Catherine Mack

Catherine Mack (she/her) is the pseudonym for Catherine McKenzie, the USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of over twenty novels. Her books are approaching two million copies sold worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages, including French, German, Portuguese, Polish, Italian, and Greek.

McKenzie also has several original movie scripts in development. A dual Canadian and US citizen, she splits her time between Canada and various warmer locations in the US.

Her new novel is This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

A lot! The titles are everything in this series! Usually, I come up with a concept first, but it was the title that came to me first with Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies, and each title after that has to live up to that one. They convey the tone, the topic, and the genre.

What's in a name?

The main character of my books is called Eleanor Dash. She’s named after Elinor Dashwood in Sense & Sensibility, and each of the books has a character named after a different main character in Jane Austen’s works. It’s a little nod to part of the origin of the idea for these books—modern Jane Austen but with jokes and murder! Ironically, the Eleanor/Elinor distinction is one that gets explored in a future book—what’s in a name indeed! Could your whole life be different if your first name had been spelled slightly differently?

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

My teenaged self would be surprised I was writing books at all. I didn’t think I had an imagination back then.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings are so important, and I spend the most time on the first few chapters. The endings are “pre-written” if you will—by then (and long before then) I know where I’m going. But the real work happens in the middle.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I try not to write about myself! Obviously, I seep in somewhere—I have to—but that’s part of the work. Not writing about me.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Lots of great television shows over the years. There’s always been great writing in TV and that continues to this day. I like long-form storytelling. Current favourites: The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Artful Dodger, Young Sherlock, The Other Bennett Sister.

Visit Catherine McKenzie's website.

The Page 69 Test: Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies.

--Marshal Zeringue

Shay Kauwe

Shay Kauwe is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) author from Hawaiʻi. She grew up on the Homestead in Waimānalo but moved to Russia because she fell in love with a boy. They now live in Oʻahu. Kauwe holds an M.Ed in Education and was named an NCTE Early Educator of Color in 2021. In 2022, she was awarded an Empowering ʻŌiwi Leadership Award by the Hawaiian Council, for her work in storytelling and literacy. Her debut urban fantasy The Killing Spell is the first traditionally published adult fantasy novel by a Hawaiian author.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

The original title of The Killing Spell was a reference to a popular ʻŌlelo Noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb) I ka ʻōlelo no ke ola; i ka ʻōlelo no ka make, which roughly translates to “In language there is life; In language there is death.” My publisher let me know that title may be a bit of a mouthful to remember and suggested the The Killing Spell, arguing that it would be catchier.

They were right.

What's in a name?

In Hawaiian culture, names are taken seriously which is why Kea’s holds so much weight. Kealaokaleo literally translates to “the way/path of the voice,” but she usually just goes by Kea which means something entirely different (pearl-like). I like that Kea gives off the feeling of something pretty and shiny, concealing the deeper, more important meaning that Kealaokaleo holds. Kea would only like her closest friends and families knowing her full name.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

As a teen, I was notoriously “bad” at Hawaiian, so I’m sure that writing an entire book encouraging people to learn it, would be a surprise to me! Now, I’m a really strong advocate for people to learn Hawaiian and all endangered indigenous languages. It’s important for novice learners to push through the shame of not being fluent enough because the alternative is letting these languages die, and that isn’t an option for me.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Endings are a challenge because I hate for a story to end! I tend to know exactly how stories will go before I even start them, but I get attached to my worlds and characters. I never want to write in those final words and have it all stop for good.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

Like many debut authors, I’m guilty of making my main character a lot like me. Kea’s an eldest daughter and feels responsible for caring for her family. She is someone who has a strong sense of justice and is vocally opinionated. She can be a lot, and I love her for that.

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Modern Hawaiian History was a huge influence on The Killing Spell, specifically the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 70ʻs-90ʻs when ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi experienced a resurgence of interest. In addition, my family has always been at the forefront of my writing because stories without a heart aren’t ones that I’m interested in telling. I believe in love, hope, and community resilience, and I want my work to reflect that.

