For my second YALLfest interview, I have the honor of welcoming Katie Crouch to the blog. Like me, Katie is a Charleston native (aka Charlestonian). She's also the author of the New York Times Bestselling Girls in Trucks, Men and Dogs and the young adult novel The Magnolia League. Come and meet her, along with a lot of other super cool authors, at YALLfest!
I was really hyper and boy crazy. I also read all of the time and kept a really embarrassing diary. I wasn't cool at all, but I knew it and embraced my complete dorkiness, which actually made me cooler than I ever would have been otherwise.
What were your favorite books as a kid?
Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Are You There God It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume, Edisto by Padgett Powell (not really YA but about my beach), Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Fifth grade, when my teacher Dottie Rhett at Charleston Day School told me I should think about such prospects. (Much to the annoyance of my parents.)
The South has played a large role in all of your books, especially The Magnolia League. Do you think you’ll ever write a book that leaves the South altogether?
Actually my next book is set in Italy. So yes! But the book after that is set in Beaufort. So... guess I'll always come back.
What musicians have influenced your writing?
Awesome question. Patty Griffin, Tim Buckley, Gillian Welch, Jeff Tweedy, and -- though she's 20 years younger than me --Taylor Swift, who also embraces her inner dork. Love her!
What are you looking forward to about YALLfest?
Meeting the other amazing authors, talking to readers, eating pie, and seeing my family. Charleston is my hometown!
From your valuable native insight, what is one spot in Charleston that cannot be missed?
Personally, I never leave Charleston without a walk on the beach. I like Sullivan's Island, at the end by the lighthouse. If you don't have a car, a bike ride around the Battery is also pretty amazing. Make sure to rent one of those really comfy, ugly Earth Cruisers with fat tires. I think they have them at the Bicycle Shoppe on King.
If you could choose only one Southern dish to eat for the rest of your life (along with other, non-Southern foods), what would it be?
I love collards. It know it's weird, but it's true. Also, it's a superfood, so I'd probably live to be 126 years old.
Along the same vein, what is your favorite kind of pie?
Tomato pie from King's Market on Edisto Island.
Way cute photo! It really makes your blue eyes "pop" (not in a zombie or weird way--just that they stand out and look lovely LOL). I remember my daughter being really upset when she read BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA in school. The ending, you know. Wow, your fave Southern dish is collards, and I've never even had it before!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun interview, Katie and Ryan!
Certainly! Bridge to Terabithia was a bit traumatizing for my midde-grade self. Though I think that's part of what makes it such a classic. It's one of those books that sticks with you!
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