Sheep Interview: Kat Richardson + Give Away

play Kat's theme music while reading the intro!
Hark.com

Today we have urban fantasy author Kat Richardson visiting. Her Greywalker series is classic urban fantasy and one of my favorites. They can also be described as paranormal mysteries. The first book, Greywalker,  introduces us to P.I. Harper Blaine. After a vicious attack she dies for 2 minutes and can now see into the Grey, a realm of ghosts, vampires, witches, and magic that exists between our world and the next. Problem is they can see her too and now she finds herself solving supernatural cases. Kat's vivid description of magic and the Grey bring her books to life and set her novels at the top of the genre. Book 7 Seawitch is set to release Aug 7, 2012

image from: http://www.larissaslife.com

Sharon: Hello Kat, um…your shoes look…chewed and slimy? *hands Kat a pair of sheep slippers* Grab a moon pie and some Kool Aid.

Kat: Mmm... sheepy slippers. Thank you. Alas, we have a dog who will chew almost anything into flinders. You know: toys, furniture, hardcover books... 2x4s....

Sharon: Would you tell our readers who aren’t familiar with you or your fantastic urban fantasy Greywalker series a little about it?
Kat: Oh boy! More self-promotion! Yup. Greywalker is essentially a paranormal detective series about a mostly-normal human PI who works for ghosts and monsters. More of a Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett vibe than it is Twilight with a detective. No vampire shagging going on here. Actually... not a lot of shagging at all, really unless it's necessary to the plot. Because I hate writing sex scenes.

Sharon: which scenes DO you enjoy writing the most?

Kat: The creepy ones. And the witty ones. And I'm pretty good at fight scenes. But the best scenes are the ones where I get to dig around in a place that actually exists—or did exist—and make it... magical! That's way cool. Oo! And pirates! Yes!

Katie: To date what's been the funniest thing you've done so far as an author?

Kat: I think the funniest thing was actually caused by a microphone. Back when Labyrinth—the fifth book—came out I was giving my first public reading of the book and the store had set up a brand new microphone on a floor stand and it was adjusted for the host who was a lot taller than I am. When he lowered it to my height, it was leaning downward and something wasn't quite tight, so the mic started to sink... sloooowly... sinking... and I started bending down... reading until I could bend any further. So I stopped and watched it flopping lower and lower and said, “Anybody out there have some Viagra for this poor thing?” Took a couple of tries to get that mic back in place—I think it was shy.

Or maybe it was the combat candy canes.... I was teaching a Fantasy-writing class and I wanted the students to get a feel for the difficulties of writing magical combat or conflict. So I had them all stand up and face each other as if they were their characters and then do whatever their characters would do in a confrontation situation by brandishing a candy cane to indicate their action. It was hilarious, students running all over the place, candy canes flying through the air, characters “dying” dramatically on the floor.... I think we may have pulled some muscles laughing our asses off.

Sharon: The 7th Greywalker book, Seawitch, is coming out August 7. What is a Seawitch?

Katie: Does this happen to involve Ariel and a nasty octopus looking lady?

Kat: Hahaha! No octopussy ladies here! Although there are some things with tentacles and some mermaids.  None of them are named Ariel, however. The Seawitch of the story is actually two things: there's a boat named the Seawitch on which some horrible things have happened, and there's a... well a sea witch—she's a witch who lives in the sea and she's Very Not Nice. Also kind of creepy.

Sharon: poor Harper…does she ever catch a break?

Kat: Once in a while... she did finally meet the love of her life, after all....

Katie: Was I the only one who caught that Kat just said "Octopussy"? Baaahahahaha!

Kat: Did I mention I'm also a James Bond fan...?

Sharon: One of the elements of an urban fantasy is the journey/growth of the main character over the course of the series. How has Harper changed since the first book Greywalker? Do you see an end to her story?

Kat: Oh I think Harper's changed a lot since the first book and, hopefully, in good ways. She was kind of resistant to things and whiny and angry about a lot of things, very insecure and sometimes defensive about how she looked and how people perceived her. She's more accepting now, of herself, her family, her job... and she never whines. She's learning how to deal with things she always avoided before, how to be a friend, how to manage her life without running from it. And she's no longer so thin she disappears when she turns sideways. And there's definitely an end, but I'm not saying what it is or when you'll get it, although I do plan to take a break after book 9 to generate some new ideas for her.

Sharon: Does that mean you will be working on something else for a while or will you be taking a break from writing all together?

