MTV Author Snapshot: Kathy Charles

Hello everybody!

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kathy Charles and my debut novel, John Belushi is Dead, will be released on August 24 by MTV Books. John Belushi is Dead (or JBID as I shall forthwith refer to it) is about teenagers living in Los Angeles who are obsessed with dead celebrities. I am so excited to be here, and look forward to getting to know you all through the MTV Authors blog!

I thought for my first post I would just share some of the things in my life that are important to me, so you can get a sense of the type of gal I am. Let us begin! Heeyah!

My favorite book: It's a tie between 'Pet Sematary' by Stephen King and 'Lunar Park' by Bret Easton Ellis.

My favorite movies: Mulholland Drive, Annie Hall, An American Werewolf in London, L.A. Story.

My favorite dead celebrities: John Belushi (of course!), Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, James Dean.

My favorite music: Neil Young, Frank Black, Modest Mouse, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, The Doors, Marilyn Manson, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

If I could have lived during any period in any place it would have been: Laurel Canyon in the 1970s, right in the heart of the music scene. Joni Mitchell and Neil Young would have been my neighbors.

Starsign: Libra.

My day job: I work in the film industry as a sound post production supervisor. This means I coordinate the final sound mix for a movie before it goes to print. It's a pretty stressful job but it's also very creative, and I get to meet lots of interesting people.

Weird stuff I'm into: I'm a big true crime buff and I'm interested in serial killers, cults and the paranormal. Yes, I'm weird. I know.

Why I write: Because it's fun! I'm a big fan of popular culture and am really interested in how it affects our lives and shapes who we are. Music and movies have had such an enormous impact on the person I am, and I'm interested in exploring this relationship between people and pop culture in my writing.

My writing habits: I write after I get home from work and on the weekends, but only after I've walked my very demanding little pug dog. When I'm working on a first draft I write 1000 words a day on weekdays, 2000 words a day on weekends.

So there you have it! Me in a nutshell. I can't wait to start blogging with all the other wonderful MTV authors, and if you'd like to know even more about me you can check out my website where I also blog about the weird and wonderful stuff I'm into. Until next time, adios!