Happy March! It’s been a crazy past month with my newborn baby boy arriving in early February (much earlier than anticipated)! Needless to say, I haven’t been keeping up with actual reviews lately, but I’m so excited to have such wonderful authors lined up and I love supporting the writers that make our book obsession possible!
This month’s spotlight is on Katie O’Rourke, author of contemporary women’s fiction. Not only does she capture intriguing family dynamics in her novels, I have to shout out that she’s originally from New England (like me!). 🙂
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Q&A with Katie O’Rourke
How did you become an author? What was your inspiration to start (and keep) writing?
I’ve always been a writer, but it wasn’t until a creative nonfiction course I took in college that I began to think I had a book in me and something to say. That book was Monsoon Season and I spent about a year thinking about my main character before I actually started writing.
Tell us a bit about the genre you write in and how you create your storylines?
All of my stories begin with the people in them. I write family sagas with overlapping characters. The stories in these books exist on their own and can be read in any order, independently from each other. I don’t write sequels, but because all of my characters live in the same world, there’s an opportunity to revisit the past. Readers of Monsoon Season will find a familiar face in Finding Charlie; if you’re still wondering about Juliet when you finish A Long Thaw, look for her in Blood & Water.
Do you have any writing rituals or methods you depend on when you’re facing writer’s block?
I think the best thing to do when stuck is to read something great, which sometimes means rereading your favorites.
You write in the contemporary women’s fiction genre, which can be quite broad. Is there a particular niche within that you like to focus your writing on?
It is broad. A lot of people think it means romance, which is not what I write. In one of my favorite reviews of Sue Miller, she’s described as writing about “families and marriages, infidelity and divorce — what we call ‘literary fiction’ when men write about those things.”
From Finding Charlie and Monsoon Season to A Long Thaw and Blood & Water, I noticed your books tend to be themed around family and secrets. Is there anything you can share about your exploration of familial themes?
I write fiction, but it’s peppered with a lot of true family stories. My mother now prefaces things she tells me with: “Don’t put this in one of your books!”
Is there any specific author whom you admire/inspires you, that you read every book they publish? Who and why?
Several. Sue Miller and Julia Glass and Jennifer Haigh are at the top of my list. They write characters so real and relatable that the plot is irrelevant.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished Sue Miller’s Monogamy, which was perfect. My mother recommended Lovers & Writers, so that’s on deck.
Do you have any talents/hobbies other than writing that your fans might not know about?
I am really good at playing fetch. You can ask my dog, Lulu.
If you weren’t a writer, what do you think you would be doing instead?
As a young child, I thought I’d be a teacher. I think a lot of kids imagine that because it’s one of the only professions we see up close. By high school, I was thinking about being a psychologist because I’m endlessly fascinated by issues of identity and family dynamics, by the nature vs. nurture debate. These are things that inevitably find their way into my fiction.
If you watch TV, what are your favorite shows to binge-watch right now?
There’s so much good television on these days. I’m a Game of Thrones nerd, but in terms of watching the kind of stuff I write, I was sad for the conclusion of This is Us. I was jealous of the writing in Anna Kendrick’s Love Life on HBO. White Lotus is a master class in creating three-dimensional characters in the first scene.
What are a few of your favorites (i.e. movie, song, food)?
Amelie, Van Morrison, Pad See Ew.
Coffee, wine or something else?
I’m not a regular coffee drinker but I love a mocha frappaccino.
Anything else you’d like readers to know about you and your books?
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Author Bio: Katie O’Rourke
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Katie’s Books
Katie’s books are available on Amazon, as well as other retailers.
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Connect with Katie O’Rourke
Visit her website: https://www.katieorourke.com/
The Book Basics 
Excellent interview! I’m a huge fan of Katie’s books!
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