Lucky 13 Interview With Kat Ellis

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your latest book?

THREE STRIKES is a collection of 3 spooky novellas — one written by Lucy Christopher, one by Rhian Ivory, and one by me — which came out in October 2018. My novella, The Twins of Blackfin, tells the story of 16-year-old Bo who visits her friend’s grave at midnight and hears an eerie, disembodied voice summoning the young people of Blackfin from their beds.

2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?

I’m a plotter. I find it difficult to get started without knowing at least broadly where the story is going. I’ll generally write an outline or beat sheet to use as a road map, then go off at a tangent as the characters develop, or new plot ideas steer the narrative in a different direction. Then I just run with it.

3 – Savoury or sweet?

Sweet!

4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!

I rarely reread books, so I’d grab 3 from my to-be-read pile. Looking at the teetering stack now, I think I’d take Wicked Fox by Kat Cho, Savage Island by Bryony Pearce, and Wilder Girls by Rory Power.

5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?

Trek (LLAP)

6 – Music or silence when writing?

Silence, though I like to make bookish playlists for when I’m revising.

7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be?

Kat ‘The Harrower’ Ellis

8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?

I’m quite smitten with where I live in North Wales (castles! ancient ruins! beaches! more creepy cemeteries than you can shake a stick at!) but I would quite like to pack up for a few months and travel every state of the US in a Winnebago.

9 - Your favourite karaoke song?

Purple Rain by Prince. Pure drama.

10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

Try EVERYTHING, then see what works best.

11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

In reality I’d stealthily divide it between a bunch of different charities, but the first on my list would be the National Literacy Trust who work with schools and communities to support and improve literacy for disadvantaged children. The rest of the money I’d probably invest in cats and notebooks.

12 – Horror films, yes or no?

Yes, of course!

13 - What are you currently working on?

I’m in the final throes of edits on my new YA horror/thriller, HARROW LAKE, which comes out in summer 2020 from Penguin Random House. It’s about the daughter of a famous horror director who is swept up in real-life terror when she's sent to the sinister small town where her father’s most iconic movie was filmed, and she questions whether she'll ever get out alive.