Kat Dunn
Kat Dunn grew up in London and has lived in Japan, Australia and France.
She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick. She’s written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television.
Her fiction has been shortlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition, and Dangerous Remedy is her first novel.
Q: How did the idea for BITTERTHORN come about? Were there any particular fairytale influences that helped inspire the story?
A: BITTERTHORN started life when I was hiding in the corner of a dark restaurant in Disney Sea Tokyo, avoiding the crowds. I was idly thinking about my favourite fairy tale - Beauty and the Beast - and how much I'd want to see a female 'beast', and all the questions it brings up around what beastliness is, how and when women are monsters, what makes us feel monstrous, isolation, loneliness, judgement, rejection, abuse. The whole plot poured out, writing around the edges of a park map, the only paper I had. It changed and grew since then, but the castle, the Witch, Mina, and the Wheel were all there.
Q: The slow burn romance between Mina and the Witch was beautiful to see unfold. What was the experience like creating these characters and their dynamics?
A: It came very naturally, the first draft of the book was really just the love story between the two of them, and in edits I had to build up some more of the plot because all I wanted to do was write cute scenes of the two of them slowly falling for each other despite their best instincts. I really loved writing all the little moments of them beginning to see each other's softness, and slowly opening up about their own vulnerabilities. I always loved fanfic growing up (and now!) and I would love to spend all my time writing fluffy one shots of Mina and the Witch cooking together or going Christmas shopping or Mina teaching the Witch to garden. So many things!
These Sapphic Stories Book Club author profiles are compiled by Founder Aliya Bree Hall. Aliya is a freelance journalist and author who founded the book club in 2021 to uplift sapphic stories and celebrate LGBTQ+ authors. This excerpt has been lifted from an interview Aliya conducted with our January 2024 author. You can read the full Q&A by joining the book club.
