Five with Fisher - Cate Baumer
Cate Baumer (she/her) is a fantasy writer who lived half her life in Japan but currently resides in the heart of Appalachia, a setting that inspires the lush and haunted worlds of her work. When not writing, she can be found exploring the woods on horseback, putting her degree in art history to use at museums and antique shops, or searching for the perfect cup of coffee.
What would be your writer “mascot”? A raven? A narwhal? Something else? Why?
Every time I write or deal with publishing I make the face of a rain frog (and I have seen photo evidence of this), so that.
Give me an unexpected or strange piece of writing advice.
You can start writing at any time; you don’t have to wait for a plan, or even a particularly strong idea. My best ideas come to me in the middle of writing just for the sake of writing; if I waited for a perfect scene or plot point to appear in my head, I would not have written 10 books, I’d still be on draft one of book one! Inspiration often comes through the work, not before. No matter what the plotting camp will tell you, I’m living proof that total pantsers can write complete, coherent books, and good ones at that.
Tell me about a research hole you fell into when writing one of your books.
For my 2024 release, The Faithful Dark, the religious system is heavily influenced by Gnostic philosophy. This led to me ordering far too many religious studies textbooks, watching hours of youtube philosophers, reading the entirety of Barnstone and Meyer’s The Gnostic Bible (almost 900 pages), and considering going back to school for a masters in the subject. And most of it didn’t even make it into the book except for vibes!
Has becoming a writer changed you as a person? How so?
This sounds like a bad thing, but I’m not sure it is- I no longer expect good things. I was a painfully idealistic so-called gifted child and it led me to fall on my face over and over, but after over a decade of writing for traditional publishing and failing, I simply do the work I like and don’t expect a sale to a publishing house. The longer I look behind the curtain, the less I’m sure I even want one! I give so few fucks in all areas of my life now. It’s quite freeing.
Tell me a secret.
I deal with professional jealousy very badly, so when rejection really gets me down I sit my cat in my lap and tell her how my genius is being unappreciated, and because she also feels like a magnificent creature wronged by the world (only two options of food at any given time, not allowed to run free in the yard, not allowed to sleep on the keyboard when I work), she is the perfect sympathetic audience.
Cate’s novella AS BORN TO RULE THE STORM is available for purchase now, and her indie debut novel THE FAITHFUL DARK is ready to pre-order and will be available Spring 2024!