Caitlin Buhr
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr
Author of A Sister Ago
After Christine's younger sister passed away suddenly last year, she closed off that chapter, having navigated through the stages of grief. Focused on her role at a Seattle-based social services nonprofit, she prefers not to dwell on the painful past.
However, her routine takes an unexpected turn when Keji, a grad student, reaches out with unsettling news. Walter, the eerie therapist Christine consulted a few times, is gossiping about her and has even shared her phone number with Keji.
As Christine and Keji delve deeper, they uncover a disturbing connection beyond Walter. Keji's family has also experienced a tragedy, raising questions about the strange coincidence that brought them together. Could there be a reason behind Walter's actions, linking the sorrows they've both endured?
In a narrative intertwining loss, friendship, and the challenges of modern adulthood, Christine grapples with unraveling the mystery surrounding her sister's demise. A Sister Ago serves as a poignant reminder that no family is truly "normal," each harboring its unique complexities. Will Christine finally find the courage to confront her past?
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr
Author I draw inspiration from:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: her writing style is the pinnacle in my mind. I will be aspiring to write like her for the rest of my life.
Nella Larsen’s close-third person POV in the 1929 novel Passing is something I strive to do, too. Larsen writes in a way that, when you think about the book, you think it’s written in first person. And then you read it again and you’re like, this was in third person the whole time? But I’m literally inside (the main character) Irene’s head!
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
With my back against a tree in the courtyard of our apartment complex.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
I think I’d want to be stuck with Klara, a magician and one of the main characters of Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists. I’d say, “Don’t do it” and she’d very likely say, “Don’t tell me what to do.” (Read that fantastic novel to find out what I’m talking about!)
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I think it was in summer 2022 when I was querying A Sister Ago to agents and I was so frustrated by the process that I decided to just start another novel. I realized I had another story banging around in my brain and I was like “Hmm, I guess this is what I want to do now!” I’m now finished with the first draft of that second novel, which is speculative fiction taking place in the 2040s. Now I must edit and revise the crap out of
it!
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
I don’t listen to audiobooks because I have a hard time paying attention when I’m not looking at the page. I prefer hardback and paperback to ebooks because then I completely unplug and I can’t get distracted by other stuff on the e-reader device. I think my ultimate favorite medium is paperback because it’s not heavy in my backpack!
The last book I read:
Oof. The last book I read was a heartbreaking work of nonfiction, I Love Russia by Elena Kostyuchenko. Kostyuchenko is a journalist who worked for the independent press Novaya Gazeta until it was shut down. She writes about growing up in Russia in the nineties and then reporting on all kinds of crazy things that have happened since Putin became president in 2000, including the 2004 Beslan school attack, the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and, of course, the current war with Ukraine. It’s an incredible and incredibly
sad book.
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Generally I write by typing on my computer, but I do have a notebook that I take with me whenever I go somewhere and anticipate having downtime. I’ve written a handful of chapters by hand while a kid I’m babysitting was napping!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
There’s this very captivating character in Amy Tan’s The Hundred Secret Senses, Kwan, who I would want to be best friends with. I’m not sure if Kwan would want to be my best friend. But she’s so full of historical knowledge and so in tune with the spirit world. I’d just want to be around her.
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Being an author IS the dream career. Right now I also teach and tutor history and English, and I babysit. I’m on that multiple part-time-jobs life, and I love it.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I’m going to choose early 2000s. I’m mostly kidding because I find early 2000s teen fashion very ugly now, but I was all about it at the time. I wore flip-flops in the snow and had many pairs of striped toe socks. I wore tube tops before I had any bust to speak of and I loved my pleated jean skirt from Wet Seal.
Place I’d most like to travel:
I’d like to see the Grand Canyon someday. Considering how captivated I am by just photos of it, I can’t imagine the experience of being there.
My signature drink:
I’m a Wisconsinite and I love beer. My favorite beers are Great Dane Brewing’s scotch ale and New Glarus’ Dancing Man Wheat.
Favorite artist:
This question was very fun to think about. I think my favorite artist is Donald Glover! The magical realism he incorporates into his show Atlanta is just not like anything I’ve ever seen on TV. After I watched season 4, ep 8, “The Goof Who Sat By the Door,” I said to myself, “Nothing is too weird.” (As long as you do the weird right.)
Number one on my bucket list:
I’m looking forward to watching all the incredible kiddos in my life—my goddaughter, my cousins, my best friends’ babies, my niece and nephews—grow and continue to become their own people.
Anything else you'd like to add:
Thank you for giving me this interview! I’m curious to hear YOUR take on early 2000s fashion! 😊
Find more from the author:
X: @caitlinbuhr
website: caitlinbuhrbooks.com
About Caitlin Buhr:
Author Interview - Caitlin Buhr
Caitlin Buhr is a writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. This is her first novel. Caitlin’s self-published work of nonfiction, A More Convenient Fate, explores what an Al Gore presidency might have looked like in the early 2000s. Drawing on her political science background, Caitlin is currently revising her second novel, a work of speculative fiction that follows a family grappling with a constitutional crisis and the subsequent split of the United States into two countries.
Caitlin received her BA from Lawrence University and her MPA from Bowling Green State University. When she’s not writing, Caitlin works as a teacher and enjoys running and playing video games with her husband.
