Page 27 - Reader's House magazine

Kate Church’s Seeking the Wolf is a masterful blend of dark fantasy and intricate world-building. With morally complex characters and a gripping plot, this tale of power, pride, and shapeshifters captivates from start to finish. Church’s vivid imagination and storytelling prowess make this a must-read for fantasy enthusiasts. extraordinary author. From the Celtic folklore that inspires her fantasy worlds to the heartfelt journey behind Splat the Dinosaur, Kate Church shares the stories behind her stories. Prepare to be inspired by her passion, her creativity, and her unwavering belief in the power of storytelling to connect, heal, and transform. Kate Church is not just an author; she is a force of nature, a voice for the unheard, and a creator of worlds that linger long after the final page is turned. It is our privilege to bring you this exclu- sive interview with a writer whose work reminds us why we read—and why we dream. that I had yet to encounter in literature. While The Chronicles of Caladh has several of the traditional tropes found amongst other works of fantasy, I enjoyed bending those tropes or adding my own twists to them. It is why I love fiction. There are no rules and each storyteller has the ability to create a world all their own. How do the themes of power and pride in Seeking the Wolf reflect the current challenges we face in our own society? We have all bore witness to an abuse of power or the pride grown too strong for one’s own good. I think in a way Seeking the Wolf What specific folklore or medieval historical events have inspired your writing, and how do you incorporate these elements into the worlds you create? While I study folklore from around the world, I tend to be drawn towards that of Northern Europe, particularly Celtic folklore, reflects a lifetime of those occurrences howev- er vast or insignificant they may have seemed at the time. Since my writing draws from my own experiences it would be only natural for some of those subconscious thoughts or feelings to seep their way into some of the characters. What challenges did you face while developing the plot and character Kate Church is a literary marvel, dynamics in Lifting the Veil, particularly blending folklore, history, and with themes of hidden intentions and alliances? heartfelt storytelling to create unforgettable worlds and characters. where I feel my connection is strongest. That accompanied by my fascination and research into the Middle Ages of the same region allows me to embrace the culture along with architectural and other historical findings to provide a guideline for what will be. As a healthcare worker, how does your D R A F T My son was diagnosed with autism several years ago and as we ventured to therapy every week, we used to tell each other stories as we drove. Sometimes we would even create a story together and that was how Splat was born. He would add a piece of the story and then I would add another and so on until the story was complete. Initially, I believed that Splat was my son’s way of expressing how he felt the world treated him and being autistic myself, I could relate to this. In truth, my son is Splat and through his eyes he wants the world to be more kind even if we do not always understand, appear or act like one another. Each person is given the opportunity to be kind and accept those as they are, but that opportunity is often discarded when it should not be. I never intended to The biggest challenge I faced in developing publish the story, but the more I spoke of the story the plotline and characters in a series was the more interest grew. Splat has become a comfort cohesiveness and consistency. I took extensive to so many and in the spirit of kindness my son and I notes on the verbiage used by the characters, use this project to spread kindness and let others like created bios for each as several of the charac- ourselves know that they are not alone. ters have some sort of connection that may or may not be apparent depending on where in the series you are at and even created a map to help better navigate the world as I was telling the story. professional experience influence your storytelling in fantasy fiction, particularly in terms of character development and themes? I do not believe it has influenced my work in the least. I have been an artist all my life and writing was just another form my art has taken. While my characters, creatures and worlds are created of my own imagination and/or experience, the fact that I have worked in healthcare has held no merit in the develop- ment of my work. In Lifting the Veil, how do you explore the idea of power shifting through unlikely individuals, and what message do you hope readers take away from this? I choose to write Dark Fantasy as characters often tend to be morally ambiguous allowing the reader to determine for themselves how they choose to see those characters. I explored this idea a great deal for nearly two years before Lifting the Veil came into existence. That accompanied with the idea that we rarely know those around us created the mold that builds a growing curiosity when a new char- acter is introduced, or something previously thought to be unremarkable gains a foothold. Can you share any insights into the creative process behind the book, particularly how you approached illustrating Splat’s journey and the challenges he faces? Seeing how the book was designed for children and partially created by a child, bright colors were the logical choice to make the story appealing for all ages. In addition, since autism is not always visually apparent, my son and I decided to make Splat’s differences physical to better convey the meaning behind the story rather than relying on subtext. After sifting through several illustrators, I stumbled upon Caleb Peregrine, an autistic artist from the UK. With his background in paleontology and watercolors, Splat no longer was just in our imagination, but a beautiful character created by the minds of three autistic individuals. What inspired you to create the world of Caladh and the concept of shapeshifters in Seeking the Wolf? Being an avid fantasy reader since I was young, part of what had drawn me to writing was the ability to fill in gaps or tell stories What inspired you to create a story about a dinosaur who struggles with being different, and how did you develop Splat’s character to convey themes of self- acceptance and kindness? Reader’s House II 27