Author Kat Hausler Discusses Her Books & Writing Life

Can you tell readers a little about yourself?

I’m from Northern Virginia originally and went to college in New York, where I wound up doing a semester abroad in Berlin. I fell in love with the city and moved back after graduating. Other than a year in Southern Germany, I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been translating for a long time now, but also did all kinds of random things when I first got here — washing dishes, selling souvenirs, handing out flyers on street corners, teaching English and working at a price comparison website. I love reading literary fiction, watching horror movies, traveling and of course still Berlin, even if it isn’t quite as cheap and dirty as it was when I first arrived. Both of my novels are set in Berlin.

When did you decide to become a writer and what made you decide to pursue writing as a career?

Since forever, because I’ve always loved books and stories, from fairy-tales to scary stories I was much too young for. We used to make little books out of construction paper when I was a kid. Then I started writing short stories when I was in school and had my first very rough go at a novel when I was in college. Luckily, I’ve come a long way since then. Fewer adverbs, somewhat lower body count.

How has Berlin been a source of inspiration or informed your writing?

Both of my novels and a lot of my short stories are set in Berlin. It’s very vibrant and also decentralized, with various quarters that are so different they seem like you’ve crossed into a different city. There are a lot of other contrasts, too, between former East and West, between different historical eras, between grungy alternative and high end… For What I Know About July, Berlin was the perfect setting because of its reputation as a city that’s still a work in progress, isn’t quite sure what it will become. That felt like the right setting for a protagonist like Simon, who’s trying his best to be so many things — successful, financially secure, loved, a good person — and often ends up feeling like his life consists of abandoned construction sites.

Did you have to go through multiple rejections before Meerkat Press signed you?

Meerkat Press had already published my first novel Retrograde, so it was easier to approach them about this book. I didn’t contact many publishers for What I Know About July because I had an agent at that point, but yes, I definitely went through plenty of rejections on both books, either from publishers or agents. A lot of submissions didn’t get any response at all. That seems to have become pretty common among literary agents. One piece of advice that helped me during submissions was not to do all of them at once, but to send out a few at a time and see if anyone asked me for sample pages, and, if not, to rewrite my pitch. Because, obviously, if they haven’t seen your writing at all yet, it’s the pitch they’re rejecting and not your book.

Tell me more about where you drew inspiration from for Retrograde?

In an unhappy relationship, people often get to a point where they still love the other person, but there’s been so much damage, so much hurt and distrust, that it seems impossible to move forward. At a time like that, you often find yourself thinking, “If only we could start over, without all of that.” So in Retrograde, I explored a scenario where the estranged wife with retrograde amnesia is unaware of a lot of that emotional damage, and her husband is fully aware of everything, but eager to inhabit that space where, in her mind, none of it exists. There are a lot of romantic plot-lines out there involving amnesia, but this one ends up looking more at the darker aspects involved: the gaslighting and manipulation necessary to keep someone from finding out about their own life.

What are the biggest challenges for you as a writer and what is your writing process like?

Well, I’d distinguish between two different kinds of challenges: those involved in the actual creative process, and those involved in selling what you wrote. Creatively, I’ll often let my characters meander through a scene and get into a bunch of irrelevant stuff I have to cut out later on. I don’t know if that’s a challenge per se, but it’s definitely something that makes more work for me. At the same time, it is also part of my creative process because that’s often how I find my way to the next important thing, and that’s worth having to cut out three hours of the characters drinking tea and talking about the weather or something.

There are a lot of things I struggle with in the business side of writing. Writing pitches and summaries is hard, but I actually find cover letters even worse. I never have any idea what to say. It also sometimes feels hard to ask people for favors, whether it’s beta reading or connecting you to someone. But I try to remember that people often ask me for favors, and I’m almost never annoyed about it. In terms of my day-to-day writing process, I’m basically always working on a novel. I often jump around quite a bit, for example if I can imagine certain scenes viscerally and want to be sure and get them down, and then shape other parts around them.

I also tend to write the ending fairly early on, even if I end up changing it later, just to know where I’m headed. I interrupt novel work when a short story occurs to me if it feels developed enough I can draft it right away, but that’s not always the case. If it’s only a little flash of an idea, I note it down with all the others, and sometimes I flesh it out later and sometimes I incorporate it into something else and sometimes it sits there waiting indefinitely. Of course, like most writers, I also have a “normal” job to work around, in my case translating.

Which authors have inspired you or had the most influence on you?

So many. I love literary fiction that reads like a thriller without sacrificing character development, for example books by Marisha Pessl, Angie Kim, Celeste Ng, Gillian Flynn… One thing I think I became especially aware of through Vladimir Nabokov’s work is the importance of giving your characters something they want urgently, and investing your readers in that. I also love all of Daphne du Maurier’s work, how she wrote in different genres but brought the same complexity of characters and riveting suspense to each one. In works by Max Frisch, Katie Kitamura or Annika Reich, for example, I appreciate a kind of poignant quietness in between the words.

Any upcoming new books in the pipeline or any other writing projects?

My literary suspense novel What I Know About July is coming out this Halloween, so I’m very excited about that. In a nutshell, it’s about an angsty indie rock musician trying to get his life together but plagued by a stalkery fan — until she disappears and he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her. As one of the last people seen with her, he’s trying to clear his name but also to absolve himself of something more complicated. It combines aspects of mystery with a narrative of personal growth that asks what it means to be healthy, successful and good – or guilty.

Where did the idea for What I Know About July come from and can you discuss the premise of the story and themes?

I’ve always been fascinated by the relationship between stars and fans. In my own experience, there were definitely times where I imagined I had some special connection to a musician I’d never met, although I was also aware of how unrealistic that was. But what interests me is the sense of knowing, even being close to, someone who’s a complete stranger. Music and other kinds of art can feel incredibly intimate when the artists are drawing on their own interiority, deepest hopes and fears, and most intense feelings to make their art.

So the fan, as the recipient of that, is privy to something that would usually be shared in a much more personal setting. I think that’s part of the magic, and that sense of closeness can be a special and beautiful thing that creates a sense of community among fans or makes them feel less alone with difficult emotions they hear reflected in a song, for example. Unless it becomes excessive, and even possessive, which is what happens in What I Know About July. July isn’t content to just be one of Simon’s fans or enjoy his music. She thinks she has a personal claim on him.

What words of advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Don’t wait for some ideal state of being inspired and hammering out a whole book on a typewriter. Work steadily. Write down your ideas, even if they’re incomplete. And one that I unfortunately often neglect — outline things ahead of time! You’ll thank yourself later. Another important thing to remember is that a reader comes to your work knowing absolutely nothing about the world it takes place in. Don’t assume they can guess anything about your characters without being shown it.

Any parting words of wisdom?

A lot of writers and artists I know can be very insecure and focus on perceived shortcomings. So I guess just remember to celebrate your successes and give them the same attention you would a failure — more, if you can! Celebrate other people’s, too, because they went through the same struggles you did to get where they are, and it can also be easier to hype someone else’s work than your own.

Author Bio:

Originally from Virginia, Kat Hausler is a graduate of New York University and holds an M.F.A. in Fiction from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was the recipient of a Baumeister Fellowship. She is the author of Retrograde and The Heroes and Other Stories and What I Know About July which will be released October 2023. Her work has been published by Hawaii Pacific Review, 34th Parallel, Inkspill Magazine, The Sunlight Press, The Dalloway, Rozlyn Press, Porridge Magazine, LitReactor, BlazeVOX, failbetter and The Airgonaut, among others. She lives in Berlin and is also a translator.

Connect With The Author

Website: https://www.kathausler.com