Interview with Author Katie Hughart

Author Katie Hughart’s suspense thrillers offer more than chills down the spine. Readers are given entree to the challenging and drama-filled lives of her multidimensional characters; learning along the way what it really means to be a survivor.

So, let’s find out what Katie, has to say about her books and writing itself.



Q: Two of your books, “Midnight Masquerade” and “Panic”, center on characters who are dealing the grief and trauma associated with the murder of loved ones. What draws you to write about this particular subject matter?

A: I like to write about all sorts of different things. I could write about real life or I could write about something that's not realistic at all.

Midnight Masquerade, is a young adult book that I wrote with Holly Hood and Brandi Salazar (two of my favorite writers!) and together we decided that we would give her hard issues to deal with. Being a teenager is hard and some of the issues you are faced with are fiercely traumatizing and sometimes the decision is what dress to wear to the prom. So while writing Midnight Masquerade we kept both of those things in mind.

Panic, on the other hand is solely my story. It is a full length, adult novel, in the suspense/romance genre. Cara, the MC, is a little further into life than Laurel is, and faces many road blocks in the area's of love, and family relationships. She is faced with all of the difficulties that both life and death can throw at her.

My inspiration for writing about murder, trauma, and death, simply steam from life itself. I haven't had to experience the murder of someone close to me, but I have lost people that I care about suddenly and unexpectedly. You have to keep pushing through, even though sometimes it seems like it's all just too much to handle.

Q: Do you identify more closely with Laurel in “Midnight Masquerade” or Cara in “Panic”?

A: I definitely identify more with Cara, not only are we both red heads, but I too lost my father. I also admire her choice in men, I mean that Sean is quite the hunk! ;)

Q: You named V. C. Andrews and Nora Roberts as your greatest influences. Which one, do you think, has had the greatest impact on you?

A: I started reading V.C. Andrews when I was sixteen and by the time I was seventeen I had read all of her books (before the ghostwriter), so her books have had the greatest impact on me. From Heaven to Rain to Ruby I found a piece of myself in her characters and admired their courage to push through adversity. She didn't inspire me to become a writer as much as her books sparked something in me that grew until one day long after I had finished reading her stories that I picked up a pen and began writing my own.

Q: Do you write continually or just when you come upon a particularly compelling idea?

A: Both! I have a constant stream of compelling ideas, more than I can ever have the time to write about. I keep them all filed under lock and key (or maybe I'm just getting a little carried away...lol) but I have lots and lots of stories on the back burner and I find myself coming up with new ideas to add to the list on a regular basis.

Q: Some writers say they feel like the characters are in charge and they are just along for the ride. How carefully do you plan your stories. Do they ever go in a different direction than you originally intended?

A: Yes, yes the characters are in charge...blah, blah, blah, I'm just the vessel, blah - they're all on a power trip if you ask me. I mean I gave them their looks, their personalities, put them in shifty scenarios and made sure (most of the time) that they end up with their true love and how do the repay me...I'm really kidding around, but my stories rarely turn out the way that I plan. When I started writing Panic in a notebook, what seems like forever ago, the pen flew across the page as I watched in awe. There was this story in my head and I attempted to ignore it for six months, and it refused to leave me be until I gave it life, and that's how it all started. As time goes on I find myself planning out more and more of my stories, but Panic was a fly by the seat of my pants possession that came as it wished.

Q: You’ve also written a book of poetry, “Words in Black and White: a book of poems”. Which do you prefer as a writer, poetry or suspense thrillers?

A: As long as I'm creatively expressing myself with words, I'm happy. I started with poetry. I wrote poetry as a teenager, but never imagined in a million years that I'd ever be a writer. Most of those poems are long gone, but God blessed me with this beautiful thing called creativity and poems as well as fictional stories both have equally important places in my life. I couldn't see doing without either one; though, I do spend more time creating stories then I do poetry. When I'm on the poetry train it takes me over for a period of time and only let's me up after I have twenty to thirty some poems to show for it.

Q: Laurel, in “Midnight Masquerade”, is a teenager dealing with several different problems at the same time: her parents’ murder, boy trouble, the difficulties of living with her sister’s family. Although this is an extreme set of circumstances, do you think this scenario speaks to teenagers who are overwhelmed with stress at school and at home?

A: Yes, the teen years are a whirlwind of dramas that fly by at lightening speed until one day you're an adult and look around wondering what happened. So many teens feel trapped, so many feel abandoned, sad, or insufficient. Being a teen is one of the hardest things in the world to do, but it's also temporary. A lot of the things that push us to our limits, also develop the character that we need as adults to push through hard times. I think Jewel did a beautiful job of speaking to the teenage heart with the lyrics from her song "What You Are" I posted my favorite part below.