Today we have Kate Larkindale at the cyber bar. Kate is a YA author whose
debut novel, An Unstill Life, was released in January this year.
What we are Drinking
I invented a
cocktail called a Siberian Dusk when I worked in a bar years and years
ago. I like to go to bars now and
confuse bartenders by asking for one… To
make it, pour one shot of vodka and one shot of peach schnapps over ice in a
tall glass. Add two shots of cranberry
juice, a squeeze of lime and top it up with soda water. It’s delicious! And a little dangerous.
Deanna: First things first. Where
are you and what are you wearing?
Kate: I’m in my dining room
and since it’s just after 6am and I just stumbled out of bed, I’m in my fluffy
robe. It’s probably all kinds of wrong
to be drinking at this time of day, but what the hey! ((slugs back a half
glass))
Deanna: What’s your poison?
Vodka? Gin? Beer?
Kate: I’m actually a wine drinker mostly.
But on a hot day I can be talked into a gin and tonic or a cold
beer. I learnt my lesson about strong
cocktails when I worked in a bar while at college. Those things can be dangerous! It feels like you’re just drinking pop, then,
wham! You’re on the floor.
Deanna: True that! (((pours them both a
round))) Cheers! Now that we’re comfy, tell me about your new book? (((sips on
her cocktail)))
Kate: It’s about fifteen-year-old Livvie who is essentially
abandoned when her best friends get boyfriends just at the time she needs their
support most. Her sister is sick with
leukemia and her mother is insane with worry.
Livvie finds comfort with the school ‘freak’ and they soon find their
friendship turning into something more.
But this opens them up to bullying and persecution and even gets them
banned from a school dance. While she’s dealing
with this, Livvie’s sister asks for help ending the pain and Livvie has to make
some tough decisions about what she’s willing to do for the people she loves.
Deanna: Sounds great. Where did the idea
for this story come from?
Kate: It started with a
newspaper article about a girl banned from attending prom with her
girlfriend. It kind of outraged me and
stuck in the back of my head. When I
read another article about a boys’ school also refusing to allow same-sex
couples to attend dances, I realized there was a story I needed to write.
Deanna: What was the hardest
part of writing this story for you?
Kate: It’s a very emotional
book and a lot of the emotions aren’t pleasant.
Livvie’s relationship with her mother is a mess too, and that was hard
to write. I also really struggled with
what Livvie’s decision about her sister’s plea should be because it’s a very
delicate and controversial subject.
Deanna: Yeah it is. On that note, let's have another. (((pours them another
round))) Boy, these things are tasty!! Now, what’s the easiest thing about
writing your book?
Kate: Livvie has synesthesia
so she sees sounds as colors and tastes color as flavor. I thought writing descriptions through her
eyes would be challenging, but it was actually a real joy. I loved thinking about the world through this
unique perspective.
Deanna: Are you a plotter or
a panster?
Kate: Total pantser. I’ve tried plotting, but if I outline too
thoroughly, I know the story too well and writing it isn’t interesting
anymore. I love finding the story as I
write. It means more editing and
revising, but I think my books are better for it.
Deanna: How long have you been writing?
Kate: Seriously for about six
years, but I’ve always written. I just
wasn’t ready to admit it publicly.
Deanna: Do you ever have
writers block? On those occasions that I do, I usually have a cocktail … or
three…LOL But that’s just me.
Kate: I do. I often get stuck somewhere along the
way. I tend to have a secondary project
I’m working on, and when I get stuck, I work on that for a while and usually
that unsticks me.
Deanna: Most of my stories
have a theme song, do you do that for your characters?? If so what is it?
Kate: Not all my books have
music attached, which is weird considering how into music I am. An Unstill Life doesn’t have any music
associated with it, really. But the book
I wrote after that is steeped in songs.
Deanna: Tell us about a scene
that you have written then afterwards, when you read it, you shocked yourself?
You know I want a dirty answer (((hint hint)))
Kate: There’s a scene in An
Unstill Life where Livvie and Bianca take a bath together. When I re-read that scene in editing, I was
blown away by how hot it is even though they barely touch each other.
