BREAKING NEWS - H50 and NCIS: LA filmed the crossover episode near my house on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam. Check out my photos at ALOHA ON MY MIND at this link.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is underway in Washington, DC. This will delight today's guest, Alma Katsu! What will also delight Alma is the paperback release of her hardcover debut, THE TAKER. From her bio,
Alma Katsu lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, musician Bruce Katsu. Her debut, The Taker, a Gothic novel of suspense, has been compared to the early work of Anne Rice and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. The novel was named a Top Ten Debut Novel of 2011 by the American Library Association and has developed an international following. The Reckoning, the second book in the trilogy, is coming out in June 2012. The Taker Trilogy is published by Gallery Books/Simon and Schuster.
Kim: What is your favorite sight, sound, and smell of the DC area?
Alma: My favorite sight is easy—the Cherry Blossoms! Though the first time I saw them was in a typically DC-workaholic way: I was being driven down to give a briefing to the Secretary of HHS at o-dark-thirty and looked up from my notes just as we were passing the Tidal Basin. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were up close, with no other people around.
Sound? That’s a tough one. I’d have to say the sound of my husband playing the guitar. He’s been a professional musician on the DC scene for over 30 years now, including the once-near-famous band The Factory.
Smell? You got me there. I don’t have a very good sense of smell.
Kim: Those Cherry Blossoms created an awesome auroma! Can you share the challenges and rewards of a journalist? novelist?
Alma: I haven’t been a journalist for a long time: so long ago, in fact, that it was pre-computers in the newsroom! I enjoyed being a music critic, though I was more into doing interviews than reviews. It was in the 1980s and I got to meet a lot of now-famous musicians like the Cars, the Go-Gos, and Joan Jett. The challenge was that I was really young and didn’t know what I was doing, and as a freelancer you don’t get as much guidance from editors as you would if you were on staff.
The challenges of being a novelist are many, foremost being making money. It seems to be incredibly hard to sell books these days, whether to a publishing house or to readers. I’m new to this, with my second book coming out in a few months, and while I’ve been incredibly lucky by any standard, I am gobsmacked at how difficult it is to get people to take a chance on an author they’ve never heard of. My hat is off to any author with a following.
I love the writing part but that is hard, too. As you all know, you have to force yourself to keep at it every day, even when the words aren’t flowing. You have to try to stay away from the Internet and concentrate on the pages in front of you. I know I’m in trouble when even housekeeping looks tempting.
Kim: Did you intend to write a modern Gothic work? What influenced and/or inspired THE TAKER?
Alma: I think I was born to write Gothic fiction. It was more popular then, not only literature but television and movies. I grew up loving all things Gothic and naturally have that sort of disposition. On top of that, I grew up in a spooky house in a spooky town. I jokingly call it was spookiest town in New England, and there’s no shortage of them up there, you know. It seems like everything had a ghost story attached to it.
I set myself a challenge when I started The Taker. I wanted to see if I could write a story that would stay with readers. You know, a big sweeping story with characters that would haunt you after you’d read the story, where you end up feeling like your best friend moved away because there are no more pages to read. That’s what all storytellers want to do, right? Tell a great story. I feel like I grew up reading great stories, stories that become part of our culture—Alexander Dumas, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe—and I wondered if I could do it, too. I’m not saying that I succeeded, but I figured I’d learn more about writing if I aimed high.
Kim: Indeed, you aimed high! From Booklist's starred review, “Readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away from Katsu’s mesmerizing tale.” Gallery Books is giving away a paperback copy of THE TAKER to one randomly selected commenter:
True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price.
On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting a quiet evening. Until a mysterious woman arrives in his ER, escorted by police—Lanore McIlvrae is a murder suspect—and Luke is inexplicably drawn to her. As Lanny tells him her story, an impassioned account of love and betrayal that transcends time and mortality, she changes his life forever. . . . At the turn of the nineteenth century, when St. Andrew was a Puritan settlement, Lanny was consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, and she will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for eternity.
To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about Gothic Fiction - do you have a favorite author? What attracts you to it?
2. This giveaway is open to US residents only. But I will giveaway a Hawaii "Gothic" souvenir to one international commenter.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, March 31, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 1.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
To learn more about Alma and her books, check out her website at www.almakatsu.com.
