Cocktails & Confessionals with Cathy Astolfo

Catherine Astolfo is the author of many suspense/thriller/comedy novels. She is lucky enough to be the first guest in my Writer's Retreat Chalet (aka the Carrington mansion from Dynasty, high above Toronto). After a few bottles of wine, a few questions were asked of her...

JS: Judy Blume is famous for waking up and scribbling thoughts on a tissue box.  Anne Rice writes on her walls.  How about you?

CA: I have been known to write things on bar napkins and bathroom walls, but I was awake during those moments. Perhaps not conscious, but awake.

I do get up in the night and scribble ideas, just like Judy. However, my husband, who happens to be the painter in the family (as in walls, not art), put the kibosh on wall writing for the kids, so I was forced to be a role model. Though I could have blamed it on sleep-writing.

Nowadays I keep a journal in my bedside table and one in my purse. I have a slew of pens and pencils around the house, along with notebooks. I have a pile of journals that are half-filled with half-assed thoughts that never made it into stories. At least, not yet. I have a compulsion to write all the time.

I have a theory that I borrowed from Susanna Kearsley. (Okay, stole.) Writers are born writers. Although everyone can scribble down a few ideas and thoughts or write a daily journal, not everyone is obsessed with doing so. Born writers are obsessed. We have a switch in our brains that demands a flow of words be consistently put down on paper. Authors are writers who are also obsessed with sharing those words. That switch includes a passion for having others read our thoughts. Most of us aren’t blessed with ESP, so we have to acquire agents and publishers.

These obsessions result in the compulsion to write no matter where we are: on walls, tissue boxes, in sand, or in the air.

JS: Where do you think your thoughts come from? You've run the gamut from the very dark to comedy.

CA: Most people who know me question the very dark thoughts as opposed to the comedy. I have a good sense of humour and I’m pretty optimistic. I like people. I like to have fun. When I invent someone who is a bit like that, no one bats an eye. But when I invent a character who not only abuses animals but also runs a bestiality club, they are beyond shocked.

One reader shared a theory with my friend that I must have had a traumatic childhood (I didn’t). I countered with the hypothesis that my dark place was a result of being an elementary school teacher.

Seriously, as a teacher and a psychology major, I have had an enduring interest in evil. Why do some people choose the path of violence and cruelty while other—who had a similar upbringing—choose kindness and generosity? I’ve read a ton of books on psychopathology. I’ve encountered some children who appeared to have a disposition toward meanness and even evil, right from their entrance into school. The sad part is, they don’t change despite all our efforts, including (often) that of their parents.

My thoughts, therefore, are centred on evil when I read a particularly bleak bit of news about what human beings do to others. Or when I hear a true story about someone’s horrible relative. Or when I listen to my veterinarian-assistant niece talk about puppy mills. Despite my fairly optimistic nature, I want to delve into the hearts of darkness through my writing. I want to seek the why.

Writing very dark thoughts is, I’ve realized, an outlet in which I can control what happens. In most of my scenarios, there is a happy ending, unlike real life. Justice is served. Criminals (usually) get their just desserts. To quote a line from my darkest novel, The Bridgeman, “I was its skin, its movement, its shape, its god, its creator, its destroyer.” When I am writing the very dark books, I control the bad guys’ fates.

I also love being able to explore social justice issues. The mystery genre allows any topic to be included in the plot. Often, some psychopathology is involved in the issue, which is a bonus for me.

JS: Do you have a favourite book you've written?  Personally I loved Sweet Karoline.

CA: I think that’s like asking which of your children you like best. I can’t pick. I love them all for different reasons. Even the ones who get vilified (i.e. The Bridgeman for its harsh content).

JS: Do you form the entire book prior to writing, or let it plot on its own?

CA: I do a bit of both. I’ve heard some people call this pants-ing versus plotting. As in by the seat of your pants or, I surmise, writing down the plot as an outline before you begin. The idea for Sweet Karoline began with one sentence: “I met Ethan on the day that I killed Karoline.” No plot, other than a vague idea that I wanted to include my children’s ancestral history. The Bridgeman had a detailed plot outline and a character study, but it winged off in different directions anyway.

Often I have an idea, the germ of a plot, and I do a general outline accordingly. But I consider it a living document. It can change its mind, grow or shrink, at any time. I don’t have to follow every single plot twist from the initial plan.

Often the characters truly do seem to take over, even though I’m sure you’ve heard that cliché before. It honestly has happened to me—and what a thrill when it does! The subconscious is dictating instead of that editor/critic/control freak on my shoulder. Now I seek those moments like an addict.There are many authors, very successful ones, who simply sit down at their laptops and write. Others make detailed character outlines and plot plans. What I often say to anyone who asks my opinion about pants-ing or plotting is this: Do what works for you.

JS: So what are you working on now?

CA: (laughs) That's a long answer.  I am currently going through a bout of ADD.  I'm editing the second Kira Callahan novella, editing a Young Adult book called Shadow House, writing a non-fiction booklet about Twitter for Writers, collaborating on a Thriller script with my daughter and collaborating on a Horror script with my son.  That's all, though I may throw in some short stories here and there,

(So, my takeaway from this is that you don't give Cathy any liquor without going through her purse and pulling out the Sharpies.  It'll save you cash in repainting the bathroom.  That and she is an exceptional author.)

To learn more about Cathy, hit the links below.  Trust me, her novels are golden.

Website: www.catherineastolfo.com

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/catherineastolfo

Twitter https://twitter.com/cathyastolfo

FACEBOOK Author Page Link: https://www.facebook.com/Catherine.Astolfo