5 Questions with Folly Short Story 2nd Prizewinner, Catherine Hart

Catherine Hart is a writer who completed her master's in creative writing at AUT last year. She primarily writes romance novels centered around polyamorous queer aliens. She also enjoys crafting more general fiction in shorter formats. Catherine first learned about Folly through the New Zealand Society of Authors, which inspired her to write this piece.

When did your love of writing begin? 

When I was very young. My first unfinished novel was a romance between hetero teenagers who skipped class to go to the beach and share a first kiss. I was 11 when I wrote it and can confirm it is exactly what you'd expect from someone that age! 

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your winning piece, “Not What I’m Looking For”? 

I wrote the piece based on real flatting experiences (though they're a bit of a medly of different people). It's a very interesting state of mind, to not want what someone else has while also being jealous. Once I had the first few paragraphs down, I knew where the piece was going. 

We are excited to showcase your work in our upcoming publication. We’d love to know what aspects of Folly Journal spoke to you and motivated you to submit your work with us?

I'm always on the hunt for competitions and publications that feel like my kind of vibe. I love anything that's a bit risqué and different, especially if there's an element of satirical fun, and I think Folly encapsulates that perfectly. 

You write about queer aliens. What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are exploring unconventional and diverse themes in their work?

I do! Reading in the genre that you're interested in writing is super important, even if it means reading around the diverse themes you want to look at. Alien romances are pretty common these days, and so are queer romances, and polyamorous romances, but not necessarily at the same time. So, I've read a lot of each category and found what I like in them, and then figured out how to incorporate that into my work. 

Who are the authors that have had the greatest influence on your writing journey?

Margaret Atwood will always hold a very special place in my heart, even though my work doesn't resemble hers at all. Ruby Dixon and Victoria Aveline  are both amazing romance science fiction authors who I can only aspire to resemble. And Alexis Hall gives me all the happy British queer vibes and I can't recommend his work enough. There are plenty more, but they're definitely the ones that stand out.