To learn more about the National Cherry Blossom Festival, check out its website a www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
March Madness continues here at SOS Aloha! All commenters in March will be entered into a special drawing for prizes from RT in Chicago. 3 US, 3 Canadian, and 3 international readers will win a package with books and goodies. Comments can be made at:
- SOS Aloha, sosaloha.blogspot.com
- Aloha On My Mind, alohaonmymind.blogspot.com
- My guest posts at the Reading Reviewer (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) at marygramlich.blogspot.com
I'll post the winners of March Madness on Monday, April 2.
Alma: My favorite sight is easy—the Cherry Blossoms! Though the first time I saw them was in a typically DC-workaholic way: I was being driven down to give a briefing to the Secretary of HHS at o-dark-thirty and looked up from my notes just as we were passing the Tidal Basin. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous they were up close, with no other people around.
Sound? That’s a tough one. I’d have to say the sound of my husband playing the guitar. He’s been a professional musician on the DC scene for over 30 years now, including the once-near-famous band The Factory.
Smell? You got me there. I don’t have a very good sense of smell.
Kim: Those Cherry Blossoms created an awesome auroma! Can you share the challenges and rewards of a journalist? novelist?
Alma: I haven’t been a journalist for a long time: so long ago, in fact, that it was pre-computers in the newsroom! I enjoyed being a music critic, though I was more into doing interviews than reviews. It was in the 1980s and I got to meet a lot of now-famous musicians like the Cars, the Go-Gos, and Joan Jett. The challenge was that I was really young and didn’t know what I was doing, and as a freelancer you don’t get as much guidance from editors as you would if you were on staff.
The challenges of being a novelist are many, foremost being making money. It seems to be incredibly hard to sell books these days, whether to a publishing house or to readers. I’m new to this, with my second book coming out in a few months, and while I’ve been incredibly lucky by any standard, I am gobsmacked at how difficult it is to get people to take a chance on an author they’ve never heard of. My hat is off to any author with a following.
I love the writing part but that is hard, too. As you all know, you have to force yourself to keep at it every day, even when the words aren’t flowing. You have to try to stay away from the Internet and concentrate on the pages in front of you. I know I’m in trouble when even housekeeping looks tempting.
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| Hawaiian heiau (temple) has a Gothic feel .... |
Kim: Did you intend to write a modern Gothic work? What influenced and/or inspired THE TAKER?
Alma: I think I was born to write Gothic fiction. It was more popular then, not only literature but television and movies. I grew up loving all things Gothic and naturally have that sort of disposition. On top of that, I grew up in a spooky house in a spooky town. I jokingly call it was spookiest town in New England, and there’s no shortage of them up there, you know. It seems like everything had a ghost story attached to it.
I set myself a challenge when I started The Taker. I wanted to see if I could write a story that would stay with readers. You know, a big sweeping story with characters that would haunt you after you’d read the story, where you end up feeling like your best friend moved away because there are no more pages to read. That’s what all storytellers want to do, right? Tell a great story. I feel like I grew up reading great stories, stories that become part of our culture—Alexander Dumas, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Edgar Allan Poe—and I wondered if I could do it, too. I’m not saying that I succeeded, but I figured I’d learn more about writing if I aimed high.
Kim: Indeed, you aimed high! From Booklist's starred review, “Readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away from Katsu’s mesmerizing tale.” Gallery Books is giving away a paperback copy of THE TAKER to one randomly selected commenter:
True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price.
On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting a quiet evening. Until a mysterious woman arrives in his ER, escorted by police—Lanore McIlvrae is a murder suspect—and Luke is inexplicably drawn to her. As Lanny tells him her story, an impassioned account of love and betrayal that transcends time and mortality, she changes his life forever. . . . At the turn of the nineteenth century, when St. Andrew was a Puritan settlement, Lanny was consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, and she will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for eternity.
To enter the giveaway,
1. Leave a comment about Gothic Fiction - do you have a favorite author? What attracts you to it?
2. This giveaway is open to US residents only. But I will giveaway a Hawaii "Gothic" souvenir to one international commenter.
3. Comments are open through Saturday, March 31, 10 pm in Hawaii. I'll post the winner on Sunday, April 1.
Mahalo,
Kim in Hawaii
To learn more about Alma and her books, check out her website at www.almakatsu.com.
