Interview with Katie Dale – author of Little White Lies

It's a pleasure to welcome Katie Dale back to the blog, who's here this time to talk about her fabulous new young adult thriller, Little White Lies (out now). Check out its blurb at the bottom of the interview.

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Q: Your new novel, Little White Lies, centres around Lou and a guy she meets named Christian, who turns out to be hiding some rather large secrets from her. What can you tell us about the settings for the story? Do the events occur in the present day or somewhere more distant?
A: The setting for the story is present day – actually in September, so right now! – as Lou starts at Sheffield University as a fresher studying English Literature. As it happens, I myself also studied English Lit at Sheffield University, so a lot of the environment is based on my own memories of being a student there – going to pubs and trekking up and down the killer hills! – though my own hall of residence has sadly been knocked down so I had to do some research into the glitzy new “student village”!

The protagonist in your previous release, Someone Else’s Life, also discovers a secret which fuels the plot of the novel. What do you think it is that makes secrets so interesting to read about?
I think secrets are so compelling because everyone wants to know a secret, to share a secret or to guess a secret before someone else. It’s what keeps us eagerly turning the pages in mystery books, detective stories, and thrillers, hungry to find out what really happened – that’s the kind of book I really like to read, and also the kind I love to write – with a good few twists in there as well, to keep readers guessing!

Which Little White Lies character did you enjoy writing the most, and why?
Funnily enough, I enjoyed writing two of the secondary characters most of all – Vix and Kenny. Vix is just so bubbly and full of life and ideas, whilst being incredibly loyal, whilst Kenny (who knows most of the secrets) is quite dry and witty and cunning, and it was really fun to write their dialogue.

What advice can you give to budding authors wishing to write for the Young Adult genre?
Read as much YA as you can – it’s by far my favourite genre, as it’s always reinventing itself, pushing the boundaries and experimenting – and there are some really stunning books and authors out there. Then just imagine yourself as a teen – thinking you pretty much have life sussed out, but having so many surprises and choices left in store. There are so many possibilities awaiting teenagers – their lives aren’t mapped out yet, and it’s such an exciting time, and the scope for fiction of all kinds is vast.

Finally, do you have any other projects in the works? Where can we stay updated?
Ah, I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep my next project my own secret for now! But do stay updated at katiedaleuk.blogspot.com and follow me on twitter @katiedaleuk – You’ll hear about it there first!

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Blurb:
The first time Lou meets tall, dark, and handsome Christian, she knows he's hiding something. Why does he clam up every time she asks about his past? Why doesn't he have any family photos and why does he dye his blond hair black?

Then suddenly his terrible secret is unveiled to the world - and it seems everything he's ever told Lou is a lie. Can what the media are saying about him really be true? Should Lou trust him? Or is she in terrible danger? But Christian isn't the only one keeping secrets. For what if their chance meeting was no accident at all ...?

As lie follows lie, nothing is as it seems, and soon Lou finds herself ensnared in a web of deceit, her loyalties torn, her emotions in tatters as she faces a heart-wrenching dilemma: should she shatter the lives of those she holds dearest, or betray the guy who, against all odds, she's fallen in love with?

Full of family secrets, surprising twists and unexpected revelations, Katie Dale's second novel will have readers on the edge of their seats.

Interview with Richard C. Morais – author of Buddhaland Brooklyn

I'm excited to welcome writer Richard C. Morais, who's here to answer some questions about his latest book Buddhaland Brooklyn (its full synopsis can be found at the end of the interview, along with links to his social media accounts and website).

The novel is officially released in mid-April, but you can pre-order a copy now via Alma Books.

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Buddhaland Brooklyn is about a Buddhist priest, Seido Oda, who is forced to leave his native Japan and move to New York City. What was the reason for choosing these particular settings?
The germ for my book was The Year of My Life, a slim work by the great 18th century haiku poet-priest, Issa, and the charming film, Amarcord, by Frederico Fellini. I love both of these very different works of art, and was intrigued by the fact that even though they were created in entirely different cultures, epochs and mediums, they had one important commonality: both are autobiographical works where an entire life has been condensed into a single, symbolic year. For some reason I got it into my head I should try and mash these two great works of art together. So, that's how Buddhaland Brooklyn came about. Instead of Italy, however, I chose as my setting an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, where my wife and I had lived in the early 1980s. In those days our Brooklyn neighborhood, Carroll Gardens, had much more in common with 1950s Sicily than what the fashionable hot-spot it has become today.

Oda is a member of a fictional Buddhist sect. What prompted your decision to create a fictional sect instead of basing the novel around an existing one?
When a lay writer hubristically assumes the voice of a priest, even in fiction, he invites attack for having distorted a faith and its doctrine – not without cause. From the outset, I did not want my novel to be reduced to an "explanation" of Buddhism, nor did I want to inflate myself as an "expert" on religious matters and, specifically, on a particular Buddhist doctrine. Rather, I wanted to focus on the important but little discussed space I call the "psychology of religion" – that place where one's personal history, ethos and worldview intersects with the formal doctrine of the faith one has embraced. I thought the wisest way to achieve this, without stepping on land mines, was to create my own Buddhist "doctrine". For all its embellishments, however, those who know a thing or two about Buddhism will recognize that the doctrine of the fictional Headwater Sect has a great deal in common with the dogma of Japan's Nichiren faiths. Indeed, I was amused to discover, in chat rooms on Yahoo, that Nichiren Shu priests here in America were recommending the book to their flock as a fine explication of Buddhism.

How long has Buddhism played a role in your own life? Did your research uncover any teachings which you felt important to integrate into your own routine?
I have been a practicing Buddhist since I was 19, but my faith has gone through quite a transformation over the course of my life. For the first 25 years I was a rather dour, austere and "pure" practitioner of my Buddhist faith, but, in the later years, I loosened up considerably. I still pray every day, but I am no longer rigid on matters of doctrine. So the arc of my own faith is in some ways captured by Reverend Oda's journey to Brooklyn.

Did your background in journalism influence the way in which you composed Buddhaland Brooklyn?
My novels are often described by critics as "fablesque," which I think is true, but I also ground my fictional worlds in very specific places and times, which infuses my imaginary worlds with heavy doses of "reality." I like the point and counter-point of that combination. That is, of course, where the skills of the journalist become invaluable. My career as a business journalist has taught me how to conduct vigorous, fact-based research, which materializes in my novels in everything from how to cook an artichoke to the planning permission steps needed to get a temple built in New York.

Are you working on any other projects at the moment?
How nice of you to ask. I am working on my next novel, which I don't want to talk about, other than to say that it revolves around fishing, much like The Hundred-Foot Journey revolved around cooking, and Buddhaland Brooklyn revolved around religion. My work in journalism, meanwhile, can be seen at Barrons.com, America's premier finance magazine.

Lastly, is there a Buddhism-related quote you’d like to leave us with?
With pleasure. As I previously said, one of the main inspirations of my novel is my literary hero, Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), the poet-priest who plays an important background role in my novel. Here's an amusing haiku by Issa that rather nicely captures the tone of Buddhaland Brooklyn:

Tub to tub
The whole journey
Just hub-bub!

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Book synopsis:
As he approaches his fortieth birthday, the introverted monk Seido Oda is ordered by his superior to leave behind his peaceful refuge in the remote mountains of Japan and set up a temple in Brooklyn’s Little Calabria. There Oda is confronted with an uphill struggle to get to understand the ways of his new host country, and finds his patience and beliefs tested by a motley crew of misguided American Buddhists – a shock which will enable him to come to terms with painful memories of his past and finally experience that sense of belonging he has always sought. 

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