I’m delighted to welcome Catherine Hokin to my blog today.
Catherine was kind enough to answer all my questions about her writing, research, and what’s next! Keep reading to find out more…
Tell us a little about yourself
I’m a full time writer following a checkered career which includes marketing, politics and teaching. I’m from the North of England but now live in Glasgow with my American husband. I have two children, one of whom lives in Berlin which is very handy as most of my books are set there. I’m a movie and music (the loud, guitar-driven kind) buff.
How did you get into writing?
I’ve written on and off for years and, as with most writers, it’s been a roller coaster. My first novel was a medieval one, published in 2016. I got an agent on the back of that and then couldn’t catch a cold! I was having success with short stories while the novel rejections piled up so that kept me going. Then, in 2019, I decided to turn a short story into a novel which became The Fortunate Ones and Bookouture bit. I will forever be grateful that they saw something in that wobbly draft!
What era do you write about and what drew you to that time period(s)?
I write novels set in World War Two and the Cold War which examine the long shadows left by conflict. These are primarily set in Berlin because I find the German experience of the war fascinating and I’m obsessed with East Germany. I read German so that helps with the source material. I did a history degree and I suppose I’ve always been drawn to this period because, as a sixties born child, the war was everywhere and it was always taught in absolutes. I don’t like those, so I went digging.
Can you tell us a little bit about your most recent book?
My most recent novel, The German Child, is a stand-alone and has just been published by Bookouture. It’s set in Germany in WW2 and in Washington in 1980. The WW2 storyline focuses on the secretive Lebensborn programme and the suffering it caused which far outlasted the war. In the modern strand, Evie is a lawyer working to track down Nazis who were allowed to settle in America in 1945 with all their crimes wiped away. When she meets Sebastian, who knows his godfather was Heinrich Himmler and is terrified by that, everything she thought she knew about her own family falls apart…
Where can people order your book(s)?
All my books (there are now nine with Bookouture, which feels crazy) are available as e-books and paperbacks through Amazon. They can also be ordered through bookshops and are all on Audible. All the details are on my Amazon Author Page
Are you working on something at the moment? If so, can you spill the beans a little?
I have just submitted the draft for Book Ten which comes out in July. This picks up the story of the Edel hotel which features in The German Child and all the secrets it’s hiding. It is set in Berlin and is dual timeline again, 1929-1944 and 1990 post the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lili, its heroine whose life story is turned into lies, is one of the characters I’ve loved writing the most.
How do you go about your research?
With huge enthusiasm, I love this bit! Once I’ve found a story idea, there’s always a dedicated and immersive research period which covers everything from academic and personal written accounts to novels and films and a research trip or two to walk my characters’ streets.
Do you have a favourite historical source?
That’s a hard one as the research changes every time, but I am a great fan of the Wiener Holocaust Library in London. And libraries full stop.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would it be?
Find your own way of writing and planning and don’t get caught up by other people’s processes. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, you just have to find what works for you and do it.
Can you tell us your favourite fiction and favourite non-fiction book?
That’s so hard as it’s constantly changing! The best book I’ve read recently is The Colour Storm by Damian Dibben but my go back to is The Children’s Book by AS Byatt. For non-fiction, Mothers in the Fatherland by Claudia Koontz is one of my bibles. But ask me next week…
Thank you so much to Catherine for the brilliant answers! Great point about The Colour Storm, I loved it!
The German Child was published this week and is available in paperback, audio book and ebook!
If you’d like to find out more about Catherine, and keep up to date with her writing you can find her on the following links:
You can also get a free short story download when you sign up for Catherine’s newsletter via her newsletter.
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Amy McElroy 