First things first: a Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians, and a pre-happy 4th of July to all my American friends! I hope everyone in their respective countries has a lovely birthday party with great food, good friends, and, if you’re like me, lots of cake (which I will enjoy far too much on my birthday, also on the 4th).
Over the last little while, I’ve had a few people ask me about my writing, and I thought I should give you a quick insight. Those who have been with me a while will have read a variation of this already. That said, it’s just as true now as it was then. As I have stated, writing is for me like sculpting a statue. Starting with a block of marble, I gradually chip away and begin to reveal the sculpture, or story, beneath. After many passes, I refine things to the point where the artwork is clearly defined and easy to appreciate, or read, as the case may be.
My stories are handcrafted here in Castlegar, BC, Canada, just as they’ve always been, and always will be. Every word of every sentence of every paragraph of a Katie Berry novel has been written and edited solely by me, sitting here at my keyboard, happily typing away. I don’t use AI to write my stories, invent my plots, create my characters or solve my narrative problems. If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you’ve watched BESIEGED, like my previous novels, grow organically, word by word, chapter by chapter, over many months. Every strange, amusing or horrifying thing that you read comes solely from my imagination and nowhere else. Now, standing at chapter 38 and a hair over 76,000 words, BESIEGED is coming along very nicely. I’m in the ‘final act’ so to speak, and things are getting even more exciting than they already were, if such a thing is possible (it is!).
While we are on the topic of my imagination, you can check out the latest from Nibbler and Fry, both of whom are having a monstrously good time. Bear in mind, I don’t make these feline film posters because they sell books; I make them because they make me laugh. If the posters make you smile, too, then they’ve done exactly what I hoped they would. And if one day someone discovers my novels because they stumbled across Abbcat and Catstello, Fryenstein or one of the other ridiculous posters I’ve made… well, that’s a pretty happy ending too.
Speaking of movies, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my recent documentary purchase, though the ending of the movie it examines is not a happy one. The Thing Expanded is everything you would want in a documentary about one of the best monster movies ever made. Hearing John Carpenter, Kurt Russell and the rest of the cast talk about the production is so fascinating (to me, at least). I remember way back to June 1982, when I first watched it at the Kelowna Drive-in with my best friend, sitting in my lovely white Plymouth Valiant, a Burger King Whopper in my lap. I was so engrossed in the movie that I forgot to eat most of it. Then again, some of Rob Bottin’s practical special effects could have had something to do with it. Despite all that, I knew when I first saw The Thing that it was remarkable, and I’m glad to see that validated all these years later. I am attempting to bring some of the paranoia, horror and isolation of that movie into my latest novel, BESIEGED, and so far, I think it’s firing on all eight cylinders.
Now it’s time for the prize draws! This month, our lucky winners of a Katie Berry audiobook of their choice are dragoncove@XXXXXX.net and martin100uk@XXXXXX.com. Congratulations to you both, and I hope you enjoy your novels! Remember, if you’re not a subscriber, you can’t win! Sign up for your chance to win one of two monthly audiobook prizes, some exclusive short stories and two FREE novelettes. It’s all waiting for you right here: https://katieberry.ca/become-a-katie-berry-books-insider-and-win/. For a list of recent winners, go here: https://katieberry.ca/audiobook-winners/
Well, that is about it for now. I need to get back to chipping away at my block of marble.
Good health and great reads to you all,
-Katie B