As a former coach and high school administrator, I don’t find myself intimidated often. However, when I tackled my interview with Kathie Giorgio, I have to be honest and say I was a tad nervous. And now that the interview is published, I am more than a tad nervous.
You see, Kathie is not only a writer, but also has been in the business of helping others with their writing for nineteen years and counting. That in itself made me nervous, since I have this fear of her reading this with a red pen handy. Not only does she write her own books and help others with their writing, she sings and paints, and is learning to play the piano.
Which made this a fun interview for me is that she comes from Waukesha, Wisconsin. Those that know me, know that I taught and coached at Waukesha North High School, where once upon a time, Kathie graduated from. We didn’t know each other back then, however. What is really cool is that if you know my writing, my stories take place in Waukesha, and my teen characters attend Waukesha North High School, just as she and I did. In fact, we know some of the “real life” characters who make an appearance in my books.
So, here is my interview with Kathie Giorgio, and please, go easy with that red pen.
What was it that made you decide you had a story to tell and to become an author?
I honestly don’t remember when I started writing. It was just something I did. I liked to trace the pictures in my picture books and then rewrite the stories the way I felt they should be written. In the fifth grade, I read a short story to the class and my teacher told me I was a writer. It fit like a perfectly worn coat. So I buttoned it up and kept it on for the rest of my life.
As an author or writer, what sets you apart from others?
I don’t give up. Even if I start something and I hear myself thinking, ‘This is stupid, it will never go anywhere’, I stick with it. Often what I thought was the worst writing ever turns out to be the best. I trust my brain. I trust my imagination. And I’m not afraid to write the truth. My work has been banned in some places; but I write it anyway.
How do ideas for your stories present themselves? How do you know what story lines to follow and which to ignore?
Often, stories present themselves from lines I overhead on the news or in conversations. My latest novel, Hope Always Rises, came from a conversation I heard between two women in a coffee shop. I follow all storylines; I don’t ignore any of them. They show up for a reason. So I write them.
What genre do you write, and why?
I write literary fiction, essays, and poetry. I love literary fiction because of the lyricism of the language and the hard-hitting topics. Essays and poetry just seem to happen – some things can’t be fiction, but have to be what I’ve really experienced. So I use essays and poetry for that.
Besides writing and telling a good story, do you have any other talents?
I teach and have helped hundreds of writers improve their writing and break into print. I own my own business, an international creative writing studio, so I guess you could say I’m talented at running a business that nobody thought would survive – it’s 19 years old now and I have successful students from around the world. And I paint and sing, and I’m learning to play the piano.
If you were to name one or two books that you deem unforgettable and that had a major impact on you, what would they be, and why?
My favorite book ever is John Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire. His characters are wonderfully quirky, yet so amazingly real. He showed me, through his character named Suzy the Bear, a woman in a bear suit, that nothing is too weird as long as it rings true. I also love any of Ellen Gilchrist’s books. She is a brave woman that dared to write about things that women weren’t supposed to even think about, let alone write about. She taught me not to censor myself.
If you were to have dinner with 5 individuals living or dead, who would they be and why?
Five? Why five? I enjoy intimate dinners, with a chance to really talk to the person I’m with. I would choose Ray Bradbury and I would like to thank him. When I was seventeen years old, I wrote to him, asking him how to become a writer. He wrote back, and one of the most important things he said was that I needed to read everything. And so I do. I’d also like to have dinner with a mentor. Her name was Ellen Hunnicutt. She was the first person to tell me I was writing literary fiction, and that I had the voice of a novelist. She gave me a great sense of confidence.
What is your writing routine? When you write, do you plan or outline ahead or are you a “pantser”?
I write primarily in the afternoon. I meet with clients in the morning, have lunch, get back to my desk at 1:00, and write until the evening clients and classes start, usually around 5:00. I don’t write on Wednesdays, when I have an afternoon class, and I don’t write on the weekends. I never outline, but I consider the whole planner/pantser thing a fallacy. Most writers are a combination of both. For me, I write straight out of my head for the first draft, even if it makes little sense. Then, from the second draft on, I put on my editing hat and hone it so it all falls into place. There might be a few flights of fancy during subsequent drafts, but it’s mostly hunkering down and getting the job done. But that first draft – oh, heaven. Just write.
