Kitty Johnson's Blog - Posts Tagged "kitty-johnson"
Happy Birthday, Prickly!
Last week marked one year since my novel PRICKLY COMPANY was published. The time seems to have flashed past since I wrote this story about a community trying to make life easier for local hedgehogs and dealing with the dramas that take place as a result!
When I set out to write Prickly, I’d just read Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. I loved that story for so many reasons, but one thing I found really inspiring was the way that Shaker Heights, the setting for the book, was almost seen from above at times - as if the people and events were like ants, and then we zoomed in closer and they became people. Shaker Heights and all it stood for was like a character in itself.
I decided I wanted to do something similar with PRICKLY COMPANY; that I would show the reader the community in its entirety - people, hedgehogs and all - and then swoop down into - mainly human- viewpoints. As I wrote the novel, the occasional hedgehog perspective crept in too. I wanted these perspectives to be many things - sometimes amusing and entertaining, occasionally sad and moving, but also educational. I had things to say about how hedgehogs live and how human habits affect them, and I wanted to tell the reader about these things in a way that was part of the story.
I had a lot to say about people too, and the way that, all too often, we keep our pain and struggles hidden from each other when, possibly, if we were more open, we might get help and understanding from the most unexpected sources.
It was a lot of fun to write.
So, Happy Birthday, Prickly!
When I set out to write Prickly, I’d just read Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. I loved that story for so many reasons, but one thing I found really inspiring was the way that Shaker Heights, the setting for the book, was almost seen from above at times - as if the people and events were like ants, and then we zoomed in closer and they became people. Shaker Heights and all it stood for was like a character in itself.
I decided I wanted to do something similar with PRICKLY COMPANY; that I would show the reader the community in its entirety - people, hedgehogs and all - and then swoop down into - mainly human- viewpoints. As I wrote the novel, the occasional hedgehog perspective crept in too. I wanted these perspectives to be many things - sometimes amusing and entertaining, occasionally sad and moving, but also educational. I had things to say about how hedgehogs live and how human habits affect them, and I wanted to tell the reader about these things in a way that was part of the story.
I had a lot to say about people too, and the way that, all too often, we keep our pain and struggles hidden from each other when, possibly, if we were more open, we might get help and understanding from the most unexpected sources.
It was a lot of fun to write.
So, Happy Birthday, Prickly!
A Little Bit of Magic
A little bit of magic has been creeping into my writing lately. I’m not talking about what goes on in my notebook, although I have to admit, that does sometimes feel like magic. Not all the time - my notebooks are full of crossings out and arrows to add extra text or to make changes - I challenge anyone to make sense of them! But sometimes, when I come to type up my early morning scrawlings, I’m thrilled by what I’ve written after my first cup of coffee. However, as I say, in this case, I’m not talking about that kind of magic.
Where The Sea Lavender Grows, my next novel, due to be published on April 28th 2026 (which incidentally happens to be my birthday), includes the unseen ghost/spirit/soul/ essence of a long-dead artist who communicates with an artist working to restore a house. Shades of Green and Time, the novel I’ve recently been working on, includes time travel. And the novel I’ve just started…well, it’s a bit too early to tell you about that, but if I tell you it’s a bit like The Midnight Library, that will give you an idea.
Those of you who’ve discovered me in the last few years might think all this is a bit of a change. But those who’ve read my earlier writing will know that I’ve included magical elements in my books before. Jade Gate, the workshop leader in The Goddess Workshop has a bit of magic about her; she’s certainly mysterious and other worldly even as she encourages women to be their best confident and sensual selves. And Nessa in Perfect Responses, well she’s an angel, or my version of an angel anyway.
In Perfect Responses, Corrine Walker, a self-help author, is dead but she’s currently in limbo and can’t move on to heaven. Why? Because having preached to women that neutral responses to events - no matter how painful or trying - lead to a better life, Corrine proceeded to tear up her own rule book when her husband cheated on her, resorting to gratifying, but now frowned-upon acts of revenge. She’ll remain in purgatory until an angel - Nessa - can prove that at least three women down on Earth have benefitted from her teachings. But Nessa has her work cut out, because the three chosen women have big problems. Janet’s just been abandoned by her fiance before their beach wedding in Africa, Debbie’s having a hopeless affair with her married boss, and Kate’s just married the love of her life only for him to become an uncommunicative stranger overnight. Can straight-talking Nessa make the most of Corrine’s theories to help the women become the best versions of themselves before it’s too late?
Perfect Responses and The Goddess Workshop are both available to buy now. Why not give one of them a try?
Where The Sea Lavender Grows, my next novel, due to be published on April 28th 2026 (which incidentally happens to be my birthday), includes the unseen ghost/spirit/soul/ essence of a long-dead artist who communicates with an artist working to restore a house. Shades of Green and Time, the novel I’ve recently been working on, includes time travel. And the novel I’ve just started…well, it’s a bit too early to tell you about that, but if I tell you it’s a bit like The Midnight Library, that will give you an idea.
Those of you who’ve discovered me in the last few years might think all this is a bit of a change. But those who’ve read my earlier writing will know that I’ve included magical elements in my books before. Jade Gate, the workshop leader in The Goddess Workshop has a bit of magic about her; she’s certainly mysterious and other worldly even as she encourages women to be their best confident and sensual selves. And Nessa in Perfect Responses, well she’s an angel, or my version of an angel anyway.
In Perfect Responses, Corrine Walker, a self-help author, is dead but she’s currently in limbo and can’t move on to heaven. Why? Because having preached to women that neutral responses to events - no matter how painful or trying - lead to a better life, Corrine proceeded to tear up her own rule book when her husband cheated on her, resorting to gratifying, but now frowned-upon acts of revenge. She’ll remain in purgatory until an angel - Nessa - can prove that at least three women down on Earth have benefitted from her teachings. But Nessa has her work cut out, because the three chosen women have big problems. Janet’s just been abandoned by her fiance before their beach wedding in Africa, Debbie’s having a hopeless affair with her married boss, and Kate’s just married the love of her life only for him to become an uncommunicative stranger overnight. Can straight-talking Nessa make the most of Corrine’s theories to help the women become the best versions of themselves before it’s too late?
Perfect Responses and The Goddess Workshop are both available to buy now. Why not give one of them a try?
