I’m so excited to be returning to one of my favorite events this March: the Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference in New Jersey. It’s a wonderful event that I enjoy each year and highly recommend attending. I am honored this year to be hosting an interview each week with the attending speakers! It begins today and will continue each week leading up to the conference. I hope you enjoy! ~Jillian
Today the Liberty States Create Something Magical Conference Speaker Interview Series continues with author Kate McMurray:
- What made you want to become a writer? How early in life did you start writing?
I don’t remember when exactly I decided to be a writer, but my mom still has a bunch of cassette recordings of me babbling stories as a toddler. Apparently, I had very inventive tea parties. I also read prolifically, so I can see that being inspiration for wanting to tell my own stories. I hid notebooks under my bed when I was a kid where I scrawled stories, too. I wrote my first novel at seventeen—I’m sure it’s wretched—and took creative writing classes all through high school and college. I finally wrote a novel I thought was worthy of publication in 2009, and that became my first published book.
- Is there one piece of advice you would give an aspiring writer?
Assume all things are possible, and be true to your story. Be willing to take risks and don’t assume your story doesn’t have an audience, because it definitely does.
- Who is on your bookshelf?
Heh, this list would be endless. My tiny apartment has 6 bookcases, so we’d be here all day. I can tell you, fiction-wise, I read mostly romance and mainstream/literary fiction. (Favorites: Toni Morrison, Lousie Erdrich, Sarah MacLean, Tessa Dare, Kristan Higgins, among many, many others.) Nonfiction wise, I read a lot of history, and also about art and fashion.
- Can you tell us about one of the most memorable moments in your writing career thus far?
I have two that sort of show both sides of the industry. First, I was at work when I got The Call that my first book was going to be published. I wanted to dance around the office, but I was also trying to keep my writing and work life separate, so I had to just sit at my desk and pretend no one could see me grinning. Second, at about the midpoint of my first RT convention, I had a moment when I looked around and took it all in and thought, “I want the rest of my life to be this.” I was surrounded by people who love books as much as I do, in an environment that celebrates the kind of writing I want to do. That moment really cemented for me that I wanted to write as a career, not just a hobby.
- Tell us about your newest release/current work in progress.
My most recent release was There Has to Be a Reason, which is kind of a coming-of-age tale about a student at a big university in New England who meets a fellow student who changes his life. I’m also currently writing a book about an Olympic athlete who is also a recovering alcoholic.
- Tell us a little about your workshop at the Create Something Magical Conference.
I’m teaching a workshop on revision that is based on my experience as an editor. Basically, I’ll teach how to take a big-picture approach to the revision process, fixing big problems—weak openings, plots that need tightening, plot holes, character issues, etc. The focus is on story instead of grammar and mechanics.
About Kate:
Kate McMurray has been writing stories since she could hold a pen. She picked up her first romance novel when she was thirteen and has loved the genre ever since. She started writing gay romance after reading a book and thinking there should be more love stories with gay characters. Her first published novel, In Hot Pursuit, came out in February 2010, and she’s been writing feverishly ever since. She likes stories that are brainy, funny, and of course sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities.
When she’s not writing, Kate works a nonfiction editor. She also reads a lot, plays the violin, knits and crochets, and drools over expensive handbags. She’s maybe a tiny bit obsessed with baseball. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with two bossy cats.
She is active in Romance Writers of America, having served as president of Rainbow Romance Writers, the LGBT romance chapter, and she is currently president of RWA NYC, the New York City chapter.
You can email her at kate (at) katemcmurray.com.
Shared on all my socials!