Interview with Kathleen Lynch

Khayrun Gure: What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?

Kathleen Lynch: I didn't think I could read Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin, I didn’t like it because it was graphic and hurtful, but I had to read the whole book for the curriculum. By the time that I got to the end of the book, I could understand what Tarttelin was getting at with it. The book had to be that graphic for us to understand exactly what was happening to the protagonist.

KG: Where did your idea come from? What was your inspiration when writing your novel?

KL: I wanted to depict a love story amidst all this critical pressure that’s happening in the LGBTQ+ community. So, I wanted the story to show that they are more than their identities. I wanted to show that they have families, jobs, things to say, and are real people. As far as motivation goes, it’s society in general, and I wanted to prove these naysayers wrong and produce something important that was a little bit iffy but had a happy ending.

KG: Why do you think it is important to write in this genre?

KL: It’s fictional, but it's also somewhat non-fictional. I wanted to show the contrast between people and what society’s perception of these people is. I thought it would be interesting to use both genres of fiction and non-fiction, and I really think that would be the only way to write something like this. It's true to life, and it’s not something creative, but it’s not something that is a lie.

KG: What’s your favourite under-appreciated novel?

KL: I really loved reading The Chrysalis by John Wyndham. It’s a bit of sci-fi, which I’m normally not into at all, but it has to do with dystopian and utopian societies and the evils that come with so-called "utopias" because there’s really no such thing and there’s always going to be issues with creating a society that tries to be perfect. This book is amazing. I first read it in fourth grade and I just read it again.