Visit Shay Kauwe's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

April Howells

With a background in magazine publishing, April Howells has built a career in global communications and employer branding. Raised in southern Ontario, she now resides on the west coast of Canada with her husband and a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Chief. The Unforgettable Mailman is her debut novel.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I like to believe the title sums the whole story up. Not only is it a play on words regarding Henry’s memory loss, but it also lets readers know the story will linger with them after they turn the last page. Henry is sweet and determined and unintentionally funny. He’s the type of character you root for and one you won’t soon forget.

I wrote the story off and on for years, and in the beginning the working title was much different. It wasn’t until I experienced the impacts of memory loss in my family that Henry’s character fully developed and this title came to me. I provided several alts to my publisher, but The Unforgettable Mailman was the clear winner.

What’s in a name?

Whenever I’m choosing names for characters, it’s important to me that they fit with the era they were born. ‘Henry’ was a popular name in 1885, and it stuck. I never looked into the meaning of it, though now I know it means ‘ruler of the home’. I love that it’s a name associated with influential people who have left a lasting impact in history.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Very! I was a voracious reader growing up, but never a writer. I loved to say that one day I would write a novel, but for a long time that was all talk. Even in my 20s, I daydreamed about writing more than I actually put pen to page.

I think teenage April would be proud to see her name in bookstores, alongside some of her favourite authors. I think she’d also be a bit surprised at the perseverance it took to develop her craft and finish a publishable novel.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Endings, though I can’t say too much without giving spoilers. The ending of The Unforgettable Mailman eluded me for a very long time. I wrote several different versions and none of them were right. I remember walking the dog and it finally came to me. I stopped and thought, oh yes, that’s how it ends.

Visit April Howells's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Jennifer N. Brown

Jennifer N. Brown is from New York City and after falling in love with Chaucer in college, pursued a Ph.D. in medieval literature. Her dissertation and subsequent books and articles have mostly been about devotional literature and medieval women as authors, subjects, and patrons of literary culture in medieval Europe. She has taught medieval literature at several institutions, most recently at Marymount Manhattan College where she taught in the English and World Literatures department for over 15 years. She is currently serving as the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University in Boston, where she lives with her husband, two children and two miniature dachshunds: Athena and Apollo.

Brown's new novel is The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

This wasn’t the title I was working with when I wrote the book, that title was Remember Death, which is the English translation of Memento Mori, a medieval concept that recurs several times in my novel. However, my editor rightly felt that it doesn’t fully reflect what’s going on in the novel, so it was changed. It was hard to land on a title that referenced both timelines of my book — the Tudor English timeline of Elizabeth Barton and the modern day timeline of Dr. Alison Sage who finds Elizabeth’s book. When we landed on The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton, I was pleased that we had something that gestured towards both sides of the narrative.

What's in a name?

Well, I’m sure it doesn’t take much for a reader to see “Sage” as an appropriate last name for a professor (but is she sage? You’ll have to see). I chose Alison because it’s a name that speaks of a particular generation of women (like Jennifer does!) and also because it is a name of one of the best characters in medieval literature — Chaucer's Wife of Bath. There are also Easter eggs in the novel for some of my fellow academics in medieval studies, and some of these are in names of characters.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Not as surprised as my 20- or 30- or 40-something self. I really wanted to be a writer as a teenager and thought for sure that was my future. I did become a writer, but of academic work, and I think that may have surprised my teenage self more (certainly that I focused on nuns as my subject matter), but in many ways this novel is a return to what teen-Jennifer thought her life may yield.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I’ve only written one and a half novels and in both the beginnings came very easily, although I am a happy reviser — my favorite part of any writing process — so I don’t think anything survived the way it was originally written.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart? What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

Certainly I am connected to Alison, in that she is an academic in a field adjacent to mine, my age, a mother. There is a lot about her that I don’t relate to or that is not like me, but I understood her in a very natural way. It was harder to place myself in the Tudor era and the figures that populate it. I knew quite a bit about the period and about what people said and did, but it’s one more leap to understand how they feel. For that section, especially, I looked at a lot of paintings and art from the time, surviving jewelry and clothing, letters, and recipes. I tried to construct the world as it was inhabited, and that required mostly non-literary inspiration.

