I first “met” Kathleen about a year or so ago on Twitter. Besides being one of my favorite authors (yes, Kathleen, you have made it on my polite stalking list!) she’s one of my favorite all around people. So I’m tickled pink to have her on the blog today for a little Q&A. And make sure to pop back in tomorrow for what is sure to be an incohesive and babbling review of Kathleen’s debut novel, Hemlock. (So much LOVE for this book. SO. MUCH.)
Lavender Lines: Heya! Thanks so much for popping by the blog and chatting. I promise I won’t make the questions too intrusive. 
Kathleen: No problem! I… hey… wait a sec… why do you want my social insurance number? Who told you I had mono when I was in college? WHERE DID QUESTION NUMBER SEVEN COME FROM?! Number ten is just… inappropriate. The truth? YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
*ahem*
LL: How close did the finished version of Hemlock look to what you had envisioned when you set out to write it?
K: There were some fairly substantial changes. Hemlock was, quite literally, my first book, and there was a huge learning curve and more than one revision. Some plotlines, characters, and settings from my original draft were moved to book two and the characters were all aged down a year (the original story took place the summer/fall after graduation).
LL: Writing or editing: which do you find harder?
K: Option C: Plotting. Followed by Option D: Pacing (which probably comes under editing).
LL: Coffee or tea?
K: Neither. Roll up the Rim won’t ensnare me!
LL: What books are currently on your nightstand?
K: Right now? I was trying to read Paradise Lost by John Milton (one of my New Year’s resolutions), but I got distracted by revisions. 
The last two books I read were The Guardians by Andrew Pyper (which was deliciously creepy) and Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (which was even more amazing than the pre-ARC/edited version I had read). Some books in my TBR pile/on my Kobo are: Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst, Slatwater Vampires by Kirsty Eagar, and Bossypants by Tina Fey. I’ve also got an audio book of The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu on my iPod.
LL: So, I found Hemlock totally, absolutely squee-worthy. What’s the last squee-worthy book you read?
K: Awww. *blush*
Since it was a re-read, it’s probably cheating for me to say Incarnate, right? Incarnate out of the equation, I’d say Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I finally got around to reading it a few months ago, and it totally swept me off my feet and enchanted me.
LL: Merci Kathleen, for answering these hard-hitting questions.
K: Bienvenue!
awesome interview!!! I can’t wait to read Hemlock!!!!
Thanks! My gushing review of Hemlock goes up tomorrow.
I love how both of your personalities come through in this interview. So excited for Hemlock!!
It’s SO AWESOME! I’ll be posting my review tomorrow.
Roll up the Rim has ensnared many people – don’t give in!!
True story: My dad has a quintuple by-pass a few years ago. After the surgery he experienced what is known as “pump-head” from being on the by-pass machine so long. He was hallucinating big-time. He kept putting his hands in the air and rubbing his thumbs against his index fingers. After about an hour of this, I asked him what he was doing. “Rolling up the rim! I won a donut!” He did this, among other things, for DAYS.