An interview with Kathryn Rogers




Kathryn Rogers
Memphis Hoodoo Murders

Who are your influences? 
My child and baby-to-be are my motivation behind everything that I do. I want them to grow up knowing they can do anything they want to, so I try to instill confidence in them by setting a good example with pursuing my writing dream even when it doesn’t always seem practical. My now deceased grandparents remain powerful influences in my life since I learned so much from them, and they helped me become the person I am today. My day job is a counselor, and in graduate school I looked up to one of my professors a great deal. He was so knowledgeable, kind, and progressive, and to this day whenever a novice counselor asks me who I look up to, I always say him. Regarding my writing, my husband's and my editor's perspectives are invaluable for me.

When did you begin writing?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. My childhood dream was to write books, but I later went into education and counseling, because I wanted to help people. I enjoy the creative outlet which writing affords me, and it gives me a natural high I don't
get anywhere else. 

How do you come up with your stories, characters, character names, POV, etc.?
The truth is that I don’t come up with the characters – the characters introduce themselves to me, and their names are the first descriptive they give me. I also don’t feel like the creator of my stories – I feel like the characters’ transcriber instead.

Do you work from an outline?
No, I generally just let the story flow since I don't normally create the whole story in chronological order. Instead I typically get bits and pieces of the puzzle, and over time it becomes clear what order they should go in. At the beginning, I tend to see the beginning and ending though – it's the rest of it which comes to me in parts. I don't worry about the sequence of events – I just write it all down as best as I can. And then when I have enough pieces, the picture becomes clear.

Tell me about your favorite scene in your novel(s).
I have two favorite scenes, and while this will probably surprise most people, neither of them are mysterious or suspenseful. The first one is the scene where the grandparents have been recruited for a mock therapy session related to the lead character's school assignment. It's as if Tyler Perry's Madea and Joe along with the Beverly Hillbillies' Clampett family merged together for marital counseling. It makes me laugh no matter how many times I have read it. My other favorite scene is where one of the characters is pouring her heart out to express her intense grief and deep despair; it's so raw that I think anyone who has lost someone important will be able to identify with what it feels like to have died inside yet have to keep on living.

Can you tell us a little about your writing philosophy?
 I try to respect my work enough to stay true to my characters and my vision for their lives. When I receive criticism, instead of rejecting it, I consider whether there is anything of value I could use to improve my story. I always want my work to be as wonderful as possible, so I take any opportunity to improve it and not allow my personal feelings to get in the way of bettering my books. I attempt to always give myself permission to focus on my inner voice and the readers who will be interested in what I have to write. And additionally, I remind myself regularly that no book is everyone’s cup of tea, so mine will be no exception to this.

Have you ever tried writing in any other genres?
Yes, I have. I would never want to limit myself to just one genre.

Do you have any interesting writing-related anecdotes to share?
It was two weeks before Christmas in the winter of 2014; I was at home with my preschooler who was just three years old at the time. I opened my email to find a message from James Dickerson of Sartoris Literary Group saying that he would like to send me a book contract, because he wanted to publish my story. I was ecstatic, and my husband was running errands. Since I had no adult at home to immediately celebrate with, I started jabbering to my kid about my good news. He cocked his head and looked at me strangely as cartoons blared in the background before he said, “That's nice, Mama. Can I have some Goldfish now?” I reminded myself that he was three before I gave him a snack as I impatiently waited for my husband to arrive so I could have someone to jump up and down with. When he finally got there, we couldn't stop smiling and were both so excited. Then our kid started hopping up and down, too – not because he had a clue what we were so happy about but because he was feeding off of our energy, and he likes to hop. I have no idea what I got for Christmas that year, but that email was the best present ever.

Do you listen to music as you write?
Yes, I do my best writing when I have music playing. I love The Foo Fighters and The Heavy, and I listened to both of these bands a lot while I was writing Memphis Hoodoo Murders. I also love to stream the Alabama Shakes on Pandora while I’m writing since I enjoy blues rock a great deal.

On the behalf of my readers, I would like to thank you Kathryn for your time with us.

Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me. I sincerely appreciate it.







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