Katherine Arden + Naomi Novik: The Warm Hands of Ghosts
On February 13, 2024 my sister and I had tickets for Katherine Arden + Naomi Novik: The Warm Hands of Ghosts at the Strand in NYC.
We got the tickets in early January for the just the talk, not the book signing. I had already preordered the audiobook and I have a signed ARC from New York Comic Con. My sister ordered the Barnes and Noble special edition. So we decided to just get the $8 ticket.
A snowstorm almost ruined it all. The day before NYC said schools were closed. The place where I work was closed.
I saw on Instagram that Katherine's flight was canceled but her wonderful husband drove in the snow to a train station and they got on a train to NYC. The event was still on.
I was nervous so I spent the day calling the Strand (just a recording with no voicemail box), emailing the Strand, sending a DM to the Strand, sending a DM to Katherine, all asking the same question - if there are people who cannot make it will the event be live streamed or recorded for later viewing?
Katherine responded first. She said that she was not sure about the recording but would ask. She also said the weather should clear up by the evening and we wished each other safe travels.
The Strand got back to me much later and I didn't see the email until I had already come home. No, they would not be recording the event.
So, the storm did stop in the early afternoon. And with some help I dug out the car. I was hoping that since school was closed and people probably worked from home that the buses' park-n-ride would be empty and hopefully plowed.
And it was, but my sister and I left early anyway just in case. We made it to the Strand fast and without issue, thank God.
We were super early and had a dinner/snack at Starbucks and then were one of the first 5-6 people on the queue. Then we got seats in the front row.
The conversation was great. I like this type of interview/conversation when it's with a fellow author and friend.
My sister took this video.
(Peter V. Brett was there also taking photos for Katherine's IG. I think both he and Naomi live in Brooklyn. Oh, and I loved Naomi's green boots! The video might be too dark to see.)
I loved hearing about her process and her deep dive into World War I and trying to work what she learned with the fantastical element.
At 42:00 I asked the first question. I asked if she would she ever revisit the WWI era or is she totally done?
She said never say never but she is done for now. She is looking to write a novel set in the Age of Sail or the French Revolution, which made me say, "oooh". I think you can hear my "oooh" in the video.
Things that stood out to me:
14:30 Authors either write character first or story first. She builds the journey before she can figure out the characters.
30:00 I liked when she talked about how WWII was a war that was moving and WWI was static. Same battlefield for years. Advance and retreat, advance and retreat.
35:00 - The army issued heroin to the soldiers. Why am I not surprised? That makes me sad.
37:00 - She figured out what her villain wanted. Getting that right unlocked the rest of the book.
Later that night I thought of another question: knowing that her villain needed a goal before she could make it all work, did she learn from that and from now on will she outline the characters and their goals first so she doesn't get stuck? And how did she come up with the name Faland?
After the Q&A my sister and I left and we're looking forward to her next story. And The Warm Hands of Ghosts is out now. So go get it so we can talk about it.
We got the tickets in early January for the just the talk, not the book signing. I had already preordered the audiobook and I have a signed ARC from New York Comic Con. My sister ordered the Barnes and Noble special edition. So we decided to just get the $8 ticket.
A snowstorm almost ruined it all. The day before NYC said schools were closed. The place where I work was closed.
I saw on Instagram that Katherine's flight was canceled but her wonderful husband drove in the snow to a train station and they got on a train to NYC. The event was still on.
I was nervous so I spent the day calling the Strand (just a recording with no voicemail box), emailing the Strand, sending a DM to the Strand, sending a DM to Katherine, all asking the same question - if there are people who cannot make it will the event be live streamed or recorded for later viewing?
Katherine responded first. She said that she was not sure about the recording but would ask. She also said the weather should clear up by the evening and we wished each other safe travels.
The Strand got back to me much later and I didn't see the email until I had already come home. No, they would not be recording the event.
So, the storm did stop in the early afternoon. And with some help I dug out the car. I was hoping that since school was closed and people probably worked from home that the buses' park-n-ride would be empty and hopefully plowed.
And it was, but my sister and I left early anyway just in case. We made it to the Strand fast and without issue, thank God.
We were super early and had a dinner/snack at Starbucks and then were one of the first 5-6 people on the queue. Then we got seats in the front row.
The conversation was great. I like this type of interview/conversation when it's with a fellow author and friend.
My sister took this video.
Click to view(Peter V. Brett was there also taking photos for Katherine's IG. I think both he and Naomi live in Brooklyn. Oh, and I loved Naomi's green boots! The video might be too dark to see.)
I loved hearing about her process and her deep dive into World War I and trying to work what she learned with the fantastical element.
At 42:00 I asked the first question. I asked if she would she ever revisit the WWI era or is she totally done?
She said never say never but she is done for now. She is looking to write a novel set in the Age of Sail or the French Revolution, which made me say, "oooh". I think you can hear my "oooh" in the video.
Things that stood out to me:
14:30 Authors either write character first or story first. She builds the journey before she can figure out the characters.
30:00 I liked when she talked about how WWII was a war that was moving and WWI was static. Same battlefield for years. Advance and retreat, advance and retreat.
35:00 - The army issued heroin to the soldiers. Why am I not surprised? That makes me sad.
37:00 - She figured out what her villain wanted. Getting that right unlocked the rest of the book.
Later that night I thought of another question: knowing that her villain needed a goal before she could make it all work, did she learn from that and from now on will she outline the characters and their goals first so she doesn't get stuck? And how did she come up with the name Faland?
After the Q&A my sister and I left and we're looking forward to her next story. And The Warm Hands of Ghosts is out now. So go get it so we can talk about it.