It’s a beautiful autumn day today – the sun is shining, and the sky is a lovely crisp blue. The shops are full of Hallowe’en wares already, and my grocer’s has piles of pumpkins outside the front. It’s the perfect time to host Kristy Tate – an author who writes about witches!
Where do you live, Kristy? I live in Southern Orange County, California, and my favorite place to be is probably my bedroom, but second to that, I love spending time in the canyon near my house. I base my knowledge of Orange County on watching every single episode of the OC – it sounds a fab place to live!
Being a writer is a great job. What’s the worst job you ever had? Probably my worst job was working for my dad in the mountains. He owned a construction company and was a road builder. My summer job was to sit on the side of a mountain and watch a giant bonfire and make sure it didn’t get out of control. Seeing as how I didn’t have any way to contact anyone if the fire did spread, it was a pretty silly job. Still, my dad, who worked for the government, was required to have someone watch the fire. So I had to sit there and always wear a hard hat. That was almost as silly as when I had to sit at the bottom of the mountain and tell people they couldn’t go any further because the men were blasting stumps, but since I could sit in a chair and read a book and talk to less than a person a day, that was a great job.. albeit silly.
Being paid to sit in the mountains by a camp-fire and spend all day reading…that sounds like my ideal job!
Which book do you wish you’d written? The book I wish I had written was Gone With the Wind. It’s just so big and epic and for years I was absolutely in love with Rhett Butler.
Great choice. I still am in love with Rhett Butler!
What’s your favourite song? I have lots of favorite songs and they all change places depending on my mood. I really love Fields of Gold, by Sting and Let the Boys Grown in the Trees, by Carly Simon.
If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be, and what would you say to them? My heroes are all from the Bible and of course, I would love to meet any of them. The founding fathers are also on that list. But it’s always scary to hero worship someone. The few times I’ve met famous authors, politicians, or athletes, I’ve been let down. I remember meeting an author I grew up admiring and being shocked when she made a racial comment. It was a private conversation, so she didn’t announce her feelings to the world, but still it really bothered me. I guess I like to keep my heroes on their pedestals.
It’s such a disappointment when an author turns out not to be a particularly nice person. I’ve stopped reading some authors whose books I used to love, because after meeting them, I can’t read them in the same way.
What’s your favourite childhood memory? My mom used to take me and my cousin to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle when I was a kid and we’d get grape soda. I always liked the monkeys and bears.
The monkeys are my favourite, too.
If you could marry anyone from fiction, who would it be? Of course, I don’t want to marry anyone other than my husband, but if he wasn’t an option, I’d definitely choose Atticus Fitch. (I know I said I was in love with Rhett Butler, but given the choice, I would pick Atticus over Rhett.)
Hmm. Tough decision. I think I’d still have to go with Rhett :)
What lesson have you learned from life that you would pass on to others? The best life lesson I’ve ever learned is that I can be happy in any given situation. Happiness is always a choice. As Saint Paul said, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair.
And finally, please tell us about your latest release, and where we can find youMy latest book is Witch Winter, the sequel to Witch Ways, my Kindle Scout Winner.
Every day each of us must decide whether or not to be a witch and for Evelynn Marston, that decision is becoming increasingly difficult. She didn’t mean to burn down the science room. A little anger, some flames, and an expulsion later, Evie finds herself destined to spend the rest of her high school years at Despaign Academy—named for Connecticut’s last convicted witch.
Despite its shadowy past, Despaign has the same cliques as other schools, and Evie struggles to fit in and to be noticed by the handsome and mysterious Dylan Fox—that is, until she casts her first spell.
But even in a magical place, evil lurks. When Evie’s friend, Laurie Silver, turns up dead, Evie must rely on all her newfound powers and friends to find the truth. But bringing a killer to justice may require stronger magic and true love, the kind that can’t be found in a potion.
You can find all of my books on my Amazon Author Page and on my blog
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Thanks so much for being my guest today, Kristy. It was great to meet someone from the real OC. And your new book sounds perfect for Hallowe’en!
If you’ve enjoyed Kristy’s interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
Helena Fairfax 
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