To learn more about the National Cherry Blossom Festival, check out its website a www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
March Madness continues here at SOS Aloha! All commenters in March will be entered into a special drawing for prizes from RT in Chicago. 3 US, 3 Canadian, and 3 international readers will win a package with books and goodies. Comments can be made at:
- SOS Aloha, sosaloha.blogspot.com
- Aloha On My Mind, alohaonmymind.blogspot.com
- My guest posts at the Reading Reviewer (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) at marygramlich.blogspot.com
I'll post the winners of March Madness on Monday, April 2.
The first author that came to mind when thinking of Gothic fiction is Edgar Allan Poe. I remember the first time I read one of his poems and then stories in high school. I was hooked and read all the stories I could find. He is very creepy and I like the way the stories involve Horror type scenarios.
ReplyDeleteEdgar Allan Poe, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI live in Baltimore, MD, where Poe is buried -- every year a bottle of "spirits' and roses appear on his grave -- but no one has ever seen the person who leaves them -- no matter how long they wait!!
ReplyDeleteI also devour books for pure pleasure, and hardly ever remember the author or the titles ... the first one that comes to mind is Wuthering Heights, by Bronte
Edgar Allan Poe gets my vote too also Victoria Holt.
ReplyDeletePhyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart are my favorite Gothic romance writers.
ReplyDeletetry to remember gothic book i ever read but seems no one
ReplyDeletelove the cherry blossom pic :)
How cool to be compared with Anne Rice. I'd have to some some of Anne Rice's books are my favorite gothics. The "Interview with a Vampire" series and "The Witching Hour." I have not read them in a really long time, but I remember I enjoyed reading them when I did.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading gothic novels. There is usually an element of the supernatural and the suspense is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post and giveaway! I've been dying to read this book. I love the premise and I've read such awesome reviews.
ReplyDeleteI love gothic novels, b/c well... they're dark and mysterious and even though some might get an HEA, you sometimes come away wondering if they really did. I guess I'm gonna have to go with the majority and say Edgar Allan Poe. I read The Raven and the Tell Tell Heart in High school and loved them. I remember going to the library and devouring a volume of his other stories.
I enjoy books by Daphne du Maurier. Her Rebecca is a classic Gothic.
ReplyDeleteI am drawn to Gothic because of the darkness of them.
I started out reading gothics so they still fascinate me. Some of the ones I've read are Poe, Stewart, duMauier, Whitney and Holt. I love the cover of The Taker and it sounds like a very intriguing read.
ReplyDeletecatslady
I do enjoy gothic fiction and I've enjoyed many of Anne Perry's books.
ReplyDeleteIt's the suspense of a very well written gothic novel that draws me. I have seen the cover of THE TAKER and have been intrigued by it. Now that I know it has been compared to Anne Rice's early work (wondering what work that would be), it is on The List. Anne Rice, IMHO, set the benchmark for today's vampire romance genre. ALL of her vampire novels are on my Keeper Shelf, in addition to her Mayfair Witch series. Haven't delved into her newest, WOLF GIFT yet.
ReplyDeleteI have the greatest respect and admiration for anyone that could stand toe-to-toe and get an interview from any rocker during the 80's!
I do enjoy Gothics and Edgar Allan Poe is a master.
ReplyDeleteI would add Bram Stoker to the list of wonderful authors listed. I would also agree with Estella - it is the darkness of gothic fiction that appeals to me. I also love psychological thrillers. I was very intrigued with The Taker when it first released and it's been on my TBR list ever since. I also think this is one of the most striking covers I have ever seen!
ReplyDeleteI like gothic books by Edgar Allan Poe.
ReplyDeleteMmm, could you consider Eve Silver's historicals gothic? Never really read much gothic books.
ReplyDeleteI do not really read gothic fiction I tend to go more for the contemps and historicals so no favorite author yet.
ReplyDeleteDesere
I'm not even sure which books I have read qualify as true Gothic.
ReplyDeleteI would say Mary Stewart is a favorite.
ReplyDeleteLove the covers I am adding Alma to my TBB list.
ReplyDeletelove the Cherry Blossoms we bought one last year just waiting for it to bloom.
Have a good one ann/alba
Unfortunately no favorite Gothic authors as I haven't read many. Those I have I enjoyed, which reminds me I need to read more.
ReplyDelete