After having read A Crooked Mark, I chatted with author Linda Kao about some of my favorite themes and characters. We haven’t had an interview in a long time, so I’m very excited for this one! Keep reading this book interview with Linda Kao author of A Crooked Mark below.
About A Crooked Mark
Rae Winter should be dead.
Some say that walking away from the car crash that killed her dad is a miracle, but seventeen-year-old Matthew Watts knows that the forces of Good aren’t the only ones at work. The devil, Lucifer himself, can mark a soul about to pass on, sending it back to the land of the living to carry out his evil will.
Matt has grown up skipping from town to town alongside his father hunting anyone who has this mark. They have one Find these people, and exterminate them.
After helping his father for years, Matt takes on his own Rae Winter, miracle survivor. But when Matt starts to fall for Rae, to make friends for the first time in his life, he’s not sure who or what to believe anymore. How can someone like Rae, someone who is thoughtful and smart and kind, be an agent of the devil? With the lines of reality and fantasy, myth and paranoia blurred, Matt confronts an awful truth….
What if the devil’s mark doesn’t exist?
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Find A Crooked Mark on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.
Interview
In A CROOKED MARK you explore perception and truth, can you share your inspiration for the story? Why did you want to explore these themes of perception?
The inspiration for A CROOKED MARK came one morning when I passed a person walking, and their frustrated expression made me think something had gone terribly wrong in their day. At the same time, I realized I would never actually know what happened to this stranger. So often, even with friends, we rely on our own perceptions to determine what is real. We do our best, drawing from expressions, actions, and words, but none of these contain another person’s entire truth. That idea—of trying to determine what is truly happening in the mind of someone else—became the foundation for the story.
Tied to this idea of truth and what is the truth about the marks is a hint of unreliability which you play with throughout the story. Can you talk about Matthew’s character journey and the ways in which you were able to play with unreliability?
Matt’s entire life is built upon his belief in the Mark. It shapes his relationships and his actions, so when doubt begins to creep in, it sends his whole world crashing down. Matt’s narration becomes unreliable because he no longer knows who or what to believe, and he’s frantically trying to figure these things out before he makes a terrible mistake. It was especially fun to have Matt examine events from two perspectives—coincidence or the Mark?—because both seem plausible to him, but with such high stakes, being wrong isn’t an option.
Speaking of side characters, can you tell us about the friend group he comes to know? Who was the hardest and easiest for you to write?
I wanted to surround Matt with a group who would take him in and support him, especially since he’s never had friends like these before. Moose was the easiest for me to write because he just wants everyone to get along and assumes there’s good in most people, and I’m the same way. Sahana was the most difficult because she has sharper edges and isn’t afraid of confrontation, and I wanted her to be fierce but likeable. She’s someone I would love to have as a friend because I know she would always look out for me!
You play with some genres in A CROOKED MARK like fantasy, mystery, contemporary. How was your experience to blend these different genres, conventions, and elements in your debut?
I love the concept of taking our contemporary world and adding a twist, so it’s almost something that could be true. Grounding a story in our world with that single speculative element lets me walk out the door some mornings thinking, “Hey, what if this is real today?” and brainstorm from there. Adding a bit of mystery makes it even more fun! The hardest part of blending the different genres was adhering to the rules of the contemporary world but still bringing in more fantastical elements, as well as making sure the clues of the mystery lined up all the way through.
What’s the story behind the title? Were there any other contenders?
No other contenders! It was A CROOKED MARK from the first draft, and I love how the meaning becomes more complex as the story develops.
One of my favorite elements were the friendship group and this sense of belonging Matthew feels. Why did you choose to explore these relationships and friendship for his character journey and the story?
Matt hasn’t had friends like these before, and I felt it was important for his character to find a family beyond his father. I think that’s such a crucial part not just of young adulthood but of any stage in life: finding people who accept you as your true self. Matt’s friends give him the freedom and support to discover who he is apart from anyone else’s expectations, and the conflicts that emerge between who he wants to be and the path he’s currently on help to shape the person he ultimately becomes.
What has the road to debut and post-release been like?
I’ve heard it said that things move slowly in publishing until they don’t, and it’s true! There were moments where I felt like so much was happening: when my editor sent me sample covers, when copy edits landed in my inbox, when the day of my book launch arrived. For the most part, however, these events punctuated my normal writing life. Now, I get a few more emails than before and I have some school talks lined up, but it’s still mostly me, my laptop, and my dog at my feet as I’m trying to write my next book.
What is the best advice you got before your book sold?
Keep writing! It’s easy to get lost in the hopes and hype of publishing a book, but no matter how things turn out, I’m going to need that next story. It’s also such a release for me—I get cranky if I stop writing for too long—and it was great to have a project in process to distract me from reviews and other publishing-related items.
What’s your writing routine like? What do you do with creative blocks?
I usually write in the mornings, because that’s when my mind is fresh and I can really focus. I’ll put in a few hours, take my dog for a walk, and then finish up whatever else I need to do to make the day feel productive. I don’t usually have creative blocks (only because I’ve renamed them “part of the process” so they’re not so intimidating!) but when I’m stuck on a plot point, I’ll play with ideas away from my computer. I find that letting the story sit while I do other things—organizing my bookshelves, going on a run—helps me see new possibilities.
About Linda Kao
Linda Kao grew up in California and spent most weekends throughout elementary school hauling books home from the library to read on the living room rug. After completing her degree at Stanford University, she taught elementary school for several years before earning a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA. Along the way, she discovered a love for writing fiction, and in 2014, she received the SCBWI Sue Alexander Award. She has published short stories and poems in Highlights for Children, Ladybug, Fun for Kidz, and Boys’ Quest.
Linda currently lives in Southern California with her family. A CROOKED MARK is her debut novel.