Catherine Kullmann—Short Biography
I was born and educated in Dublin. Following a
three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, I moved to Germany where I
lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. I have worked in the
Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. My husband and
I have been married for over forty years. We have three adult sons and two
grandchildren.
I
have a keen sense of history and of connection with the past which so often
determines the present. I am fascinated by people. I love a good story,
especially when characters come to life in a book.
I
have always enjoyed writing, I love the fall of words, the shaping of an
expressive phrase, the satisfaction when a sentence conveys my meaning exactly.
I enjoy plotting and revel in the challenge of evoking a historic era for
characters who behave authentically in their period while making their actions
and decisions plausible and sympathetic to a modern reader. In addition, I am
fanatical about language, especially using the right language as it would have
been used during the period about which I am writing. But rewarding as all this
craft is, there is nothing to match the moment when a book takes flight, when
your characters suddenly determine the route of their journey.
*
Catherine, I am
sure that you are tired of being asked the usual questions that would be
interviewers ask authors, so hopefully this interview is an interview with a
difference and I have come up with some unusual questions!
If your latest book The Murmur of Masks was adapted into a TV show or a film, who would you like to play the lead roles?
Kate Beckinsale and
Aidan Turner
(Note from Diana: I
know a lot of laydees who will watch if Mr Turner is involved!!!)
*
If, as a one off,
(and you could guarantee publication!)
you could write anything you wanted, is there another genre you would
love to work with and do you already have a budding plot line in mind?
Before the HNS Oxford
Conference I would have said no, but after Christian Courtney’s and Anna
Belfrage’s inspiring presentation I am tempted by the idea of timeslip. It is
very early days yet, however.
(Note from Diana: Yes.
It was totally amazing and inspiring.)
Do
you have any rituals and routines when writing? Your favourite cup for example
or ‘that’ piece of music...??
I need silence and
regular cups of tea. I start by reading and editing what I wrote the previous
day and follow on from there.
What
is the worse book you have ever read?
The Da Vinci Code
What
made it unreadable for you?
Too much superfluous content, including endless, tedious descriptions of place.
Other
than writing full time, what would be your dream job?
There is no other. I
have retired from my day job and hope to continue writing until I keel over at
my desk.
Coffee
or tea?
One large coffee in the afternoon, otherwise tea.
Red
or white?
Whatever matches what I’m eating. Frequently it is a chilled Rosé as we love
Mediterranean food.
If
you had free choice over the font your book is printed in, what font/fonts
would you choose?
Fairfield, which is an
old-style serif typeface designed by Rudolph Ruzicka and released in 1940. I
have one book set in it; it is very elegant and makes for a very pleasant read.
I also love the uneven page edges you get in some American hardbacks and
decorated hardback covers instead of a dust jacket.
(Note from Diana: My
business and consequently full time job, is selling vintage printing equipment.
That is a totally wonderful choice and I applaud your excellent taste.)
*
Imagine
that you could get hold of any original source document. What would it be?
A complete bound set of
La Belle Assemblée for the period
1810 to 1820.
(Note from Diana: Wow!
Yes! If you can, may I read it, please???)
Historical
fiction authors have to contend with real characters invading our stories. Are
there any ‘real’ characters you have been tempted to prematurely kill off or
ignore because you just don’t like them or they spoil the plot?
This is not an issue
for me. While real people sometimes have walk-on parts, for example Lord Byron
and Colonel Colborne in The Murmur of
Masks, my characters and their stories are pure fiction.
Are
you prepared to go away from the known facts for the sake of the story and if
so how do you get around this?
No. I enjoy the
challenge of having my characters live in a real world shaped by known events
and the constraints imposed by society in that time. I think that this sinking
into the past is partly what attracts readers to historical fiction.
Do
you find that the lines between fact and fiction sometimes become blurred?
Of course, especially
when you insert your character into a major event such as the Battle of
Waterloo. Unless you are writing alternative history, it is important to remain
as true to the original as possible.
Have
you ever totally hated or fallen in love with one of your characters?
No. I try to understand
them and sometimes think I am too nice—I have had to go back and make my
baddies more unpleasant.
What
do you enjoy reading for pleasure?
As I am immersed in the
Regency world when writing or researching, I tend not to read novels set in
that period although I love Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series. I like historical
fiction set in almost all periods and also futuristic/paranormal/alternative
history but not straight science fiction.
What
drink would you recommend drinking whilst reading your latest book?
A glass of dry Madeira.
Last
but not least... favourite historical author?
This was
so difficult to answer. I have picked three favourites whom I hope will write
more books; Gillian Bradshaw—I love her novels set in the ancient world, Ariana
Franklin’s Mistress of the Art of Death series—I hope her daughter, who
finished the last one, will continue with them, and Jill Paton Walsh’s splendid
resumption of Dorothy L Sayer’s Lord Peter Wimsey books.
Thank you, Catherine. I really enjoyed this.
© Diana Milne July 2016 © Catherine Kullmann
September 2016
Thank you, Diana, for your interesting questions.
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