Cate's come back to visit with me!

Hi Cate,
So great to have you back on my blog! Cate is one of the most generous and prolific writers I have met on this often difficult and lonely world of writing and I try my very best to be as she is, with other writers. Support is key and Cate is great at showing just that. Right, gushing over ;) Let's hear what you're up to at the moment, Cate. Take it away, girlfriend!

Hey Rachel! Thanks so much for having me as a guest at your beautiful blog!


1) Who is your favourite author and why? I can never pick favorites! I love so many. My top five are: Alice Hoffman, TC Boyle, Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon and Neil Gaiman, though there are tons of others I love too. I’m also trying to catch up on many fellow authors’ works.

2) When did you first consider yourself a writer? I don’t know that I ever consciously considered myself a writer. I just knew that I feel like I’m in my element while writing. And seeing my name on the cover was a great feeling. :)

3) Describe your writing space? Messy! But I love it, because when we moved a few years ago, the house had a spare room, so for the first time in my life I have an actual office, complete with desk, printer, bookcase, futon and some cool art posters and photos. Sometimes I take the laptop out on the deck, which is also a great writing space.

4) What are you reading now? I just finished Natasha Mostert’s Season of the Witch and have tucked Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere in my handbag, though haven’t started it yet.

5) How many books have you written? Which is your favourite? I’ve written more than I’ve had published. :) But here’s the rundown of releases: Eternal Press: One Soul for Sale, Picture This, Fever Dreams, Winning (tomorrow – yay!), Follow the Stars Home (Aug. 7); Freya’s Bower: Angels Sinners and Madmen (summer), Wilderness Girl and The Lure of the Vine; Wild Child Publishing: Liberation via Pen; The Wild Rose Press: Seventh Heaven, The Duende and the Muse, Going with Gravity and Design for Life; Whiskey Creek Press: Surfacing (Aug.) and The Bridge Between (fall?); Shadowfire Press: Reflections. A few shorts stories were published in web zines or lit zines, and those are linked to my web site: http://www.catemasters.com, and blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com, which both also contain book trailers, excerpts and reviews. I can’t possibly pick a favorite story, except maybe to say it’s always the one I’m writing at the time. I fall in love with the characters and they’re like family.

6) What comes first, plot or characters? I’m trying to learn to plot better, but I’m mainly a pantser. Every story idea has its own particular origin. Sometimes a snippet of a plot, sometimes a scene will just play in my head. Once I heard a line of dialogue in my head, and the story took off from there.

7) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? No, the opposite. The flood of ideas comes too fast sometimes, and I can’t keep up. I’m always writing a few stories at once, and I think switching between actually helps me keep perspective, and keep the flow going.

8) What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Reading, music, photography, gardening – though those mostly take a back seat to writing. I actually like creating book trailers too – it takes a certain finesse (which I’m trying to acquire!)

9) Tell us about your latest book? Tomorrow, Winning will be available from Eternal Press: http://www.eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=240 A short that’s mainstream, with a tinge of magic realism, the premise posits that people remain the same no matter what, but that certain circumstances will enable them to reveal their true selves, possibly more than they intended. In this case, winning a huge lottery.

Here’s the blurb: Joe doesn’t expect much more from life. His marriage is average, kids are average. So when he wins the lottery -- one of the biggest jackpots of all time -- everything changes. Or does it? Would they have made the same choices anyway?

10) What’s next for you? This summer, Freya’s Bower will release Angels Sinners and Madmen, a historical adventure/romance set in 1850s Key West, Florida, which was a lot of fun to write. Next month, Eternal Press will release another historical novel centered on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School called Follow the Stars Home. Also in August, Whiskey Creek Press will release Surfacing, a contemporary fantasy about an indie rocker and a mermaid, also a blast to write. And this fall, Whiskey Creek Press will release a mainstream novel, The Bridge Between, which I set in my hometown of Lambertville, NJ. I’ve been writing a contemporary fantasy which I originally thought would be a novella, but it just keeps expanding, so hopefully I’ll finish that up this summer. A few other stories are in the works as well. You can keep up with the latest news on my web site: www.catemasters.com, or blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com. Thanks again for being such a wonderful hostess Rachel!