Ask the Author: Katharine Johnson
Answered Questions (6)
Katharine Johnson
I think it's really hard! I go for a walk and try visualising a scene from a different angle or play out the dialogue in my head. I also ask myself lots of what-if questions
Katharine Johnson
For me it's the alchemy of taking random thoughts and words and seeing them come together to create a world which you can inhabit for a while.
Katharine Johnson
I feel I still am one but from my experience so far I'd say just get on and write. Don't worry about it being perfect until you get to the end. Then you can go back over it, identify the weak spots and put them right but as the experts always say, you can't edit a blank page.
Katharine Johnson
I'm working on another story about Villa Leonida, the same villa that is in The Silence but this time it's a different secret. I like the idea that old houses are multi-layered and hold secrets from different generations. Although this story goes back to wartime there is a connection with an event in The Silence but I'd better not say any more!
Katharine Johnson
I'm inspired by things I read in the papers, conversations I have with strangers, things I overhear people talking about... I love what-if situations when you hear about something happening one way and wonder what would have been the outcome if someone had taken a different decision or circumstances had been different etc.
Katharine Johnson
The idea for The Silence stems from my fascination with old houses and the stories they hold, combined with my passion for Tuscany. I have visited and written about so many amazing houses in my job as a home-interest journalist but don't often get the chance to put the stories I hear into print. I fell in love with Italy many years ago as a backpacker and lived in Venice and Florence before travelling around the country. We bought a house in the Lucca province and I was intrigued when locals said they knew the house but didn't seem to recall any details about its former owners. I'm sure this is because there was nothing interesting to say about it but it started me thinking about the idea of a story about a Tuscan villa with a secret past.
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