We chat with debut author Kat Davis about In A Dark Mirror, which is a haunting novel about delusions in the dark and the dangerous games children play where a decade-old crime unites its devoted fans.
Hi, Kat! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a writer and mom who lives in the Boston area. In a previous life, I taught English to speakers of other languages. I’m a huge book and language nerd. In a Dark Mirror is my debut novel.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Very early, sitting in my mother’s lap! I loved being read to. When I was seven or eight, I was obsessed with Amelia Earhart, and I told everyone I wanted to be a pilot like her. Then one day someone pointed out to me that it could be a kind of dangerous profession (her plane disappeared, after all), and I thought it was completely natural that if I didn’t want to have adventures involving actual physical risk, I would just become a writer and have imaginary adventures instead.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Princess and the Pea
- The one that made you want to become an author: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Milkman by Anna Burns
Your debut novel, In a Dark Mirror, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Creepy, dark true crime thriller
What can readers expect?
Since she was a small child, twelve-year-old Lana has had visions of a mysterious figure she calls Him. When new girl Sage moves into their neighborhood one summer, Lana convinces her best friend Maddie to help her lure the other girl into the woods – as a sacrifice for Him. The novel follows a dual timeline leading up to the crime, and also picks up ten years later, as Maddie tries to rebuild her life after being released from institutional care and finds herself drawn into an online community for fans of her crime.
Where did the inspiration for In a Dark Mirror come from?
Many readers will probably recognize the inspiration for the novel in the 2014 Slender Man stabbings that took place in Wisconsin. The past timeline follows some of the events of that crime pretty closely, but I have taken great liberties with reimagining the characters and setting.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I decided early on that I wanted to write the book from all three girls’ perspectives, and that became both a challenge and a helpful way to think about each of the main characters’ personalities and motivations, and to try to find empathy for each of them – even when they do awful things.
This is your debut published novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Long. I got a MFA in my twenties and have always thought of myself as a writer, but life intervened for a while. I had written a couple of novels before this one that didn’t really come together. Based on my past experience, I was really excited to have interest from agents with my initial round of querying, which seemed like a sign that maybe this one would land somewhere.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another novel.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I really enjoyed Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women. Inspired by the crimes of Ted Bundy, it’s told from the perspectives of victims and survivors. I’m excited to read K.T. Nguyen’s You Know What You Did, which is supposed to be a dark thriller with some horror elements. I’m also looking forward to reading R.O. Kwon’s Exhibit because I loved her first novel The Incendiaries.
