Q&A with Authors from Wattpad Books

Get to know Kassandra Tate

In celebration of publishing we interviewed the author Kassandra Tate! You can buy your copy today wherever books are sold or here from Wattpad Books!

Kassandra Tate has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Her work on Wattpad has accumulated over five million reads and a Watty Award for Science Fiction. She was featured in the anthology Imagines: Celebrity Encounters Starring You (Simon and Schuster), and worked alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun as curator for their New York Times Bestselling novel Gmorning, Gnight! (Penguin Random House). She graduated from Chapman University in 2020 with a BFA in screenwriting and currently lives in Los Angeles with her sisters and––most importantly––her cats, Purrsephone and [Good] Will Hunting. The Famoux is her debut novel.

What is your favourite book?

It's a tie between The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

What TV show are you currently obsessed with right now?

Right now I'm watching season two of Succession, which is just incredible. Every single character stresses me out to no end. When I don't want to be so stressed, I've also been watching old seasons of The Great British Baking Show and adopting as much British slang from it as I can. Positively chuffed about it!!

What is one app you would not be able to go without using even for just one day?

My notes app! I use it to make checklists, to jot down quick ideas, to get out my angsty feelings in free verse poetry...the options are endless!

Who is your biggest hero?

My parents, of course. They've done so much for me, and their support in my writing endeavors means the world.

What was the first story you ever wrote?

There were dozens and dozens of random short stories before this, but I always consider my first *real* story to be this novel I wrote in seventh grade where Romeo and Juliet become vampires, and Juliet leaves Romeo for some random high school boy, and Romeo has to try to win her back. And the school play is of course Romeo and Juliet and the two of them are of COURSE playing the leads... It was all kinds of fun and whacky, and helped me decide I could actually be an author. I might go back and edit that one. And by edit, I mean fully rewrite, haha.

Where is your happy place?

Honestly anywhere with my cats.

Who is your OTP?

In The Famoux it's certainly "Chemeray," as my readers have called it. Otherwise, I'm going to go out on a limb here with a weird answer and say Tyler Durden and the Narrator––Brad Pitt and Edward Norton's characters in Fight Club.

Can you describe your perfect writing area?

Typically: a café, a cappuccino next to my laptop, jazzy music playing and strangers chatting around me. But of course, during the pandemic I've had to adapt, so right now: the roof of my apartment building, a homemade iced coffee next to my laptop, folklore by Taylor Swift playing and my sisters chatting around me.

What motivates you to work hard?

I've always been incredibly self-motivated, thankfully––even though I have a huge tendency to stress myself out and take on too much and all that jazz. But when I fall into writer's block or impostor syndrome, my readers always help. I have a big folder on my phone of fan-art that people have made for my stories which makes me want to cry with happiness if I scroll for too long. So usually that will do the trick, to remind me to keep working.

What makes you laugh the most?

Sitcoms. Most days, I like to have an episode of The Office or Friends or How I Met Your Mother on in the background of whatever I'm doing, even if I'm not paying attention. I've seen the episodes a million times at this point, but the characters are comforting presences, and they always make me laugh.

What is your favourite animal?

Cats! My family actually has six cats in total. The two that are mine are named Purrsephone (Purrcy for short) and Will Hunting (like the Matt Damon movie). The others are named Leonardo DiCATrio, Harri, Ron, and Hermione.

What are your hobbies?

Whenever I'm asked this question, I forget everything I do, haha. I like writing and reading, obviously, but also watching movies and studying film history in general. I'll spend a whole day researching French New Wave cinema and emerge the most pretentious person you've ever seen. I also like embroidering, oddly enough. My go-to birthday present for friends is usually an embroidery of their pet, or their favorite quote, or something of the like.

What is your favorite quote from a book/movie/play?

From my favorite movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

How would your friends describe you?

Great question. My first urge was to answer, What friends?! so they'd probably describe me as someone who at least attempts to tell jokes. I'm also a good listener––I love being someone my friends feel like they can come to when they need to get something off their chest.

Who would you want to attend your dream dinner party? (dead or alive)

This would be a long long list of people, but I think an attendee worth mentioning is one of my favorite authors, Truman Capote, who once threw what's now known as the "best party ever." So like. His presence would be of the UTMOST importance.

Is your glass half full or half empty?

Half full, always! Although I'll certainly complain about it being half empty sometimes...

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

A mixture, I'd say. I've always been more introvert, although I now know how to turn on extroversion when I have to. But the fact that I need to go home and recharge for several hours after social outings tells me all I need to know, really.

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

We have this advent calendar-esque fabric tree that hangs on the pantry door with velcro ornaments for every day of December, and growing up my sisters and I would get to take turns each day putting up the ornaments. We all have our own favorite ornaments that we have to make sure we get to put up, and others we all fight for. It makes me nostalgic.

What are your pet peeves?

When people try to one-up me, either positively or negatively. There's nothing worse than talking about an accomplishment and hearing someone say they've done something better, or venting about a situation only to hear that theirs is so much worse. It feels like unnecessary competition! Why do we do that!

What is your ideal way to spend a weekend?

Going to the movies, staying in and watching movies...anything that can guarantee I'll get popcorn and at least the chance of rewatching Twilight for the umpteenth time.

Can you tell us what you're currently writing?

Why, the sequel to The Famoux, of course!! Also a few other books with different genres. Also a Hallmark-esque movie, oddly enough. Also some TV scripts, film scripts, and even a few movie musicals. I like to have at least a dozen projects I'm simultaneously working on at all times, because I love writing in all mediums and genres... And I just LOVE to stress myself out!!