Welcome to Winnie’s Writers Week!
All this week (Aug 23rd-Aug 28th) I will be doing a week of author and book spotlights, showcasing some of the most unique authors and writers I’ve met in a while. This year’s theme is women in fantasy. These posts discuss and showcase women, their writing talents, and their published works. So without further ado let’s get on with the Author Spotlight!
About the Author:
Cate Pearce was homeschooled on a Christmas tree farm in rural Western Washington. At age eight she was fed-up with a plotline on Star Trek TNG so she wrote her own episodes on a Commodore 64. She has been a writer ever since, but only recently decided to share that information with you and the world.
What and when started your love for writing?
I grew up in a family with a rich oral tradition. My elders told stories to impart I don’t think many people believe this but I started writing when I was 5. We had a Commodore Amiga computer and I was fascinated with typing on it. My first story was called “Dude and His Dog” and it was about a dude going for a walk with his dog (who talked!) My mom was a literature major; she tutored writing and wrote narrative nonfiction.
My dad was an art teacher in a small town who occasionally taught English. The two of them encouraged me and always told me I could be a writer. I was homeschooled in the country, so I spent most of my childhood reading and writing. In high school and college I took as many writing courses as possible, and received a lot of recognition and encouragement from my teachers and professors.
Of all of the book genres, what drew you to write about yours?
I have always been a sci-fi/fantasy reader. It might seem odd, but I struggle to enjoy lit fiction or any genre without either a science or magic system. That being said, I write more than fantasy! I have written speculative (superhero), horror, near and far future sci-fi, and speculative (ninja) works.
If you could meet your favorite author who would it be and why?
Neil Gaiman. I love how he blends genres and really moves from one style of fantasy to the next. Also I recently read that Neil Gaiman is an author everyone says is their favorite, so I feel inclined to mention a second favorite: Robin Hobb. The Farseer Trilogy was one of the first fantasy series I ever read, aside from LOTR.
What do you like about world-building?
World-building is the best part of writing, to me. I’m an ENTP personality type (Myers Briggs) which means I create huge ideas and concepts naturally. The problem for me (for years) was that I couldn’t rein in my ideas, and they were always too big for me to finish! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned how to contain my world-building into bite size chunks. I rely on experts to help, too. For the Black Crown series, I consulted a former aircraft navigator and geography expert. He helped me plan the landscape, climates, and we worked through how the planet could affect microevolution.
As a funny aside, sometimes I create worlds with no characters and no plot. I have one involving spiritual powers at war that I might never write!
What makes your book(s)/writing special?
I think there are a few things that readers really enjoy about my books. I write in layers with hidden meanings, foreshadowing, secrets, etc. The readers who dig deep will find puzzles, mysteries, and unanswered questions to speculate over. However, the readers who want to enjoy the story without obsessing can do so, as well.
Of course, the other special thing about my work is that it’s LGBTQ, specifically F/F (or Sapphic). There are very few Sapphic adult fantasies out there, and I’m thrilled to be adding to the list.
So…what are you working on now?
Book two in the series, Defenders of the Black Crown, is my first priority! The sequel to Traitors is faster-paced, launching to high stakes deaths, characters changing sides, and two new regions of people with evolved traits we haven’t seen before.
I’ve also started a new book, Hardtack and Hellfire, which follows demon slayers along the Oregon Trail.
It was great to have Cate Pearce on Writers Week as our last Author Spotlight! I hope to have more of her and her books on the blog in the future. If you want to get in contact or connect with Cate, you can follow her on:
Thank you all for reading and remember:
Live. Love. Laugh.
