Ask the Author: Kate Cudahy
Answered Questions (7)
Kate Cudahy
You're welcome - I really should check my dashboard more often. I'm sorry for the belated response.
Kate Cudahy
The idea of Hal, the main character of this book, had been floating around in my head for many years, so I simply wanted to tell her story. She was the starting point and the catalyst for the entire narrative, because I just wondered what would happen if you took such an intractable individual and put her into situations where pretty much the entire world was against her. If nothing else, it's been a lot of fun!
Kate Cudahy
I read a lot - I think that's probably where much of the inspiration comes from. I'm also inspired by people I've met in real life - people with 'off the wall' personalities. And I take a great deal from places I've visited - I was a keen traveller in the past, and I adapt some of the landscapes I've seen in my stories.
Now I live in Poland, which is a wonderful country but, to be honest, quite a homophobic place to live. And I have to keep my writing a secret from my students and colleagues because, without sounding too dramatic about this, I could lose my job if they knew about it. So paradoxically, part of the urge to write comes from the fact that I have to repress certain things about myself.
Now I live in Poland, which is a wonderful country but, to be honest, quite a homophobic place to live. And I have to keep my writing a secret from my students and colleagues because, without sounding too dramatic about this, I could lose my job if they knew about it. So paradoxically, part of the urge to write comes from the fact that I have to repress certain things about myself.
Kate Cudahy
At the moment, I'm finishing 'Hannac' which is the sequel to my first book, 'Hal'. When I've completed that, I'm going right back to the beginning of 'Hal' to edit both stories.
Kate Cudahy
I don't know if I'm the best person to offer advice - I'm not sure that I know what I'm doing when it comes to writing anyway!
However, there is one thing I've learnt which is this: if you've got a story inside you, don't hold it back. No matter how crazy you think it is, get it out there, even if you don't think anyone else will read it.
However, there is one thing I've learnt which is this: if you've got a story inside you, don't hold it back. No matter how crazy you think it is, get it out there, even if you don't think anyone else will read it.
Kate Cudahy
I suppose everybody has their own reasons for writing, but mine is simply that I'm a control freak! There comes a point in your life when you realise you can't control everything around you - the world is a chaotic place and things happen in it which you just can't make sense of. But when you write, you can make everything fit into place. Telling stories has always been one way in which human beings give order to their existence.
Kate Cudahy
Before I started producing fiction, I spent years writing academic texts. That kind of work requires you to be really disciplined, to sit down for several hours every day, to weigh up every word you use and to be incredibly scrupulous. It was difficult, but I think it was great training for fiction - it's not a problem for me to make a regular date with my writing. My only problem is not having enough time to write. That drives me crazy.
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