Ten Terrifying Questions with Kate Hendrick!

by |March 3, 2022
Kate Hendrick - Fish Out of Water

Kate Hendrick is a high school Visual Arts and Photography teacher whose novels The Accident and The Finder are published by Text. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two children.

Today, to celebrate the recent release of her YA novel Fish Out of Water, Kate Hendrick is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …


Kate Hendrick

Kate Hendrick (Photo by Ian Hendrick).

1. To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?

Born and raised in North-West Sydney. I studied art education and design at uni, so no formal writing training, but I have always loved to read and had a passion for literacy.

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?

At twelve, probably a primary-school teacher. I used to sit my younger siblings down so I could teach them things. At eighteen, I was tossing up between art/design and education and ended up studying both (great way to postpone making a decision!). Thirty was when my first book, The Accident, was published, so that was the point where I realised writing could actually happen for me in a real way, not just as a hobby.

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?

I thought I had it all worked out! I had the beliefs that I was raised with and hadn’t really started to question them. Now I’m a lot more open to understanding the different sides of things and having my mind changed.

4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?

Narrowing it down to three specific works is impossible! I read my first Agatha Christie novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, when I was about ten, and her books set me up with a life-long love of mystery stories.

Reading John Marsden as a teen, especially his iconic Tomorrow When The War Began series, got me hooked on YA. A number of TV writers (like Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad fame) have also influenced me in terms of story structure as well as character development.

5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a young adult novel?

I was writing when I was myself a young adult, so it was a case of writing what I knew. I’ve kept going because adolescence is a time of such change and questioning that it’s really fertile ground for a writer, and I haven’t run out of ideas yet! I do have other artistic forms that I like to dabble in as well as writing – I love photography, I do a bit of painting, and I love to design and build things. For me, a balance of different creative outlets is really important.

‘I also set myself specific challenges when I’m writing, like seeing if I can pull off an unusual story structure or shape the reader’s experience in a particular way.’

6. Please tell us about your latest book!

It’s about a kid named Finn who is a very talented swimmer. Swimming has been his driving force and what he’s built his identity around. When things suddenly change, and he no longer has the black line at the bottom of the pool to follow, he has to figure out who he actually is. There’s a lot of stuff from his past that he has to deal with, including some toxic influences that he starts to become aware of for the first time.

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?

I guess for me it’s always about creating a situation, in a book, where the reader is seeing the world from a new perspective, and hopefully coming out of that with a better understanding of other people’s lives.

8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?

Again, impossible to narrow it down! I admire different writers for different things. There are some great Australian YA authors at the moment that I really admire; I think there’s something special about reading stories with authentically Australian voices.

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?

In short, I’m always trying to do better! I try to really take on board feedback I get and use any criticism constructively. I also set myself specific challenges when I’m writing, like seeing if I can pull off an unusual story structure or shape the reader’s experience in a particular way. My husband likes to say I’m very good at overcomplicating things! But I like a bit of a challenge because it forces me to find creative solutions.

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

The hardest part is getting started. Just start writing. Once you have some momentum it gets a whole lot easier. Don’t worry about getting every word perfect as you go, or having every plot twist planned in advance. Accept that writing is a process and things are going to change and evolve.

Thank you for playing!

Fish Out of Water by Kate Hendrick (Text Publishing) is out now.

Fish Out of Water.by Kate Hendrick

Fish Out of Water.

by Kate Hendrick

Life is pretty simple for fifteen-year-old Finn- just keep following the black line in the pool. But in a moment it all changes- distracted by a familiar face in the crowd, he falters on the blocks and loses not just the race, but the single-minded focus that has driven him this far.

Did he really see what he thinks he saw? It doesn't seem possible-not after what happened-but now Finn can't stop wondering, and everything is starting to unravel. For the first time, he's got no idea what he's supposed to do or who he's supposed to listen to...

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