Visit Jennifer N. Brown's website.

--Marshal Zeringue

Anica Mrose Rissi

Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her essays have been published by The Writer and the New York Times, and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves. Rissi grew up in Maine and spent many years in New York City, where she worked as an executive editor in children’s book publishing. She currently lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato.

Rissi's new book is Girl Reflected in Knife.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think it pulls its weight! Girl Reflected in Knife is a short, sharp, unsettling title for a short, sharp, unsettling novel. I hope readers will feel intrigued by the title and the tone it sets, even if they’re not quite sure what to expect. Likewise, I hope they’ll be intrigued by the book’s unstable narrator and her story, even as they’re not entirely sure where it might lead them.

What's in a name?

This is a question the novel poses as well, in the fragments of a dark fairy tale version of Destiny’s story that runs parallel to the main narrative, woven in throughout. Here’s a taste:

The girl’s name contained a promise—an expectation and prediction

of some larger fate, or perhaps of a path she must follow.

But how does a destiny differ from a curse?

Her mother did not name her Lucky.

So was the girl’s twisted fate her mother’s fault? This was,

after all, a fairy tale.

The girl chided herself: not that kind.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

When I was a teenager, my passion was politics. I wanted to go to law school and become a senator or perhaps a supreme court justice—to fight for the issues I cared about and help shape a different world. My teenage self would be quite surprised to see her name on multiple book covers. I don’t even own a gavel.

But in a way, I didn’t stray too terribly far from that idea because, of course, writers are master manipulators. They control what a reader pays attention to and influence what the reader notices, hopes, and feels. A well-written story might change how a reader sees and understands the world. That’s even better than winning an argument or a vote.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Both the beginning and the ending of this novel went through multiple major revisions (as did everything in between—I worked on Girl Reflected in Knife for more than a decade before I figured out how to make it the book I wanted it to be) and, with my editor’s encouragement, I did something radical to the ending, which I won’t spoil here. But I will share the first chapter, which is only three sentences long.

When I found this beginning, multiple years and revisions into the process, I suddenly understood what the story was and could be in a new way. It’s an opening that still thrills me.

1.

Listen.

Be careful the story you tell yourself. It might become the one you believe.

Visit Anica Mrose Rissi's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Anica Mrose Rissi & Arugula.

The Page 69 Test: Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle.

--Marshal Zeringue

Dana Mele

Dana Mele is a Pushcart-nominated writer based in upstate New York. A graduate of Wellesley College, Mele holds degrees in theatre, education, and law.

Mele’s debut, People Like Us, was shortlisted for the 2019 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel and is an ALA Rainbow List Selection. Their sophomore novel, Summer's Edge, was a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Selection and a New York Public Library Best Books for Teens title.

Mele's new novel is The Beast You Let In.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

A little known fun fact is that I have never chosen my own book title. My proposed title for The Beast You Let In was Veronica, after a character whose vengeful spirit may be possessing one of the main characters! The Beast You Let In is a neat title, and I think it speaks more broadly to the themes of repressed anger, buried secrets, and how much we allow the people who surround us to influence us against our better judgment.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

Not terribly! It’s a story about twin siblings solving a murder and dealing with a potential possession and revenge from beyond the grave. I was a huge horror fan as a teen and I probably would have inhaled this in the back of the theater during lunch period.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

Beginnings are harder by far, because for me finding the voice is more than half the battle. Honestly if I can nail a really strong first chapter the rest almost writes itself. But easier said than done. And I always change the ending. I never get attached. Besides, it’s fun coming up with alternate endings!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

I tend to form strong connections to places, and much of my writing is inspired by setting. The Beast You Let In is largely about home, however you may personally define it— whether as a family or a community or a country—and the tension that exists when the home you love becomes a hostile and dangerous place.

Visit Dana Mele's website.

--Marshal Zeringue