Cat Hellisen Launches When the Sea is Rising Red at The Book Lounge

by Thando on Jun 8th, 2012

The Leopard’s Leap wine was flowing and The Book Lounge was abuzz with conversation as the launch of Cat Hellisen‘s When the Sea is Rising Red got under way this week.

Hellisen was joined in conversation by SA Partridge, author of Dark Poppy’s Demise. The two shared an amicable repartee as questions ranged from “How did you manage to get a foreign publisher?” to “How did you get fired from a sex shop?”. Hellisen recalled how there was no real market for fantasy books when she first decided to publish, but she eventually got two agents and an American publishing house. She joked: “Moxyland by Lauren Beukes wasn’t out at that time!”

The evening was a mixture of pure comedy and some solid advice on writing, of which Hellisen declared she had none: “Don’t ask me for advice on writing. I have none, no advice. Just write. There is no way to write, just do it.” Throughout the discussion with Partridge, there was the sense that the two writers were friends. “I had to write, it was the only thing I could do well, I’ve been fired from every possible job. I’m virtually unemployable,” joked Hellisen. She talked about her main protagonist, saying the character makes some bad choices, but makes the good decision to escape a life decided for her.

The book deals with wide-ranging and topical themes including homosexuality, suicide, arranged marriages and vampirism. In this way, Hellisen doesn’t shield the reader from anything. Of vampires, she says of that they are like any other caste or group of people that are considered odd in the real world: “There have always been vampires in fantasy writing, and in many cultures.”

The audience, made up of a good variety of people including a well-behaved toddler, delighted in the self-deprecating quips and insights from a writer seems to have a grounded view of the world.

All too soon the sit-down chat and Q&A session was over, and it was time to mingle, munch on some delicious canapes and quaff some wine.

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Luso Mnthali tweeted from the launch using #livebooks:

@sapartridge and @hellioncat at launch of When the Sea is Rising Redpanmacmillan.bookslive.co.za/blog/2012/05/2… #livebooks twitter.com/afrockcentric/…

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

I don’t want to be friends with my characters I want to torture them – @hellioncat #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

I actually think there’s no such thing as YA. – @hellioncat #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

@SApartridge asks what has changed with YA @hellioncat says what she read used to be in adult section not YA #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

In the book there are the Crakes, and they are the bad poetry caste. I hung out with Goths and they write a lot of bad poetry #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

I like to read everything. Stuff that pushes boundaries. #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

Cat Hellisen – When she was first looking to publish there was no fantasy market in SA #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

The book is a coming of age story. There is also a link to South Africa, as far as the society set-up and the ‘races’ #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

Cat Hellisen has two kids. @SApartridge asked how she manages to read with such a big family #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012

A fantasy book with such engrossing themes such as homosexuality, arranged marriage, suicide and vampires – intriguing! #livebooks

— Luso Mnthali (@afrockcentric) June 6, 2012