Interview With Author Kate Shanahan
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in Massachusetts, but spent 4th, 8th, and 11th grades living in England, and so I speak both languages (British and American) fluently. After graduating from University of Michigan with a BA in Political Science (East Asia Concentration), I taught English in Sapporo, Japan for two years. I enjoyed the experience so much, I returned to U of M for an MA in Asian Studies (Japan Specialization), and while there, worked part-time for the Center for Japanese Studies. Fortunately for me, Honda was expanding operations in Ohio around then, and they needed Americans who could speak Japanese. I spent an entire career at Honda in project, business, and people management, thrilled to be able to travel to Japan and actually getting paid to speak Japanese at work. But I kept thinking about writing a novel with Sei Shonagon (see next question) as a character, so when I retired from Honda, I started the research and writing for this novel, which became Tangled Spirits, my first – and so far only – book.
After all those years in northern latitudes, my husband and I moved to Florida’s Gulf Coast where the sunshine makes it difficult to focus on writing. But I’m determined to do it anyway.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Tangled Spirits: A Novel is a time-slip historical fiction set in medieval Japan, before shogun, samurai, and sushi were a thing. My inspiration came from The Pillow Book, a journal written by Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court of Japan in the late 10th century. Sei invented a new form of literature called zuihitsu or “miscellany.” In today’s terms, it’s more like the world’s first blog or Twitter feed (lots of lists and short anecdotes.) When I read it, I thought to myself, “I understand Sei Shonagon. I know how she feels” and then I thought, “how can that be? How can I have anything in common with a 10th century Japanese noblewoman?” So I decided to write a novel to explore that. And once I started writing, I realized I needed a way to explain Heian culture and practices without constant exposition, so I added a time-slip factor, a “foreigner” if you will, so that the reader can see and understand the era through a familiar cultural perspective. When I researched the Heian belief in spirit possession, I knew that had to be a component of the story.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Fast-writing, the practice of setting a timer and then writing without any editing. It results in a bit of a mess that takes a long time to edit, but it keeps me from just sitting there thinking and re-thinking what I want to say.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy for the way it presents something outlandish as if it was completely normal. And for being hilarious no matter how many times I re-read it. Also anything by P. G. Wodehouse for the same reasons.
What are you working on now?
The next book in the trilogy (yes, I hope to write three books set in the same time period as Tangled Spirits.)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m just getting started. So far I’ve had some benefit to running an Amazon ad, although it’s a learning curve. My first “promotion” is starting next week with a BookBub ad and a Bargain Booksy ad for a Kindle Countdown Deal. I’m very interested to see what impact those will have.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t rush into KDP Select enrollment without understanding all of the restrictions placed on what you can do with your own ebook.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Another writer advised me to understand what it is I wanted from publishing my book. Did I want to make a career of it? Did I want to see it on a physical bookstore shelf? Did I want it to be widely read? That advice helped me decide not only whether to independently publish or pursue trad, but also how to set my goals for my marketing budget, where to advertise, the price of my book, and so on.
What are you reading now?
I just started Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh. The description reminded me a bit of Tangled Spirits, although the tone and plot are very different.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To be able to write faster – it took 3 years to research and write Tangled Spirits, and then a year to get feedback and edit it. Now I’ve done quite a bit of research already, I hope that helps speed it up!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Dune; by Frank Herbert; if there’s a volume of the complete works of P.G. Wodehouse I’d take that; Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu
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