Sep 29, 2011
THE TAKER, Alma Katsu’s debut novel, begins with Lanny, an immortal woman who arrives at a hospital in Maine in the middle of a cold night and confesses to a murder. Inspired in part by Katsu’s upbringing in “ancient houses that creaked with every passing breeze,” Lanny’s complex saga gradually unfolds, telling of a world where magic, reality and timeless love converge. In this interview, Katsu discusses her childhood fascination with “the spooky and supernatural,” and ties the atmospheric components of the story to her unique ideas about the coexistence of science, religion and human experience. She also describes the process of simultaneously writing in multiple voices, tenses and time periods, and gives several tantalizing glimpses into the two upcoming sequels.
