7 Questions I Always Ask +1 with Katie Schickel, author of HOUSEWITCH
Today for my 7 Questions +1 feature, we have Katie Schickel, debut author of HOUSEWITCH, a new novel from Tor/Forge. I’m pumped to hear what she has to say about her writing process, hypothetical shenanigans, and perhaps some practical housewitchery.
E. Kristin Anderson: What was the first spark of inspiration for your latest book?
Forge Books, February 2015.
Katie Schickel: My husband and I had just bought a circa-1803 house that needed an overhaul (it was still plumbed for gas lights inside). We were renting a place on a barrier island nearby when I got the idea for the backstory in HOUSEWITCH. Every day, I’d push my stroller down the sandy road, past a little shingled shop called the Plum Island Soap Company. Inside, three women made and cut hand-crafted soap. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling of the small shop and breezes blew through the open windows. It reminded me of a scene from pioneer days when women made soap from lard and ashes. I couldn’t get the image out of my head. In my imagination, I added a few macabre details, like “What if the lard came from a human being?” I wrote the scene, filed it away, then a year later dusted it off and made it into chapter one of HOUSEWITCH.
EKA: What kind of planning do you do before you start writing?
KS: For HOUSEWITCH, I totally winged it. About halfway through, I started plotting scenes out on index cards, but it grew very organically for me. All I knew for certain was that I wanted to write about the pressures of being a stay-at-home mom in a culture that demands perfection.
My next book (MER, due out in summer, 2016) was totally different. I spent about a week just outlining and planning. The story changed during the writing, of course, but I discovered that outlining is a much more efficient way to go for me.
EKA: If you could get moderately tipsy with any writer living or dead, who would it be?
KS: I’d have a beer with Wallace Stevens and ask him to explain “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” once and for all. I taught that poem to my seventh- and eighth-grade students when I was an English Language Arts teacher, and I always felt like a bit of a fraud analyzing it. Who was I to say what it meant? The great thing about teaching poetry to adolescents, however, is that they end up teaching you. It was fascinating to see the poem through their eyes. It led to wonderful discussions on the personal experience of poetry, and whether or not poets intend meaning, or simply write for the beauty of the words. I’d like Wallace to weigh in on the matter.
HarperCollins Children’s Books, February 1986.
EKA: What is the first book you remember reading and enjoying as a young reader?
KS: WHEN THE WIND BLEW by Margaret Wise Brown is the first book I can remember reading as a very young child. My mother and I read it so many times that the cover was worn and peeling. I loved all those cats. Brown was more famous for GOODNIGHT MOON and THE RUNAWAY BUNNY, among others, but WHEN THE WIND BLEW was closest my to heart.
Of course, once I discovered Judy Blume, ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET. was THE book that defined my middle years.
EKA: If you could go back and time and tell your teen self ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY, what would it be?
KS: Wow. That’s a tough question. Messing with the space-time continuum, and all. Hmmm. I’d tell my teen self to be bold. Being timid doesn’t open doors. Every great thing that has happened in my life has been the result of bold action. And I think my teen self would be smart enough to know the difference between being bold and being reckless, so I could trust her not to do anything too stupid with that advice.
EKA: If you haven’t had a book challenged or banned, would you want this to happen to you? Why or why not?
KS: It’s not one of my goals, but I wouldn’t mind having a book banned. You know you’re doing something right when you can stir up emotions and get people talking. When I was a newspaper reporter, I got lots of heated calls in response to articles on controversial topics. Sometimes the calls were from people who felt they had been misquoted. Sometimes they were from readers who simply wanted their voice to be heard. It used to rattle me. Then my editor taught me to be open to whatever responses came my way. It’s often a good starting point for another story. Controversy always opens up a platforms for discussion.
EKA: What kind of book do you really want to try to write, but haven’t ever attempted? And what do you think is holding you back?
Mariner Books, Paperback Edition, May 2003.
KS: I love survival-at-sea stories. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, ENDURANCE: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, KON TIKI, even fictional survivor stories like THE LIFEBOAT, and LIFE OF PI, are among my faves. Force a person to boil their existence down to the basic necessities of life and you end up with some intense character-building moments. I’ve had some harrowing experiences on and under the sea (stranded on a convict island in Panama, being surrounded by thousands of barracuda on a night dive, all those sharks encounters!), but I don’t feel held back. On the contrary, I think it gives me perspective. I might have to take a crack at it. Yes! I’m going to find a good survival story and go after it. Thanks for sparking the idea!
EKA: If you were a housewitch, what witchy perks would you most enjoy?
KS: Housewitches have some awesome powers — spells that can spice up their sex life, get their pets to clean up after themselves, conceal things they don’t want others to see. Most of the spells are designed to make life easier; some are more nefarious. If I could only pick one, I’d probably whip up an enchantment to catch a home-run ball at Fenway.
Katie Schickel
KATIE SCHICKEL graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in English. A former newspaper reporter, Schickel’s writing career and passion for scuba diving has taken her to Pensacola and Key West, FL, as well as throughout the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. She has been a freelancer for several scuba magazines, including Scuba Times Magazineand Outside Magazine. Schickel lives in Massachusetts where she spends her time writing and with family. When she’s not doing that, Schickel also surfs the chilly waters of New England, even in the winter. HOUSEWITCH is her first novel.