Kat: I've got some other projects on the creative burner. I doubt I'll ever stop writing, even if I had to stop doing it for a living. But there are still two more Greywalker novels under contract, so it'll be a little while before the “new” stuff shows up.

Sharon: You have created a very unique place called The Grey. It is more like a character than a setting. What thought process did you use to come up with it (does that questions make sense <G>?)

Pioneer Square in Portland, WA

Kat: Yes it does.  And I wanted the city and its ghostly counterpart to be more than just a setting. To be honest, I always had a loose idea about this non-place where ghosts hung out—kind of like a bar in a fog bank where they'd be kicking back, drinking zombies and spirits of ammonia—but I didn't put it together until I was on a Pioneer Square bus in the fog. I'd been reading a lot about particle and quantum physics and metaphysics at the time and I was sort of messing around with ideas about energy states and I thought “what if you just can't see ghosts because their energy state is too high/fast for your crummy human senses to perceive?” And passing through the fog, I could see people moving around, but they were just shapes with feet (one of the oddities  of fog in Pioneer Square is that it doesn't always touch the ground.) The neon signs and street lamps made strange glows and streaks of color on the mist and I thought “that's what it's like in there—in the Grey—like fog and light.” And it reflects all the  things you believe back to you, even the things you don't want to admit you believe in. And that's where the Grey came from.

Sharon: O_o…wow, that is cool and spooky. The way you write about the Grey is one of the reasons I enjoy your books so much. I can see, hear and feel it.

Kat: Oh my... see Kat blush.... Thank you.

Sharon: During the zombie apocalypse, which fictional character would you like to have at your back?

Kat: Iron Man! 'Cause he's got the best toys and we could hide out in his houses and snipe the zombies from Stark Tower with arclight weapons! And drink whiskey. Mwahahahahaha....

Sharon: I’m hanging with you then! Watch this….Mwahahahaha…see, I can do crazy <G>

Kat: Yay! Everyone should have partners in crazy!

Sharon: If every time you entered a room a theme song/music would play, what would yours be?

Kat: Not sure... umm... “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring? Or maybe “DanseMacabre” by Saint-Saens. I'd settle for the bass riff from “Peter Gunn”.....

Katie: If I opened your fridge what would I find? Hey, don't look at me like that! I am hungry.

Kat: Right now? Five-year old condiments, milk, honey-flavored Greek yogurt, fruit,  carrots, cheese, salami, leftover pizza, and hard cider. Oh, and Cheeze Whiz, but that's for the dog. I think there's some blood orange sorbet in the freezer. I like the mango better but I'm out of it. And skull-and-crossbones ice cubes.

Sharon: *grabs pizza* Katie you get the yogurt :P

Katie: Forget that! I'm all over the sorbet!

Kat: Next time, remind me to go vegetarian.... And what do you mean “all over the sorbet”? Usually it's the sorbet that ends up all over... umm... maybe I shouldn't say that....

We interrupt this interview to talk privately with Kat about…sorbet, boats and pirates.

*Katie and Sharon throw moon pies at audience*

We now return you to our regularly scheduled interview…

Sharon:  What is it like to live on a boat and why do you?

Kat: Wet. My husband and I like to own our stuff and we could afford a boat, but not a house, so we bought one and then we kind of liked it, so we've been living on boats for... umm... 14 or 15 years now. It's a bit like camping sometimes—decks leak in the rain, the heater cuts out sometimes, there's not enough hot water for a shower, so you have to hike to the marina showers—but if we don't like our neighbors, we can take our home and leave. Also I sailed a bit in college and I really love the water—and how else could we afford to live in an exclusive, waterfront, gated community on a writer's income?

Sharon: Good point <G> Do you have trouble sleeping in a bed on land? You know, do you miss the gentle rocking of the boat?

Katie: And have you found any pirates? Yo ho yo ho!! Errr!!!

*Sharon wonders why we mention pirates so often...*

Kat: It does take a few days for me to get used to beds that don't move. I guess I'll have to spend more time in California or on the top floors of very tall hotels. And pirates? Of course I've found pirates! Mostly they just steal my books, though. Drat them! Avast, ye scurvy book-pirating lubbers! (At least write a nice review if you're going to snatch the book off teh Intarwebz!)

Sharon: What is something you are proud of? Something you regret?

Kat: I'm proud of the books—it was hard to stop making excuses and start submitting and I try to challenge myself to do something better and different with each new one. I think I mostly succeed. But I'm also really proud of my siblings: my sister just finished her Master's Degree and my brother is getting married this year. He's a really cool guy—he makes wine and has a degree in American Prose and Poetry. Regret...? I regret not getting off my ass sooner with the books, but... well, things would be what they are if that had happened, so it's not worth a lot of regretting on that account.

