An Interview with Katherine Tomlinson

1) Tell us about your book

Bride of the Midnight King, the first book of my Midnight Palace Trilogy, was the first romantic fantasy I ever wrote. (See below for the inspiration.) It’s basically a twist on Cinderella, but I worked out a whole complex naming convention and did a lot of world building and came up with customs that worked. I’m pleased with it. It’s a novella, as are the two sequels. I find it really hard to write longer.

2) What themes does your book explore?

Love and loss. Sisterhood.

3) Tell us something unusual about your main character?

Yalira is, I think, an unusual version of Cinderella. She desperately wants to get out of her stepmother’s grasp, but she also has an agenda beyond “happily ever after.” By the second book, she’s changing things in the kingdom her husband rules, and making some real progress. I like her a lot.

4) Is this a standalone book or a series?

 It can be read as a standalone because I never intended to write the sequels--Daughter of the Midnight King and The Midnight Queen.

5) What is next for you?

I have my book for Fairy Tales in Demon Land coming up in 2024, but it’s going to be a busy year for me. I have to finish off several series—a zombie apocalypse duology set in L.A. starring two sisters. (I used a house I rented for ten years as a location), plus a final Rezso urban fantasy story about a reluctant werewolf.
I am also contracted to write a Christmas movie and a Valentine’s Day movie for two different producers, which will be fun.

6) What genres do you write in and why?

I started out writing short fiction that was crime-ish and noir-ish because I was going through an intense time in my life and putting dark thoughts to paper helped. But my writing mentor was writing romantic fantasy and one day I had a wild thought—Cinderella in a vampire world. And I told her about it and laughed. And she said, “Wait. What?” So I wrote it under the pen name Kat Parrish because I was still working as a reporter and didn’t want my news readers to read my vampire novels. And it turned into a trilogy. And I really liked the world. But then one wintry day about seven years ago, the wind blew down our power lines and I was in a cold rented house and started to hand-write a Christmas romance novel. (I write them under my pen name Katherine Moore.) And that started me writing in a whole new direction and I eventually earned a USA TODAY bestselling author accolade for that pen name. I’ve dabbled in horror and sci fi as well. And while I still sometimes write crime, it’s now cozy mystery.

7) Describe your writing style

I mostly write in first person, past tense. Some people do really well with present tense. Oddly, I am also a working screenwriter and all my scripts are written in present tense, but it feels odd for me to write fiction in present tense. I do a lot of interior monologue. A lot. I end to use the word SO a lot. I tend to go off on tangents. If I’m interested in something, I have a character who’s interested in what I’m interested in. I write about sisters a lot, all across the genres. My little sister died 13 years ago and I miss her.

8) What inspires you to write?

Everything. Weird things I read in the news. Stories people tell me. Odd ideas I have. I’m an Army brat and my family and I lived all over the place. I live in Portugal now, which is a lovely place. Living in a country not my own gives me an unusual perspective. I have been telling stories since I was eight years old and sharing a room with my sister. 

9) Who are your favourite authors?

Stephen King. Tanith Lee. A writer named Michael Malone who writes mysteries but also writes one of the best comic novels I’ve ever read, HANDLING SIN.

10) Tell us something unusual about you

I have piloted the Goodyear Blimp. When I was editor of ORANGE COAST MAGAZINE, I went up in the blimp, and they let me take the controls. It’s like a paddle boat and it’s very loud. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I’m not really adventurous, but I’ve been caving and been hiking in the woods with bears. So all of that plays into what I write. I use everything. I’ve also catered for film sets. Been a ghost writer for a celebrity chef who stiffed me on payment. Been an extra in several movies. Sung a solo in a church choir. Been in the Nutcracker Suite.

About The Author

Katherine Tomlinson writes multiple genres under multiple pen names, which sounded like a good idea until she had to start wrangling half a dozen pen names. She was born in Washington, DC and raised on Army posts all over the US and Europe. An inveterate traveler, she is currently a digital nomad living in Portugal. She is very fond of dark chocolate, red roses, train travel, and cats. If she weren’t a writer, she would probably be an epidemiologist.

Author Website