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Kate Ristau

 

Kate Ristau is an author and folklorist. She writes young adult and middle grade fiction, along with grammar primers that won’t make you cringe. Her YA novel, Shadowgirl, was published by Lycaon Press in May. In her ideal world, magic and myth combine to create memorable stories with unforgettable characters. Until she finds that world, she’ll live in Portland, Oregon with her husband, her son, and her dog. If you can’t find her there, you can find her at kateristau.com.

Please give us an idea of your creative process.

I treat writing like a job. That means I write every weekday, no matter what. Sometimes that means two hours, sometimes that means 30 minutes. And way too often, the scheduling gets complicated. That’s because I split my mornings between my job as a Operations Director at a new tech company — The Collective — and my creative work. I also spend the afternoons with my son, and I try to read every evening too. So, that means that I have to meet my writing goals in the morning, or I will spend the day scrambling to meet my word counts. Over the years, I’ve discovered that it works best for me if I just schedule the time, so I can do the work without the worry.

One more thing — I love writing. I can’t imagine not telling stories, and it fills me with joy when people read my work. The only thing I enjoy more is watching others become more confident in their own writing abilities. As a former writing professor, I have had the chance to see students succeed and become more comfortable in their own abilities and work. I had to give up teaching to give myself more time for my own creative work, but I can’t help diving in to workshops and editing with developing writers. It’s my passion and my pleasure.

So what are you reading now?

Right now, I am reading Unremembered by Peter Orullian. If you are a scifi/fantasy lover who enjoys music, I really recommend the book. It is epic and beautiful. I also just finished All the Light You Cannot See. The language was gorgeous and the imagery evoked the time period in a way that I don’t see in very many recent books.

Can you list some of your favorite books? Favorite authors?

I read across genres, but I absolutely love sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite sci-fi/fantasy authors include Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Patrick Rothfuss, ad Brandon Sanderson. My favorite series include The Farseer Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Tower, Mistborn, and The Wizard of Earthsea. All of those series continue to influence my work, along with books like The Last Unicorn. I love the way Peter Beagle weaves his story — so simple, yet so profound. His book is one I love going back to again and again.