Ask the Author: Kate Betterton
Answered Questions (5)
Kate Betterton
Read read read. Write write write. Read books on craft. Join a writers' group and get feedback. Give feedback, kindly but to the point. Revise revise revise. Trust your muse. The book will tell you what it wants to be.
Kate Betterton
Third novel, takes place in Italy.
Kate Betterton
I trust the process, knowing the inner creative spirit is at work, and the delay is all a part of her plan.
Kate Betterton
The Girl in the Spider's Web
Kate Betterton
ABOUT THE BOOK
I lived in the rugged and beautiful Pacific Northwest for many years, and remain haunted by it. The chapters in THE ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SURVIVAL are so short because most of them were written during lunch breaks from my former job working at a mental health agency in Raleigh, NC. The gracious wait staff at a Southwestern restaurant on Glenwood Avenue used to set a tall glass of iced tea—gratis—on the counter for me as soon as I stepped through the door. They indulged my tying up a table for the next hour writing nonstop, barely aware of my surroundings, head in the clouds of the Pacific Northwest as I followed Billy, and Walt and Eleanor, Jamie, and Angela and Max, on their adventures.
The inspiration for the novel came from my years of living in the rugged, rainy and beautiful Northwest, exploring its mountains, hidden lakes, and salty beaches. A couple of stories in the news during those years, briefly noticed in passing, took root in my subconscious and worked their way into essential elements of this tale. One concerned a series of break-ins at some remote cabins, another told of mysterious bagpipes, heard high in the mountains, that led a lost hiker to safety.
Working at several Seattle homeless shelters acquainted me with the wreckage that poverty and a dearth of good breaks creates for thousands of fine, endearing, smart, hardworking and talented individuals whose stories of hardship easily could be yours or mine, if we hadn’t had families, friends or mentors who loved us and cared enough to nurture our dreams.
Years spent doing couples counseling in private practice deepened my understanding of the complexities and quandaries of relationship, made exponentially more difficult when important information is withheld from one’s partner, to protect them or ourselves from truths we fear to share.
This novel took the form of a quirky metaphysical romance. It is ultimately about the power of love to arrive in unexpected guises, and break through barriers that seem impossible to overcome.
I lived in the rugged and beautiful Pacific Northwest for many years, and remain haunted by it. The chapters in THE ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SURVIVAL are so short because most of them were written during lunch breaks from my former job working at a mental health agency in Raleigh, NC. The gracious wait staff at a Southwestern restaurant on Glenwood Avenue used to set a tall glass of iced tea—gratis—on the counter for me as soon as I stepped through the door. They indulged my tying up a table for the next hour writing nonstop, barely aware of my surroundings, head in the clouds of the Pacific Northwest as I followed Billy, and Walt and Eleanor, Jamie, and Angela and Max, on their adventures.
The inspiration for the novel came from my years of living in the rugged, rainy and beautiful Northwest, exploring its mountains, hidden lakes, and salty beaches. A couple of stories in the news during those years, briefly noticed in passing, took root in my subconscious and worked their way into essential elements of this tale. One concerned a series of break-ins at some remote cabins, another told of mysterious bagpipes, heard high in the mountains, that led a lost hiker to safety.
Working at several Seattle homeless shelters acquainted me with the wreckage that poverty and a dearth of good breaks creates for thousands of fine, endearing, smart, hardworking and talented individuals whose stories of hardship easily could be yours or mine, if we hadn’t had families, friends or mentors who loved us and cared enough to nurture our dreams.
Years spent doing couples counseling in private practice deepened my understanding of the complexities and quandaries of relationship, made exponentially more difficult when important information is withheld from one’s partner, to protect them or ourselves from truths we fear to share.
This novel took the form of a quirky metaphysical romance. It is ultimately about the power of love to arrive in unexpected guises, and break through barriers that seem impossible to overcome.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more