Interview with Kata Čuić, Author of Homebound

What can you tell us about your new release, Homebound?

Homebound is a love story that spans nearly twenty years, centered in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. Told from the heroine’s point of view, each chapter contains a present section and past section that ties together with a chapter title that’s an Appalachian saying. I actually got the idea from my grandmother, who had crazy sayings for everything. Sometimes it was easy to figure out the lesson in the proverb; sometimes…I thought she was making stuff up!

What or who inspired you to become an author?

I’ve been making up stories in my head ever since I was a little girl. I was always the kid with a book instead of the kid with a sports schedule. While my brother and sister got new bikes for Christmas, I got a book subscription. I guess an author was always hiding inside me.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

This is like asking, “Which of your children is your favorite?” LOL The answer is similar: it depends on the day and my mood. 😛 If I have to pick only 5 of all time, I’ll go with the Anne of Green Gables series (I’m sort of cheating by naming a series as a single choice) by LM Montgomery, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan, and Asking for It by Lilah Pace.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask

I would probably invite an unpublished author. There’s something so dazzling about the time before hitting that publish button in spite of all the anxiety. The literary world is still full of possibility, and the author’s excitement is so palpable. I would probably ask them what they would write—not in another book, but in a letter to themselves.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

I get to play pretend as a job! What’s not to love about that?

What is a typical day like for you?

I have three teens, so my days tend to revolve around their school/activity schedules. The alarm goes off at 5:30am, and I don’t usually get to bed until around 10pm. I sneak in writing time whenever/wherever I can, but if it gets really hectic, I find it almost impossible to focus.

What scene from Homebound was your favorite to write?

Probably the scene where Jesse and Lenore meet again for the first time in five years. It took me several tries to get it “right,” but there’s so much electrical tension, wonder, and awe between them.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Fight for something. It’s actually a quote from the Marianas Trench song, Ever After. I think it pertains to everything in life though. We can either float on the current or swim in the direction we choose.

Kata Čuić is the author of the new book Homebound.

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