Here’s a nonconformist author who does her own thing. While I’m not brave enough to color my hair, I can smile and appreciate those who do. Natalie speaks her mind, writes, and also widely promotes other authors.
Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.
Hi! I’m Natalie Case. I’ve been writing since I was a child, and I tend to dabble in urban fantasy, horror, science fiction and poetry. I am happily single with no children, other than my two kitties Morrigan and Freya, but I adore my brother’s two kids who I helped to raise. They are both over twenty now. One is transgender and one is non-binary, and I am honored that I was able to give them the space to live their truth.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, but my career has taken me in a different direction.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I write. A lot. *chuckle* When I’m not working or writing or editing, I enjoy playing SIMS 4, mostly in building characters and houses. I am currently engaging in a project to replace all of the game created characters with ones of my own making.
I watch a lot of documentaries too. True crime, science, biographies, history…I love them all. I also do a lot of craft work.
Do you have hobbies? How did you get started in them?
My dad worked for Kodak when I was growing up, and he put a camera in my hand when I was pretty young. Then, as I got older and studied some art basics, I got my first 35mm camera and started to learn about photography. I love to photograph live music events, unique portraits and interesting landscapes. I particularly love to photograph ruined buildings, and places where nature is reclaiming what man once laid claim to.
If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?
I go in streaks. I’ll read ten, twenty books in a short period of time, then go months without reading anything. I am careful about not reading anything in the same genre as I am currently writing, and I treat some books as rewards for finishing a writing project. I currently have a book by a very good friend set aside as a prize for finishing up a short story I’m working on.
What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?
I don’t think I have any solid writing goals. I write because there are all of these stories living in my head, and it makes me happy to get them down on paper (or computer screen). I guess my goal is just to keep writing. Finding an audience for that writing is just icing on the cake of happiness.
Her Inspiration
What inspired you to write your first book?
When I was a teenager, every Christmas I gave my parents a collection of poetry and short stories I’d written during the year and when I was 16, it was Christmas Eve and I needed another story to round the collection out. That was when the character Amara was born. For the next few years, I wrote more and more of her story as short stories. Eventually, a friend told me that they would make a great novel. I spent the next five years figuring it out, and from that, my fist published book, Forever was born.
How do you decide on the title of a book?
Oh, how I hate titles! Most of my books start out untitled and either I find the title somewhere in the telling of the story, or I get recommendations from my beta readers. Forever, like its main character, Amara, didn’t have a name until I was nearly finished. With my Shades and Shadows series, I knew going in that each title would have either Shades or Shadows in the title, as those were the names of the paranormal races of the two main characters. The middle book was the hardest, and I was still changing it between two different titles the day I submitted it.
Have you developed a specific writing style and why?
My style is a bit varied and depends on what I’m working on. I do seem to feel more comfortable in first person a lot of the time. Then it becomes all about voice and making the character unique. The older I get, the more comfortable I am in infusing my writing with my own sense of humor, morality, etc.
How much of your books is realistic and experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?
I write a lot of fantasy/sci-fi, but my characters are usually very firmly built on people I know or have encountered. My main characters usually have a good mix of my own personality, and that is even more true for my current project. She is me, in a lot of ways. Only better. I hope.
Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
I have trouble picking a single favorite anything. Katherine Kurtz introduced me to the idea that women could write fantasy. Anne Rice inspired me to give horror a try. I guess if I were to pick from author’s I’ve read recently, K.B. Wagers who writes wonderful space opera with kickass characters (their book A Pale Light in the Black is my reward for finishing this story I’m playing with).
Do you remember the first book you read?
I think the very first one I can remember is Where the Wild Things Are. I’m not sure how old I was then. I know I read all of the Nancy Drew books before I was nine. From there I moved on to the Bobbsey Twin books, then the Black Stallion books. I got my introduction to science fiction at nine when I read The Hobbit.
Is there an author, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
So many! Mary Shelley, because she invented the science fiction genre. Edgar Allan Poe, because his story fascinates me, and I want to know the truth about his death. Isaac Asimov, because I admire his intellect.
If you could not write, how would you express what you wish to convey through any stories?
If I couldn’t write, I’d probably go crazy! But my photography is the other way I convey the stories in my head.
Sage Advice
When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?
Just write. Set aside the noise and don’t think about sales or numbers or any of that. Write for you. Write the stories that you want to read.
And no matter how hard it is, turn off that inner editor until after you’ve got the first draft down. But! Do edit. Do hire an editor. I know it’s expensive, but editors help you be a better writer.
How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?
I care more about others remembering my work than remembering me. I hope that my words stick in someone’s mind, or one of my stories stays with them long after they’ve finished reading.
Do you have a blog or website viewers can visit for updates, events and special offers? Include links to any and all of your sites.
https://nataliejcase.com/ is my primary site.
Twitter: @nataliejcase
Instagram: @nataliejcase
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornataliejcase
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Natalie-J-Case/e/B01GW1OE8O?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4&qid=1607193602&sr=1-4
