Author Interview & Giveaway: Possessed by Kate Cann

February 2nd, 2010
Posted in Interview | 59 Comments »

I am very pleased to welcome the lovely Kate Cann here to DarkFaerieTales.com to talk about her young adult novel, Possessed, which was released on February 1, 2010.

You can read my review of the book here.

Scholastic is giving one lucky commenter a chance to win an ARC of Possessed. Details are listed at the end of the post.

You can also visit Kate around the web here: Website

Welcome Kate!

DFT: Could you start things off by telling us a little about the book?

Rayne feels trapped and constrained by her inner city life, domineering boyfriend and limp mother. She has a deep but only half recognised link to nature and the wild. On a desperate impulse she gets a job in the tearoom at a spooky, ancient mansion house, and meets some glamorous new friends who are very seductive. But are they interested in her or gaining access to the old house?

DFT: What motivated you to write Possessed?

I was interested in manipulation, in the whole question of who you could trust, and the theme of ancient evil lying dormant for centuries, then rising up again. I was interested in how all this impacted on Rayne, on her emotional journey.

DFT: Do you have a long-term plan or goal for this story universe? What happens after the sequel, Fire & Rayne?

That’s the end, I think. Although there’s always the dark possibility that the evil could stir again.

DFT: If you could describe your main characters with only 3 words, what would they be?

Rayne: courageous, baffled, embattled

Ethan: angry, suspicious, passionate

St John: creepy, creepy, creepy ….

DFT: Tell us something about your research process and the choices you make when creating the story.

The main part of my research was to spend a day and night at the thousand-year-old mansion house I based Morton’s Keep on. The place hummed with its bloody history! I was so scared at night that I didn’t sleep – Rayne’s first night at the Old Sty is based on what I experienced then. I think I’m a pretty organic writer. I really immersed myself in Rayne, and then let it run.

DFT: What influences and inspirations (both literary and non-literary) did you draw from while writing Possessed?

Nothing specific, but a real ‘less is more’ attitude to horror. I think the real terror is in the hinted at, the half-glimpsed, the submerged. And it’s got to be real people dealing with it, people who are altered by the experience, not just 2-D victims there to get eaten or bitten or gored! I felt the same about the green lady. She was far more intense through only being glimpsed, through being kind of amoral.

DFT: Who is your favorite character in this book, and why?

I’d have to say Rayne, as she’s the main driver. But I think Ethan is gorgeous, and I have a soft spot for Mrs Driver. I like older women who seem passive but can draw on inner steel when tested. But that’s in the second book.

DFT: What other projects are you working on that you would like to tell us about?

I’ve started writing a book called WITCH CRAG, set in a dystopian world where strong women are persecuted as witches and the only way they can protect themselves is by fleeing to a gloomy crag and then acting as witches to scare their persecutors away. It’s about how we mythologize ourselves – about image and reality and truth, and the crossings over between them. With a fair bit of gore and fear thrown in.

DFT: Why do you think there is the misconception that young adult books are not as deep or as complex as books for adults? What is your response to this misconception?

Oh, people always deride teenage stuff. A bit like they deride teenagers themselves. It’s nonsense. I think there’s often more waffle in adult books. YA books are usually more honest, more authentic, more raw.

DFT: What is your favorite fairy tale, and why?

Rapunzal I think. That tower, the cascading hair…very sexy.

DFT: What books/genres do you read when you have the chance? Any must read authors or series?

I read all and everything. Doris Lessing is probably my all-time favourite. And I love Sherlock Holmes!

DFT: What is your definition of a “bad writing day”? How do you deal with bad writing days?

A day in which I am too low or too lazy to do any writing. I just let it slide till about five o’clock when I give up and go for a walk!

DFT: What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?

At the risk of sounding like a real creep, your questions are so sharp and spot on, I can’t think of any! It’s great to be asked more testing, less general, questions.

DFT: If you weren’t writing, what would you want to be doing for a living? What are some of your other passions in life?

Gardening, maybe? And I do think I would have made quite a canny businesswoman.

DFT: Do you have a particular writing process or any writing rituals?

I go for a long walk with the dog, and then I have a big breakfast, then I get into the spare bed under the duvet with my laptop, and write for about three or four hours.

DFT: What creature are you afraid of most?

A deadly virus – does that count as a creature? I dread becoming ill and incapacitated.

DFT: If you could be any paranormal creature, which one would you be, and why?

A sea witch, able to fly at speed above crashing waves…then zoom down to the deeps…not feel the cold, just the thrill.

DFT: Thanks Kate for taking the time to stop by.

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