Harrow lake by Kat Ellis is a book I could not put down. Today, it is my pleasure to host her on the blog for a Q&A! Many thanks to Dave at The WriteReads for connecting us! Let’s get to know Kat a bit first: She has published 3 YA novels (BLACKFIN SKY, BREAKER, and PURGE) and one novella (THE TWINS OF BLACKFIN in the THREE STRIKES collection). When she is not writing, she is either reading, doing my amateur photographer thing, or watching scary films with her husband.
Enjoy the interview, and get some insights about the book, without any spoilers! You can click on my reading experience graphic below to read my thought on the book. 🙂
- You are the author of a number of YA novels. What do you love about this age group as protagonists?
At 16, 17, 18 years old, most people are on the brink of really getting some freedom (finishing school, maybe living independently for the first time, etc.) — but also lots of responsibility. Getting to wreak havoc for my protagonists at this life-changing age makes for a really exciting story!
- What was the moment when the idea of the book first came to be? What made you pursue it?
The story of Harrow Lake changed quite a few times as I was writing it. In fact, the first draft was a lot more like the story of Nightjar (the movie Lola’s mother starred in, which was filmed in the town of Harrow Lake). I had this image in my head of a girl being chased through underground tunnels, but it took me a while to build the right story around that.
- I absolutely love your style of writing. It is atmospheric and vivid, transporting the reader not only to the place you write of but also the emotional journey of the characters. Harrow Lake reminded of an upside-down Stars Hollows from Gilmore Girls. What were your inspirations for characters and settings?
Thank you so much! I loved Gilmore Girls. And I’m a sucker for any story with a weird, small-town setting (like Twin Peaks, IT, and Stranger Things) so I tend to naturally gravitate toward writing them.
I had a lot of fun coming up with the characters who might inhabit a strange town like Harrow Lake — like Cora, who knows allll the local legends and is as ‘Harrow Lake’ as a person can be, even though she doesn’t want to be. I also thought about the characters who might want to visit there, like Lola’s dad, Nolan. He’s kind of a mash-up of a number of different middle-aged, male Hollywood director types, and it was great fun writing his sections (can I call him an asshole? Because he’s an asshole.)
- Do you like horror movies the way Lola does? Or, like me and some of my friends, you prefer to read horror instead?
Both! The thing I love most about reading horror is that I get fully immersed in it — I see what the main character sees, feel the fear the same time they do, so I’m basically living it right along with them. But when I watch horror movies, I love that I get to share the terror with someone else at the same time (and sharing is caring… right?) I went to see IT: Chapter One in the cinema a few years ago, and there was a moment early on in the film (if you’ve seen it, you’ll know the one I mean) where everyone — I mean, literally everyone — in the theatre gasped at the same time. I love that kind of shared experience.
- Lola is one of my favorite protagonists of books I have read this year. How do you balance creating a character that is believable but sometimes unreliable at the same time? How important is the world building to make this possible?
I’m so glad you liked her 😊
Lola tends to filter the world through fiction — her only ‘friends’ growing up have been books and movies, and she’s developed a necessary habit of putting on different masks to get what she wants from the people around her. Sometimes that makes her grasp of reality a little… questionable. She gets thrown into a setting where it’s not always clear what’s fact vs fiction — Harrow Lake is both a town with its own dark history, as well as a movie set with an entirely different story attached to it — and I wanted readers to feel just as unsure and creeped out as Lola was.
- What makes Harrow Lake different from your other books? After reading Harrow Lake, which of your books would you recommend readers to pick next?
I think Harrow Lake is definitely my scariest book to date, though they all tend to be a bit thrillery and weird. If what you liked about Harrow Lake was the eerie small-town setting with a mysterious past, then Blackfin Sky would be a good choice. If your favourite part was the huge twist in the story, Purge would be a great pick. Or if you liked the claustrophobic, slasher-movie-feel of it, then I’d recommend Breaker.
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Kriti, and for the great questions!
Thanks, Kat, for taking out some time to share about yourself and Harrow Lake!
Hope you enjoyed this interview with Kat. You cam find her on Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram and her website.
** Harrow Lake will be available July 9, 2020. You can preorder a copy below if you are interested or add it to your wishlist for later. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
The WriteReads tour is not over yet! Be sure to check out the other wonderful book blogs on the tour.
Cover image: Photo by Alexey Shikov on Unsplash
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