Hello, bibliophiles! Today, we have a BLOG TOUR STOP! Katie Williams, author of The Space Between Trees, did a lovely interview with me in conjunction with signing a book to giveaway! She is a fan of WORD - and she made my day when she told me - so this makes this interview even more fun for me.
What is The Space Between Trees about, you ask?
Not your everyday coming-of-age novel…
This story was supposed to be about Evie—how she hasn't made a friend in years, how she tends to stretch the truth (especially about her so-called relationship with college drop-out Jonah Luks), and how she finally comes into her own once she learns to just be herself—but it isn't. Because when her classmate Elizabeth "Zabet" McCabe's murdered body is found in the woods, everything changes…and Evie's life is never the same again.
Doesn't that sound intriguing? Now, you know the drill - just click Read More to see the super awesome, Jello filled interview.
N: Welcome to WORD, Katie! What inspired you to write The Space Between Trees?
K: The Space Between Trees is very loosely inspired by my reaction to the murder of a girl from my hometown, the daughter of a family friend, who was stabbed by a serial killer. I was eleven when she was murdered, and I became obsessed with the crime, wanting to know everything about it, convinced I would be murdered in the same way. In retrospect I think this was because if I could understand what had happened to this girl, I could keep it from happening to me. My novel’s narrator, Evie, struggles with a similar obsession. She’s trying to figure out what her childhood friend’s murder means to the world she’s growing up in, to the woman she’s becoming.
N: Wow. I... have no comments for that. What are your plans for the rest of the summer?
K: Well, I’m teaching writing at my school, Academy of Art University. Other than that, I plan to knit a couple bunny hats for some friends’ new babies, try out a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb crisp, and of course read a lot!
Ah, yes, and I’ll be working on my second novel, which is about a group of ghost kids trapped in their old high school. A fate worse than death, eh?
N: That all depends on how much fun you had in high school... or how much of a nerd you are! Is Evie based off of somebody?
K: Evie is anyone, she is me. She’s also very much not me. Growing up, I wasn’t as isolated or awkward as Evie is (though often it felt like I was), nor was I as clever and bold as she is. And I never lied as much as Evie does, unless you count all the “lying” I do in my fiction writing.
N: It's not lying, it's truth bending! What if your FAVORITE recreational activity? (Not finding murdered bodies, I hope….)
K: In fact, I am president, vice-president, and sole member of my own corpse-finding club. I go around rustling bushes, peeking under old bridges, breaking into creepy men’s attics.
Seriously, though, my favorite recreational activity is walking with my husband. City street or nature trail, it doesn’t matter. My big wish is to have a dog to go walking with, but right now our landlord would kick us out if we tried it.
N: If it's a tiny dog, you can hide it under your shirt when they walk in. What do you think of the cover of The Space Between Trees?
K: I love that cover more than poor Evie loves Jonah! The Chronicle designers did an amazing job taking a theme from the book—sometimes what’s insubstantial has more weight than what’s right in front of you—and putting it into an image. I have never seen a book design like this one, jacketless, with the die-cut tree branches and that steely lavender peeking through. I can only hope that people judge my book by its cover!
N: As one of the queens of coverwhores, the cover is GORGEOUS! If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who are they and where would you take them to dinner?
K: Oh, no! I always feel like I’m supposed to say “Pub food with Shakespeare” or “Death by chocolate with Virginia Woolf.” Honestly? I think I’d like to meet one of my ancestors, maybe someone from a few generations back. I’d want to know what her life was like and whether we were similar or utterly different. And I think we should go for Thai food or sushi, something she probably hasn’t ever had before.
N: I vote Thai food. I can't stand sushi. For some strange reason, all the water in the world is turning into Jell-O. What will you do?
K: Row out in a lake with my boat full of marshmallows and mandarin oranges and chuck ‘em in. Jell-O is always better when it has stuff in it.
N: And most importantly, why should people want to read The Space Between Trees?
K: If you’ve ever felt older and wiser than your parents, alone when you’re with your very best friend, or in love with someone who doesn’t even know your name, I think you’ll find yourself in my novel. The Space Between Trees is about all the mysteries in life that are too big to ever be solved, and it was written for all the girl detectives out there who are going to try their damndest to solve ‘em anyway.
Thanks for stopping by, Katie! It was a pleasure having you here. Don't forget to pick up The Space Between Trees at your local bookstore, or order it online. If you want to see more Katie, you can see her guest post tomorrow right HERE..
And don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY to win a signed copy of it! Oh, and click the button to read the FIRST chapter.
Yeah, I think that's it.