But my writing had to help pay the bills, and a novel was a longterm project, so it always got back-burnered. We have a vibrant writing community in the Pacific Northwest, so I’ve had the privilege of honing my craft among many accomplished authors. We cheer each other on and introduce each other to editors and agents. So when I finally finished a YA novel that I really loved, my friends helped point me to the people in publishing who were most likely to love it, too.
How would you describe your style of fiction or your approach to writing fiction?
My watchword is “authenticity.” I try to sink into my character and allow him or her to speak through me. I want to both be able to feel what my character feels, and write a voice that is authentic to the character’s age and time period.
Is your first published novel standalone or part of a series, and what advantages or disadvantages does this present for you?
It is a standalone, though I have considered a sequel. This one came to me as a standalone, so I didn’t really think through advantages and disadvantages. A series does give an author the opportunity to build readership for particular characters and worlds, but a standalone allows the author to tell the whole story that wants to be told in one go—and this can be very satisfying.
Have you found writing your second novel easier or more challenging than writing your first novel and why?
Whenever I start a new project and moan that it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, my husband reminds me that I say this with each and every project. During the writing of The Summer of No Regrets, I finally learned how to structure and finish a novel, a skill which, up to that point, had eluded me. My current work-in-progress is a time travel urban fantasy novel in verse. It involves quite a lot of historical research, which is daunting, but the most difficult parts have been the autobiographical aspects of the book, which come from a very painful time in my own adolescence. So this one is more difficult emotionally to write.
Who is another novelist whose fiction writing you admire and why?
I love the work of Janet Lee Carey for its rich use of language and multilayered stories. Her fantasies have a classic feel to them, while being accessible to the modern reader. They go deep thematically and, while the characters face grave difficulties, the stories always end on a note of hope.
How would you summarise your debut novel in one paragraph?
The Summer of No Regrets (Sourcebooks, 2012)
After losing the one person who really knew her, 16-year-old Brigitta searches for Ultimate Truth, in the form of a religion. What she doesn’t count on is an idol. But the boy she saves from a mountain lion is a dead ringer for egotistical teen heartthrob Trent Yves. Has her secret Hollywood obsession taken over her brain? Or is there something “Luke Geoffrey” isn’t telling her?
How would you describe the appeal of this novel to readers?
I think many of us harbor a secret fascination with celebrity. At the same time, we yearn for something more profound—to have someone who understands us at a deep level, and perhaps to have the Universe understand us. The juxtaposition of Hollywood glitz with a search for meaning seems to touch on both what we may think we long for, and what we really do long for.
How would you summarise a chapter from your debut novel in one paragraph?
Brigitta, who has spent the night in her treehouse, sees that Luke has wandered onto her property. Because her first encounter with him was utterly humiliating, she hopes he’ll leave before he spots her, but suddenly a cougar emerges from the woods and threatens him. Without thinking, Brigitta clambers down the tree and rushes the cat, but the animal remains undeterred. Brigitta and Luke fight to keep the cougar at bay using rocks and branches, while it continues to advance on them, never breaking eye contact with Luke until, just as suddenly as it appeared, it turns and goes back into the woods. Both Luke and Brigitta are shaking uncontrollably, and he pulls her into his arms and holds her until the fear drains out of both of them.
How would you describe the contribution this chapter makes to the novel?
I’m afraid I am an incurable romantic and this is one of my very favorite scenes. The two have just met, yet they are at their most vulnerable—at a moment of life and death. The unusualness of their situation allows for a moment of spontaneous intimacy that sets the tone for one of the big questions of the book: What is it to be truly known?
Author website: www.KatherineGraceBond.com
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