Katie: Who's your favorite vampire from either books or movies?

Kat: Dracula as portrayed by Frank Langella in the 1979 film version. Oh my... so sexy and yet... he's a monster. Oh Frank, you naughty wicked old thing, you! (Of course I'm also very fond of my own vampires, Carlos and Cameron, but that would be tooting my own horn too much, yes?)

Sharon: we encourage tooting…I like Carlos too. But your vamps smell funny.

Kat: Well, they are dead....

Sharon: what is your latest obsession?

Kat: Paper automata. I've gotten very silly about making little mechanical things out of paper and card. I spend way too much time at robives.com. Someday I want to create a paper critter of my own. Maybe a frog.... or a vampire that rises from its coffin! I currently have a nodding sheep and a flapping butterfly hanging out in the boat.

Sharon: a nodding sheep….BAM! 10 coolness points for you!

Kat: You, too, can have an agreeable sheep! (http://robives.com/blog/asheep) Super-cute, yes?

Rapid Fire

Sharon: Wrath or lust?

Kat: Lust—what fun is wrath in the long run?

Katie: *high fives Kat*

Katie: Cotton or Silk?

Kat: Silk (duh!)

Sharon: cucumbers or zucchini?

Kat: Ewwww!

Sharon: lol, I got to agree with you on that.

Katie: Punch or Slap?

Kat: Punch—though I think Judy might object.

Sharon: ghost or ghoul?

Kat: Ghost. Ghouls stink.

Sharon: what do they smell like?

Kat: Grave dust, rot, and political commentary.

Katie: Coke or Pepsi?

Kat: Coke (Coke Zero, even.)

Sharon: *takes back coolness points and pouts*

Katie: YES! I'll do my fist pumping in silence since Coke is far and wide the leader in this on going war.

Kat: Awwww... but my dad was from Oklahoma. You can't make jokes about Okie Coke without the Coke.... “Okie Pepsi” just isn't the same.

Sharon: basket of T-Rexes or basket of flying squirrels? 

Kat: T-rex! Yay!

Katie: Petting a shark or Petting a lion?

Kat: Lion—sharks are too sharp.

Sharon: spelunking or deep sea diving?

Kat: *shudder* Can't we have a picnic instead? Oh, deep sea diving, I guess. Maybe we'll find treasure!

Sharon: Yay! Let’s go looking for booty! ;)

Katie: Yo ho yo ho!

Sharon: Ghost of Christmas Past or Ghost of Christmas Future?

Kat: Christmas Past—he had all the food and wine.

Sharon: I see you are a practical woman.

Sharon: Is there anything you would tell us? Future blog stops, signings, where you buried the treasure?

Kat: Treasure? I thought you had the treasure.... I didn't tour last year, so I'm trying to make up for it a bit this year. I am going to be at a bunch of conventions this summer: Westercon July 5-8

San Diego Comic Con July 12-15

WorldCon in Chicago over Labor Day weekend

World Fantasy convention in Toronto the first weekend of November.

My publicist and I are arranging some signings for this year, but those details are still changing and you'll have to look at my calendar (http://katrich.wordpress.com/calendar/) or website (http://katrichardson.com/?page_id=3) to get the latest news on that front.

Kat Richardson

website-Greywalker website-twitter-FB-blog-Google+

Kat is a California native with a degree in Magazine Journalism from California State University, Long Beach. She currently lives in the Seattle area with her husband and a pit bull named Bella aboard an old wooden boat that is haunted by the ghosts of ferrets. She rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and has been known to swing dance, sing, and spend insufficient time at the gym. She finally got her first TV in 2011–yes, she missed Buffy but not Firefly! And, although she no longer lives there, she is an advocate for California Ferret Legalization.

*by the way...I found a little flash animation Kat made on her site...it involves the Pigeon of Death and a Sheep! 

GIVE AWAY

US/INT

Kat is offering two winners their choice of any of her back list, signed (mass market paperback)

1. Greywalker (2006)

2. Poltergeist (2007)

3. Underground (2008)

4. Vanished (2009)

5. Labyrinth (2010)

6. Downpour (2011)

7. Seawitch (2012) (not part of give away)

*Buy links for buying all formats in all countries is available at Kat's Greywalker site

To enter:
1. leave a way to contact you
2. tell us which James Bond actor is your favorite...
*followers get extra point

contest ends July 9th at midnight

pre-order book #7