An interview with Kate Beaumont

A little bit about you and your life, your hobbies, your interests, etc.

"I'm a Canadian woman (she/her pronouns) and I work a full-time in the field of justice and have done this work off and on for several years. I love it and I hate it because the trauma is real, which is why I pursue a lot of hobbies on the side. I'm a powerlifter, I can officially say this after competing in my first competition and doing pretty well, BUT I can always be stronger. I love anything related to the Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings (I haven't read them, though, I know, sinful) and Harry Potter. I am a massive professional wrestling fan and I watch it close to 4 days a week, as well as follow the stories on Reddit, Instagram and obsess about the wrestlers I love daily (Kenny Omega and Jamie Hayter are my favourites and I'll take that to my grave)."

Info about your latest book and/or the book you'd most like to promote

"My debut novel, which came out on 2nd September, is called Salt and Shadow: Legend of a Cursed Bloodline and is part of a massive series called Ancient Shadow. Salt and Shadow is the first book in a series that follows Naomi, a woman in her mid-twenties with a troubling past who is able to flee from her home and start a new life. It's a bit raw in some of its details and she has to realise that you cannot run from your past and you have to face it. Of course, she falls in love, the series is in the romantic fantasy genre, but, what I really want to highlight is that this book is about Naomi learning to love herself. She meets some friends that accept her unconditionally, don't allow her to hate herself for the past and they love her and genuinely enjoy her company. Self-love, resilience, overcoming trauma and substance abuse is so important to me and I love that I can tell these stories in a fictional world because for me, it creates an opportunity to explore challenging topics in a way that's removed from the real world. This book sets up the series, and all the prequel series and other ones to follow. It may be a slow burn into the fantasy, but it is all part of the journey."

Any details you'd like to share about what you're currently working on

"Right now, I am working on the sequential books to this series. Originally, I had them complete, but as I worked alongside the most fabulous editor, Jessica Neuman, we decided to expand the series and go into more details. I had so much background information all in my head, but my book was too short to allow the opportunity to explore them. By making the series longer, it has allowed me to really get into the parts of writing I'm passionate about: fantasy, complicated family dynamics, relationships going through trials, beautiful female friendships, difficult dynamics of purity culture and justice. In the next books of this series, I cover the ideologies of justice, substance abuse, and power dynamics in a cruel, bloodthirsty society. I can't wait. As I've said, I work in the field of justice and I love exploring it. The storyline I have set up for the next book allows us to take a look at a VERY corrupt justice system entangled in the MMC's family. My favourite things to write: complex family dynamics and justice."

What inspired you to get into writing and what keeps you motivated?

"I've been writing my whole life. I used to always write stories about orphans - I have no idea why - and as I grew up, writing was something that never went away. I picked it up again more seriously in 2023 when I was going through a hard time in my life. My inspiration, and I hate that I have to admit this because it's so damn cheesy, is my partner. I've been with him almost 8 years, and it started off pretty difficult to be honest. We fell in love quickly, but my family was beyond unhappy with it because I am a bit younger than him and he wasn't in the same religion I was. Sexuality and purity culture were weaponised to control me for most of my life and were used to try to keep me from him. Despite the fact that I tried to convert him to my religion to "save him," marry me quickly, and live happily ever after, he showed me the most beautiful way to love and it didn't force us to conform to anything. I love a strong man, because in the end, he saved me. I started writing as an exaggerated and dramatic love letter to him and to process my emotions.

When you love your own love story, you want to find a way to tell it in a hundred different lifetimes and in a hundred different realms and ways. That's how I feel about my TK."

"I'll keep this answer short: I like the freedom. If I were ever presented with the opportunity to go the trad route, I'd be open to it because I'm an open-minded person, but I like the indie way for now. It's expensive at times, but I love working with the editor and the artist for my cover and character art, and I like that it's sort of "the Wild West" in terms of rules of what can and cannot be done. It's tiring sometimes, but I also love engaging with people. I've made some great author and reader friends online, and learned so much."

"I didn't realise how long the writing journey would be. Each new draft I make, I'm so damn grateful I didn't publish the previous draft. But, I find it's hard to be content with my work. I'm still growing in this craft, I'm improving and learning techniques to try out, or when to add details and when not to, but I love (much like powerlifting) that there is always room to improve and grow!

I’m often afraid that my message will get lost in the spice or the romance in my novel(s), but I also refuse to get rid of that because it’s important to me. While my books have spice in them, I mainly include that as a way for myself to be empowered. As I mentioned previously, I was heavy in a negative purity culture and it has taken me YEARS to climb out of the toxicity of that. It still comes back to haunt me. My books have spice in order for women, myself included, to not be ashamed of their sexuality and to allow it be something they are in control of and how they can feel good about themselves.

What advice would you give to someone beginning their writing journey?

"Don't quit, feel the pain and the hurt. Accept that there will be disappointment. You may never hear back from a Literary Agent, but keep going. Use it as motivation to improve your skills and knowledge of writing. Read more, find styles you love, find styles you hate and be different. Don't follow the formula."

Name an author that inspired you to write and why

"I should likely have a female author listed here, but I have to say that I love Patrick Rothfuss as an author. His series, the Kingkiller Chronicle, is my favourite. I am still waiting for the third to come out, but I respect him so much that he hasn't caved to the fans' greedy demands to SEND OUT BOOK THREE. Me, I'm a greedy fan. He is somebody that has been open about his mental health and I think I relate to that a lot as an author, since I am somebody who has some battles with that. He created an incredible fantasy world that I fall in love with every time I read it. I both hate and love the main character and always find myself laughing and ready to fight Kvothe. THAT is how I want to be as a writer. I want people reacting to my wonderfully imperfect FMC, Naomi."

Anything else you'd like to discuss in terms of being a writer, self-publishing, a fun fact about yourself, anything.

"Other than that, I got nothing more. If you're a wrestling fan reading my books, look for some references, they are tucked in there and I will have them in every single novel in this series universe."