When writing, how much do you read? Do you read in or out of your genre?
I read everything. All the time.
Is there something you set out to do, but somehow, it didn’t work out for you? (In writing, or something else you felt was important to you at the time?)
If by “not working out”, you mean I didn’t finish, then no. I’m a bear about always finishing what I start. If you mean that I finish it, but it doesn’t go anywhere, sure. Some of my early novels have never been published. And because of who I am now, I wouldn’t want them to be.
What tips would you give to new or even experienced writers?
Find yourself a community of honest writers, led by a writer who also has the ability to teach. Then open your ears and get ready to work.
How did you “teach” yourself to write or did it just come naturally? What lessons would you pass on to others?
Learning to write has always been a combination of teaching myself and having some amazing teachers. I’m 63 years old, but I’m still friends with my high school creative writing teacher. Having a teacher who believes in you is a godsend. They teach, but they also give you free rein to experiment. As to what lessons I would pass on to others – you’d have to be one of my students to learn that.
How do you handle a negative critique?
I listen to what is being said, then apply it to what I really want to accomplish with the work. If it fits my goal, I take the critique to heart. If it doesn’t, I throw it out.
Is there a type of writing/genre that you find difficult to write? Why?
Nope. I write them all.
How important are the elements of character, setting, and atmosphere to a story, and why?
Lordy. Of course they’re very important. A story without these is like a recipe without ingredients.
Do you see yourself in any of the characters you create? How/Why?
My characters may have experienced something I experienced, but they are always purely themselves. If I wanted to write about myself, I would write memoir.
Is there an unforgettable or memorable character that will not leave your head, either of your own creation or from a book you’ve read?
James, from my first novel, The Home For Wayward Clocks, is always in my head, even though in the sequel, Learning To Tell (A Life)Time, he was dead. Hope, the main character in my most recent novel, Hope Always Rises, has not left me yet, since finishing the book. They are both such brave characters.
Tell us about your most recent book. How did you come up with the concept?
As I said earlier, I was in a coffee shop when two women, in the booth behind me, began to talk very disparagingly about a “friend” of theirs who had chosen to end her life. These two women used words such as selfish, monster, irresponsible, hateful. Working with writers as I do, and for 28, almost 29 years, I’ve seen a lot of these choices and these women made me purely angry. I got up and said to them, “It’s fine that you’re wondering how she could do this. But you should be asking in a way that means you’re wondering what kind of pain she must have been in to make her think that this was the right thing to do.” Then I went home and started writing the book.
How did you come up with the title?
I have absolutely no idea. It came when I was writing a scene in Hope’s past, where her art teacher encouraged her, during times of sadness and depression, to remember her own name. When Hope asks why, the teacher said, “Hope always rises.” And I sat back and thought, There’s my title.
From your book, who is your favorite character? Who is your least favorite character? Why?
Hope is my favorite character. She is open and honest, and so, so brave. I think she will teach a lot of readers with her example. I don’t have a least favorite character. I love them all.
What’s next?
My next novel, Don’t Let Me Keep You, was accepted by Black Rose Writing and was released on 10/3/2024. It’s literary fiction with an unusual format on the subject of motherhood, particularly letting your children go as they become adults. But it’s also about how parental expectations and influences affect our children, and affect us too as we grow alongside them.
There you have it. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Kathie Giorgio, and I encourage you pick up her books, Hope Always Rises and Don’t Let Me Keep You. I hope you were gentle with the red pen, and I would love to hear your thoughts. Use the comment section below. As always, thank you for following along on my writing journey …
Author/media contact information
Kathie Giorgio
234 Brook Street, Unit 2
Waukesha, WI 53188
Email: kathie11@aol.com
Author website: www.kathiegiorgio.org
Studio website: www.allwritersworkshop.com
Represented by: Kathleen Eull, Pyxis Creative Solutions
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathiegiorgioauthor
X (Twitter): @KathieGiorgio
Instagram: @kathiegio1
Book Links:
Hope Always Rises
Amazon:
Barnes and Noble:
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