RW : How many hours a day do you spend writing?
ACN : I
write every day, and I spend anywhere between thirty minutes to four or five
hours writing. I write on the keyboard and by hand, about equally. I like to
tell stories on the computer, and I journal by hand.
RW : Who
are your favorite authors?
ACN : That’s
a tough question. In terms of fiction, I’d say Ursula K. LeGuin, Lois McMaster
Bujold, and Steven Brust. In terms of writing books, Lynda Barry, Julia
Cameron, and Natalie Goldberg.
I tend
to read a lot more non-fiction than I do fiction, these days, because I write
so much that I want a break from the imaginary worlds. When I do want fiction,
I tend to turn to Netflix; my standbys are mysteries and crime dramas.
RW : What
makes a good book?
ACN : Interesting
question! I think it depends on the reader. In terms of literature, scholars
have definitions by which they define “good book,” but for me it’s about
whether the author pulls me into the world they’ve created. If I “go somewhere”
while I’m reading, and feel bereft when it’s over, then I feel like it’s a good
book. I love David Eddings’ Belgariad and Malloreon series for that. It’s
twelve books in total; five in two series each and then two standalones. It’s a
lot of fun because the world really pulls you in as the reader and forms around
you.
RW : How do
you celebrate the mile-markers of publishing?
ACN : That’s
a tough one. I have trouble celebrating. Any milestone, not just writing, is
tough for me because once it’s accomplished, it no longer feels real. I’ve been
practicing with making a point of celebrating, but I don’t really know how—what
does one do to celebrate? For our last book, we went out to dinner. It still
didn’t feel celebratory enough, so it’s a work in progress.
RW : Where
do you hope to be five years from now?
ACN : That’s easy—writing full time and living in
Seattle, Washington!
RW : Why did you decide to write?
ACN : I’ve been a storyteller my whole life.
RW : How much of your personality and life
experiences are in your writing?
ACN : Depends on the story.
RW : Do you feel humor is important in fiction and
why?
ACN : Yes, absolutely. Humor is all around us, and it
draws us in. It makes horrible things bearable and allows us to get closer to
tragedy. I think humor is necessary in fiction because it allows the dark
moments greater horror and impact.
RW : What do you do to relax and recharge your
batteries?
ACN : Um… This would depend on whether I relax and
recharge. J I
knit. A lot. I also do calligraphy, yoga, and other forms of textile art.
RW : Bubble baths or steamy showers? Ocean or
mountains? Puppies or kittens? Chocolate or caramel?
ACN : Bubble baths. Ocean AND mountains. Puppies AND
kittens. Chocolate. That’s not even a question. Definitely chocolate.
Cat’s Cradle
When you’re a former Marine
tiger shifter, love comes with a high cost—is it too much to pay?
Mitchell Brayden is a former
Marine tiger shifter looking for love in all the wrong places. When he decides
to rescue a young ocelot shifter from a rich, spoiled playboy, he embroils
himself in a conflict that goes back generations.
Guadalupe Salazar grew up as a
pampered pet of a benevolent patron. After his patron’s untimely death, he
stays on with the patron’s son—a self-centered, weak man who got ensnared by
the drugs and fast living in the States. One night, it goes too far, and Lupe
is beaten nearly to death. He is taken to a secret shifter clinic where he
meets an unlikely knight in tarnished armor.
Together, Mitch and Lupe
confront the playboy and his friends—but will their actions draw the rest of
the jaguar familias, not to mention the ocelot clans, into a battle over Lupe’s
future? Will the delicate balance of power destroy everything that Mitch’s
small band of tiger shifters has built in Chicago?
Bio:
My official bio came to me
when mulling over my two main passions: words and yarn. It hit me that they’re
the same thing: “For author and textile artist A. Catherine Noon, it’s all
about the yarn, both metaphorical and literal—spinning a yarn, knitting with
yarn, weaving, sewing, painting, sharing stories and good times over a cup of
coffee with dark chocolate.”
I’m a born storyteller. I love
to talk and I love to write. I sometimes feel, in my heart of hearts, that the
internet was developed by and for people like me—natural networkers who love to
talk with anybody about anything. After Y2K, the world belongs to the geeks.
Teaching is a natural extension of that instinct. I find I’m just as passionate
about helping other people get onto the page as I am about my own writing.
I’ve written all sorts of
things: fantasy, science fiction, autobiography, cooking, spirituality, and a
host of other topics. I recently rediscovered a love of poetry, because it uses
words to express the inexpressible. Essays, too, have fascinated me for a long
time, though I didn’t know what name to call the style of writing I liked—it
certainly wasn’t the dry-as-bones “essays” from high school days. Phillip
Lopate did a lot of good for the field of letters in general, and me in particular,
when he published his ode to the essay, The Art of the Personal Essay. Turns
out, I’m a fan of Montaigne. Now that I’m an author and have to promote myself,
I get to write essays for my different blogs. I even have a basket of topics on
which I feel confident to write.
Finding one’s voice can be a
lifelong pursuit. I know it has been for me. Being able to own that voice, and
speak in that voice, takes practice and gentleness. A word at a time, we learn
to get, and stay, on the page. The same goes for knitting. It’s a very Zen
process of accumulating stitches and those stitches turn into a garment, or art
object, or soft furnishing, or a toy, or anything the knitter can conceive.
Buy
Link—Amazon:
Contact
Catherine:
Author
Website: http://www.noonandwilder.com
Author
Blog: http://noonandwilder.com/category/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noonandwilder
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonandwilder
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/A.-Catherine-Noon/e/B005HKG4EO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_2