Available NOW!
An Unstill Life
Things at home are rough
for fifteen-year-old Livvie Quinn. Jules, her beloved older sister is sick
again after being cancer free for almost ten years. Her mom becomes more frantic and
unapproachable every day. School isn’t much better. Just when she needs them most, her closest
friends get boyfriends and have little time for Livvie – except to set her up
on a series of disastrous blind dates.
Livvie seeks refuge in
the art room and finds Bianca, the school ‘freak’. Free-spirited and confident, Bianca is
everything Livvie isn’t. Shaken by her mom’s desperation, her sister’s
deteriorating condition, and abandoned by her friends, Livvie finds comfort and
an attraction she never felt before with Bianca.
When their relationship is discovered, Livvie and
Bianca become victims of persecution and bullying. School authorities won’t
help and even forbid the pair to attend the Winter Formal as a couple. If
Livvie defies them and goes, she risks expulsion and further ridicule from her
classmates. At home, her mother’s behavior escalates to new levels of crazy and
Jules is begging for help to end the pain once and for all.
While searching for the strength to make her life
her own, Livvie must decide how far she’s willing to go for the people she
loves.
GLTB YA
Excerpt:
I
lolled against Bianca, aware of her distinctive raspberry scent enveloping me.
My laughter caught in my throat, and I had trouble breathing through it. I
looked up at her, watching the way the streetlights played across her features.
With her head thrown back, her throat was long and white, and I was overcome
with a sudden desire to touch it.
I
didn’t say a word, but she seemed to hear my thoughts. Her laughter quieted,
and she turned to look at me, her eyes glittering in the sodium glow. For a
long time we stood there, eyes locked, the warm breeze wafting across our skin.
Bianca
bent her head, and her lips settled upon mine. They were warm and soft,
slippery with lipstick. I shivered and pressed my own lips hungrily against
hers. Her mouth opened a little, and I followed, admitting her inquisitive
tongue. It tickled mine, darting in and out, waltzing across my taste buds. The
flavor of wine, exotic and sour at the same time, flooded my mouth.
My
heart beat a rapid tattoo through my chest. This was wrong. I should not be
doing this. But I remained mesmerized, nerves I’d never noticed before singing
songs of ecstasy along my spine. Kissing Jesse had been nothing like this.
She
pulled away, slowly, as if surfacing from a dive. She licked her lips, smiling
in satisfaction. Her lipstick, smeared now, blurred her mouth into something
unrecognizable. I ran my tongue across my lips and tasted her there, spikes of
electricity igniting in my belly. This was better than I could have imagined.
“Wow…”
she breathed. “You’re good.”
“Am
I?” I reached for her again, wanting nothing but her mouth on mine once more.
“Yeah,
you are.” She pushed me against the wall, and I lost myself in her kisses.
Time
held no meaning. It could have been seconds or forever before I drew back.
Nothing so good could be wrong, yet my stomach writhed with guilt. “I…I should
get home.” My voice was unsteady.
Bianca
glanced up at the star-speckled sky and nodded. “Yeah. Me too.”
It
felt completely natural when, as we walked toward the bus stop two blocks away,
she slipped her hand into mine.
About The Author
Having
spent a lifetime travelling the globe, Kate Larkindale is currently residing in
Wellington, New Zealand. A cinema
manager, film reviewer and mother, she’s surprised she finds any time to write,
but doesn’t sleep much. As a result, she
can usually be found hanging out near the espresso machine.
Her
short stories have appeared in Halfway Down The Stairs, A Fly in Amber,
Daily Flash Anthology, The Barrier Islands Review, Everyday Fiction, Death
Rattle, Drastic Measures, Cutlass & Musket and Residential Aliens, among
others.
She
has written eight contemporary YA novels, five of which other people are
allowed to see. She has also written one
very bad historical romance. She is
currently working on a new YA novel that is still looking for a title other
than its Twitter hashtag, #juvvielesbian.
Author Links
Website: http://katelarkindale.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vampyr14
Thanks for sharing a drink with me!
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