Kathryn Sullivan and a Dad's Love of Sci-Fi

Kathryn Sullivan has been writing science fiction and fantasy since she was 14 years old. Having read her father’s collection of sf and fantasy, she started writing her own. Any place and any object is at risk of appearing in her stories – the river bluffs surrounding Winona, MN, where she lives, can become the windswept cliffs of an alien planet or the deep mysterious woods of a fantasy tale. She is owned by a large cockatoo, who graciously allows her to write about other animals, as well as birdlike aliens.

Tell us a bit about your most recent work.

Talking to Trees is the sequel to The Crystal Throne. Both are portal fantasies, where kids from our world are pulled into a magical world with wizards and elves and talking horses.  Talking to Trees also has gryphons and trees that talk to those who can listen.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

I like to write portal fantasies.  But I also like to include psi powers, whether they are considered science fiction or fantasy, clashes with other cultures, and people trying to do the right thing.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

My dad's science fiction collection.  I had read everything in it (back in the days when it was possible to read all the science fiction available) at the age of 14 and decided that I could write it as well.

What inspires you to write?

So many things. Soundtracks. Looking at a forest and thinking about who or what lives there. The works in the Art Show at a science fiction convention. I wrote one short story when I looked around my college campus and tried to picture an alien trying to navigate it. Science and archeology discoveries.  

Which of your works has meant the most to you?

I used to say my first book, The Crystal Throne.  But I wrote several short stories that are now collected in Agents, Adepts and Apprentices while I tried to find a publisher that explored the early history of the world of The Crystal Throne and those stories mean a lot to me as well.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

I have a few stories that I already reworked and those are in Agents, Adepts and Apprentices.  There are also some that just can't be salvaged. 

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

James Schmidt, J.R.R. Tolkien, Janet Kagan, Andre Norton, James White, and so many others.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Both. There are techniques, which make writing feel mechanical in a way. But when the characters come alive and start telling you the story, or stomp about in your dreams, that's art. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Choices.  So many choices.  Character names. Planet names. Food choices. When to infodump and when to present slivers of information that keep the reader interested. 

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

Maybe not on the writing side, but more on the marketing side.  Keeping in mind that what works for one person doesn't always for another. But the networking between writers - sharing information about markets, conventions, promotions - is so very helpful.

What does literary success look like to you? 

When I hear back from a reader that they enjoyed my books.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?  

I have recently been writing reviews for ATB Publishing for their Outside In review anthologies.  Their recent release was Outside In Regenerates, which covers Classic Doctor Who episodes.  An upcoming one will be reviews of Deep Space Nine.

For more information, visit: 

http://kathrynsullivan.com