Meet Cath Howe
It is wonderful to be joined by Cath Howe for today’s Q and A session. Cath won the NSTBA 2018 Moving On Category with ‘Ella on the Outside’ and has continued to produce powerful and enjoyable books which are very popular with children in both primary and secondary schools. If you are not familiar with her writing, I strongly recommend that you read everything she has written!
1. You are well known for writing heart-warming, insightful stories. Do you think being a teacher helps you with how you present your characters and the situations they find themselves in?
Yes, I spend time with my chosen age-group every week and get to know them throughout the year, teaching small groups creative writing and performance. I love this work. I get lots of story ideas and I think it helps me write believable contemporary characters. I also really like the company of children. They make me laugh.
2. When you’re writing, do you start with an idea of a character or a situation?
Usually I start with a character. I need to write that character’s voice for a while with bursts of writing about their life, family and home world. Once they begin to feel alive in my head, I write monologues of other characters who will appear in the story- incidents and opinions. The monologue work means I write thousands of words that never appear in the story. But that’s OK.
Unusually, The Insiders started with the idea of a school at night and wondering if anyone might be inside it. It’s rare for me to use a situation first and characters second but this plot really interested me right from the start and I loved writing three viewpoints.
3. Your characters are hugely relatable and easy to empathise with so the reader really feels they know them by the end. Although your books are stand alone, would you ever think about writing another story about any of them?
I’d love to. I’d like to tell the story of Ella in Ella on the Outside when she visits her Dad.
I’d like to revisit Lucas in How To Be Me and see how he has changed in the months after the summer ended.
I’d love the group of friends in The Insiders to discover more weird situations in school.
I have often carried on writing a story after the book has ended. Some of the minor characters have intrigued me too. I wonder if one of them could switch to being a central story.
4. Have you ever thought about writing something completely different - like historical fiction for example?
I’m not someone who loves to do research. I really like writing for different age-groups. I’m busy working on something for a younger age group. I’m not able to give details right now but…very exciting!
5. Do you think you have you been influenced by any authors whose work you read as a child?
Yes, definitely. I read a lot as a child- a wide range of books from Alan Garner and Tolkein to Noel Streatfield. And I was lucky to be read to a lot.
6. What can we expect from you next?
My next MG book is nearly complete. It’s a firecracker of a theme and a book I really wanted to write. The story is told by two children. It starts with a very dramatic event in the life of one of them. I have absolutely loved writing it and exploring the psychology and behaviour of the main characters.
And younger fiction on the horizon- this is a great joy.
7. And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?
I love a good carrot cake with cream cheese icing- my idea of perfection.
Website: www.cathhowe.com
Twitter: @cath_howe
Many thanks to Cath for joining me today. I’m really excited about the next book- can’t wait to read it! You can read my review of ‘The Insiders’ here
