I think that was the scariest thing for me going into fiction was, I have relied my entire career on conversations, on reporting, to understand what made a person tick and what made them do the things they had done. And also to be able to collect the details that made a book. I think, because I had done That for 15 or 20 years, I was really worried that I would not have the skill set, or the muscles would have atrophied to be able to build a character out of whole cloth, rather than relying on observing someone else. So that was really scary for me.
But I realized that a lot of the observations one makes as a journalist, that skill set of being able to observe things and knowing which details are most interesting and relevant, serves you really well in fiction as well, because that is the same muscles. If I’m going to write a profile on somebody my job as a journalist is noticing the details and conveying the things that separate that person from the one next to them. And that is very similar to what you’re trying to do when you’re building a character. So in the end, I feel like this thing, I was really scared about because I “don’t build characters in non fiction,” it is a similar skill set that you are using, which is noticing the details that make a place and a person differentiated from just any place or person.
― Kate Fagan, Interview, Friendly City Books
What booksellers are saying about The Three Lives of Cate Kay
- This is the perfect plane read. Cate flees a traumatic incident as a teen and runs away from her past for more than a decade. She finally comes into her own after years of hiding her identity, during which she has written a trilogy that becomes a worldwide phenomena. Along the way she falls in love, comes to terms with her past and discovers how she wants to live her future. A wholly entertaining and romantic romp, I dove right in and loved it! Cate is great, you’ll love her too.
― Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY
- The Three Lives of Cate Kay is everything I’ve been wanting! The tagline “Seven Husbands” meets “First Lie Wins” is absolutely perfect but with all the depth and queer messiness that catapult this book forward. This is the book that I’ve passed to all of my other booksellers, just so that I can have someone to talk to about this. Fingers crossed on getting an event, because I need everyone to read this book!
― Kristin Kehl, Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Florida | BUY
- The Three Lives of Cate Kay is an adrenaline rush of a story that doesn’t compromise on sincerity. Whether she is exploring first love, queer identity, female friendship, or self-forgiveness, Fagan leaves everything on the page and delivers a novel that demands to be deeply felt by its readers.
― Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas | BUY
- This was such a wonderful surprise! The jacket said “Not Pete’s usual cup of tea” but the plot description intrigued me enough to bring a copy home. And I’m glad I did. I was hooked from page one. It’s just a wonderful novel of love and friendship, lost and found over and over again, that really resounded with me. Thank you, Ms. Fagan!
― Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina | BUY
About Kate Fagan
Kate Fagan is an Emmy Award–winning journalist and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Made Maddy Run, which was a semi-finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for literary sports writing. She is also the author of three additional nonfiction titles, a former professional basketball player, and spent seven years as a journalist at ESPN. Kate currently lives in Charleston with her wife, Kathryn Budig, and their dog, Ragnar.
