INTERVIEW WITH Cate Culpepper

July Newsletter 2006

By Connie Ward, BSB Publicist/Author Liaison

What made you decide to become a fiction writer?

I don’t recall ever making a conscious decision, but I’m sure I became a fiction writer because I’m a voracious fiction reader.  Some of the books I’ve read have been life-changing.  It would be quite an honor if my writing ever touched or challenged a woman the way other authors have moved me. 

What type of stories do you write and why?

I feel the Tristaine series is primarily a love story, with lots of action in the mix.  The trilogy deals with romantic love, but also with the kind of loyalty and passion that develop in strong friendships among women.  And at times, these stories allow me to air a little political anxiety.  The City in this series is the kind of society we’ll create if Homeland Security is allowed to quash all personal privacy.  My pinko-liberal bias is bound to make it into my books.

What does/do your family/friends think about your writing?

I’ve gained some terrific friends who met me because they liked stories I’d written.  Bold Strokes Books and the Tristaine mailing list have introduced several more fine women into my life.  I’m amazed at the personal and creative support my friends continue to offer this series and its writer. 

Where do you get your ideas?

Mythology, the occult, Amazon lore, Cagney and Lacey, feminism, the gay kids I work with, Xena™, early westerns.   Various erotic inspirations too numerous to mention.

How do you write? Do you plan everything out or just write?

I have a vague notion of major plot points before I set fingers to keys, but I’m never sure where the ending lies.  There’s usually a low-key panic that one won’t occur to me, ever, and I’ll write a book the size of Seattle’s white pages before Jess wakes up and it’s all a dream.

What makes the Tristaine series special to you?

How much time do you have?  One of the things that’s touched me the most is the common yearning expressed by many of the women who’ve read these books—a wish that Tristaine and its Amazons were real.  So many of us seem to hunger for a clan to belong to, an extended community of powerful and loving sisters.

How much of yourself and the people you know are in your characters?

I’ve slipped several slivers of people I know into many of Tristaine’s characters.  For example, the clan’s elders in Battle—Jocelyn, Dorothea and Sarah—are based on my mother and her two closest friends.  Of that trio, only Sarah survives, both in life and in this story, so there are subtle parallels to my world.  I’ve named several Amazons for, or based their personalities on, strong women I feel close to.

Which lesbian authors inspired you most?

I’m indebted to the early writings of Jane Rule, Lee Lynch, Rita Mae Brown, and Katherine V. Forrest.  The queen of my early inspiration has to be Sarah Dreher and her Stoner McTavish series.  I’ll be happy if I ever achieve half of her wit and deftness with dialogue.

Do you have any suggestions for new writers?

Have the courage to seek out honest feedback.  Praise is great and nurturing is necessary, but I’ve learned more about writing working with two very demanding BSB editors the past six months than I learned in the previous six years.

When you’re not writing, what do you do for fun?

A shameful amount of recliner-roosting in front of the idiot box.  When I can stir my bones, I enjoy amateur archery and candle making, and communing with my wee white dog.

Which is your favorite among the books/stories you've written? Why?

I have idealized versions of each of my books in my head, and I know I’m only partly successful in transcribing them. Those “archetype” versions are my favorites.