Can you give us a sneak peek at Underground, the third Greywalker book?
Kat Richardson: An unusual cold snap has brought freezing temperatures, snow, and death to Seattle. Pioneer Square's homeless are turning up dead and mutilated in icy alleys and zombies have been seen roaming the streets of the city that lies buried beneath modern Seattle. When Harper's friend Quinton believes he may be implicated in the deaths, he persuades Harper to investigate their mysterious cause, which takes the Greywalker and her friends into the depths of the city's past.
And zombies aren't the only monsters involved; some great local Native American lore and legend comes into play as well. I really had fun with this one.
What’s excites you about the Urban Fantasy right now?
Kat Richardson: That the field is still growing and defining itself—hasn't become static. I'm really pleased to see more men entering the niche—guys like Mark Henry, Mario Acevedo, and Rob Thurman—and a small but growing body of harder-boiled books that are broadening the appeal of the niche to men and to readers of “harder” genre fiction. I think we're becoming more recognized and accepted for original, solid writing, not just as a trendy flash in the pan, a bunch of Hamilton imitators, or Buffy rip-offs.
You’ve just finished a book tour—any interesting experiences?
Kat Richardson: Aside from the sleep deprivation? I got to be a ghost in my hotel, in a manner of speaking. Through an odd quirk, I was never actually checked in at one of my hotels, even though I was given a key and had a room full of luggage. According to the record, I never arrived and was never there. I'll bet I'm the first ghost ever to be frustrated by an inability to charge breakfast to the room.
What do you always have in your fridge?
Kat Richardson: Lemon juice for making the tap water palatable. My fridge is tiny so nothing stays in it very long a bottle of lemon juice is like a bad house guest: it never seems to go away.
Tell us something about Kat Richardson no one else knows...
Kat Richardson: If I told you, I'd have to kill you.... ;)
(Actually, I'm just dead boring--there's nothing to tell--but that doesn't sound as interesting as the old CIA routine, does it?)
What are you currently working on?
Kat Richardson: I just finished revisions on the Harper novella, which will be coming out in January in the anthology Mean Streets, and I'm already at work on the next novel.
So the fourth Greywalker book is already being written?
Kat Richardson: My current contracts call for three more Greywalker novels, bringing the total to six. For now. In fact Book 4 (currently untitled) is what I'm working on this minute. That's not due until more than a month after the release of Underground, but the tour schedule and the fact that I'm not a fast writer mean I'll be working on it even while I'm on tour with Underground and for a little while afterward.
What is the best advice anyone has ever given you about the publishing industry?
Kat Richardson: William Dietz said "Don't rely on it." So far, I've been luckier than most first-time novelists in that my book's been a big success, but I always have something else in the hopper and backup plans for when I cease to be the flavour of the month.
What do you hope will readers take away from your writing?
Kat Richardson: I hope my books will help break down barriers between genres and introduce readers to a broader field of choice. I also hope they'll find a new tidbit or two of information and look at the ordinary world around them as a source of wonder—a place where something new or strange might be lurking around a corner or just under their nose.
Read more in another interview about Kat Richardson's inspirations and pursuing fiction writing.
 |
