Behind The Novels: Exploring Reality And Mystery
Katie Hall-May’s literary journey is nothing short of enchanting. A storyteller with an eye for the lyrical and a mind attuned to the subtle intricacies of human nature, Katie blends literary fiction with elements of magical realism to breathtaking effect. Her novels probe the depths of memory, identity, and the fragile lines between truth and perception, transporting readers into rich and complex tapestries of experience. From the imagery-laden landscapes of Memories of a Lost Thesaurus to the gripping interplay of artifice and reality in Puck’s Legacy, her work is a testament to the transformative power of fiction.
As she gears up for the release of her latest novel, Unforgotten Monsters, Katie emerges as a voice uniquely her own—curious, evocative, and unafraid to tread between the tangible and the abstract. In this candid interview, she discusses her creative process, inspirations, and the themes that drive her storytelling, offering a fascinating glimpse into the mind behind the magic. For readers and aspiring writers alike, her thoughtful insights are a masterclass in honesty, resilience, and the enduring dance between imagination and craft.
In ‘Unforgotten Monsters’, how did you approach crafting the mysterious village and the protagonist’s fragmented memories?
I had an idea already of the key features of the village and the ‘logic’ by which it is laid out, as well as the logic behind the way it would shift and loop around Clara as she explores. I actually made a map of the village and pasted it up on the wall, using images from the internet as prompts for key things. It was a pretty chaotic and nightmarish image once I’d finished, but it helped!
‘Puck’s Legacy’ delves into the allure of fiction. What inspired you to explore the boundary between reality and performance?
I wanted to write about extremism but without mentioning religion. I’ve dabbled with amateur dramatics quite a lot at different stages of my life and it is highly addictive. I could feel the pull towards the more glamorised experiences you play out on stage, versus the more mundane dramas of real life, which tend to involve things like doing the washing up and putting the bins out! There is sometimes a moment in a performance when you do genuinely forget yourself and feel for real the emotions of the character. If you take that to its extreme, what you end up with is an actor doing everything for real. But then what are the consequences? How long can you really escape your life like that before it begins to fold inward on you? That was what I wanted to explore.
‘Memories of a Lost Thesaurus’ intertwines personal struggles with a flood. How did you balance metaphor and narrative in this debut?
The association of a flood, especially a slowly creeping one, with characters carrying unresolved issues, is an obvious one, with the flood waters dirtying the pristine order you think you’ve got your current life into! It’s also a place for the characters to deflect their attention onto though, away from the things they really need to address. A lot of the novel is about words. People talking over each other, people who can’t get their words out, people who can’t pick apart all the tangle of meanings to chose the right word. There is as much a flood of words and lost voices as there is of water.
Your novels often feature characters confronting internal and external conflicts. How do you develop such multifaceted personas?
Mostly by listening to my own internal monologue! I am a firm believer that everyone is made up of a huge number of different versions and facets of themselves, some of which are directly contradictory. We are not always logical beings, and have impulses and reactions which don’t fit with the sanitised version we’d like to develop of ourselves, or which reveal a truth behind a lie we’ve been telling ourselves, because the lie is easier to stomach!
Themes of memory and identity recur in your work. What draws you to these subjects?
I think we view the world through the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what our place is in it. Those stories are influenced heavily by what we remember about our experiences and our actions, but memory is a false friend, and famously unreliable. So we start to view our memories also through a filter of who we think we are. In the end there is very little that we think we know which is actually 100% factual. And, in terms of our day to day experience of the world, I’m not sure the facts matter nearly as much as the stories.
How has your background influenced the settings and themes in your novels?
There are some obvious associations – I didn’t have a great experience of school, for example, and some elements of my childhood have definitely crept in, only mildly disguised as fiction! The majority of what I write however, is genuinely made up, but I’m careful about trying to write in voices I can’t represent. There are others out there who will do that better.
Your writing blends literary fiction with elements of mystery. How do you navigate genre conventions to maintain originality?
I’m not especially experimental, but I think the blend really comes from style. I have a natural love of lyrical writing, and I like to feel a certain rhythm in my words. It means that whatever the plotline is, I can’t help but represent it in a way which is what some people might describe as ‘literary’. I’m not disciplined enough not to indulge my love of words and poeticism in the way I tell my stories.
What advice would you offer aspiring authors aiming to craft emotionally resonant and thought-provoking narratives?
Start with the bare bones of your plot. Then think about the characters and be honest with them. Are they really going to be ready to take a certain action straight away, or will they falter and argue with themselves about it? As you progress through the plot, what are your characters feeling which, if it were you, you wouldn’t want to admit to. It’s the honesty in your characters which makes them relatable. But mostly I would say just strike out and do it! Don’t hesitate, and don’t stop every five minutes to tear yourself to shreds. Just keep at it. A first draft is exactly that, a first draft. Every word that you write will not be immediately perfect.
