I am delighted to be posting this cheeky little interview with the wonderful author Cat Clarke, about her latest publication. Let's not waste any time – dive in!
Hey,
lovely Cat! As you know, I am a certified Clarke super fan, so imagine
my excitement finding out you made a novella with a publisher I truly
love, Barrington Stoke!? I am jazzed af. Anyway, here are your quick
fire questions about 'Letting Go'…
Where did
these characters come from? And what brought them to life, inside your
mind?
I
find it so hard to just conjure characters inside my head – which
may sound like a daft thing for a writer to say! Personally, I have
to start writing, and as I write I start to figure out who these
people are – and what their hopes, dreams and fears may be. At
first, with the main character Agnes, I was just imagining how *I*
would feel if I'd made this promise at a funeral – to climb a
flipping mountain – and then actually had to go through with it. I'd
be super grumpy, even if it was a promise I'd made to my favourite
person in the world. I had real fun throwing Steve into the mix –
he was a delight to write. He's named after Steve in Stranger Things,
by the way. I'm a little bit obsessed with Steve Harrington.
BONUS
Q: the cover is DREAMY. Tell us a little about it!
Well,
what can I say? The Barrington Stoke team knocked it out of the park
yet again! I always love their covers. As an author, it's not that
unusual for publishers to try covers that you don't quite love, or
that take a bit of getting used to, but this one was spot-on right
away. There's nothing I would change about it.
We're brightening your Wednesday with news of an AWESOME new YA coming from @cat_clarke this year - 'Letting Go' is a thoughtful, moving novella of love, loss, and learning to let go đź’•đź’«— Barrington Stoke (@BarringtonStoke) May 1, 2019
(Cover design: @BarringtonStoke) pic.twitter.com/EhweSgZSn4
How
did
writing
a novella compare
to writing novels
for
your usual publisher? And
how
was
it working with the babes at Stoke?
It
was a total delight! This is my second book with Barrington Stoke –
the first one, 'Falling', was a few years ago now. Both times the
process has been wonderful from start to finish. The big difference
to working with my usual publisher is that the manuscript gets
checked for readability and clarity, as Barrington Stoke books are
primarily aimed at reluctant and dyslexic readers. I've also heard
that they're a great resource for teenagers learning English.
Content-wise, they're exactly the same as my other Young Adult novels
– just shorter. Short and sweet, hopefully.
Thanks
so much for having me on your gorgeous blog, Grace!
*
Thank
you for chatting with me about this fabulous book, Cat.
Readers,
you can grab ‘Letting Go’ from your favourite bookshop NOW!
(Remember to shop local, and shop small wherever you
can.)
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