About Kaytie M. Lee

Upon the eve of either the next millenium or the year before the true millenium, a young woman with a decent career track in product marketing read a book. She does that a lot. Upon closing the covers late one night, she thought, Hey! I can do that. The book, because someone will want to know, was Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, by Tom Robbins.

And so, instead of drifting off to sleep (which she ought to have done in order to be a productive product marketer's assistant the next morning), she got up, wiggled the mouse next to the computer next to her bed (cramped quarters) and started writing.

There is no "rest" to call "history." She's still writing, currently at a desk in a loft in downtown San Diego. (Still cramped, but in a different way.)

About kaytie.net

Kaytie.net was designed by Michael Smith, who is not a web designer by trade so will not make a website for anyone but me (unless you want to pay his consultant rates--you don't). The photographs are the product of creative genius Marc Studer, a photographer out of Seattle, WA. More information about him will be posted as soon as he gets back to me with it. (Should be quick--I'm threatening to tell the truth about him, otherwise.) Queries about the site should be sent to admin@kaytie.net.

FAQ

Not that people frequently ask me questions (well, not questions that pertain to this site). So instead, the following are questions I frequently ask myself. If I start receiving certain frequently asked questions, I'll be sure to post them here.

Just who do you think you are?

Slightly introverted yet friendly woman who puts words to paper. (Pixels to programs?)

What do you think you are doing?

Taking a risk. Writing fiction should be risky--safe writing should be restricted to manuals and road signs.

As for this site, I'm creating a place for people who want to know more about me, for whatever reason. Sure, it's a vanity site. But a vanity site with purpose.

What are you currently working on?

Revising The Book of Traveling Into the Sun, a novel that takes place in Egypt, Seattle WA, and Australia, and researching agents.

Why did you decide to write a novel about Egypt and Australia?

Insanity.

I contracted this viral idea before I started graduate school and decided to use it as my MPW thesis once I received positive feedback on the first pages. I knew a bit about Egypt, having traveled there in 1997 and having taken a class or two. Everything else has been a matter of research. However, a big research project is probably not the best project to start when one has demands from other, non-novel-centric classes. But I like it, and that has made all the difference, literary allusion half-intended.

Which authors inspire you?

I admire and actually re-read T. Coraghessan Boyle. A fortunate side-effect of studying at USC was being able to enroll in Tom's graduate fiction workshop twice and benefitting from not only his teaching, but also from the graduate and doctoral students in USC's English Department. Fine, talented people, all. I also admire Carole Shields and Joyce Carole Oates, Naguib Mahfouz and Haruki Murakami, classics such as Wharton, Turgenev, Flaubert, and Dickens, and I'm always reading debut novelists. I am officially Brad Listi's first fan!girl--look for his novel Attention. Deficit. Disorder. in February, 2006, from Simon and Schuster.

Is your name really spelled with a Y like that?

Yes. It is really spelled k-a-y-t-i-e and it is not short for anything.

I thought that I had made this spelling up. When I was in seventh grade remedial math we were doing some sort of math problem where we were supposed to assign numerical value to the letters of the alphabet (a = 1, b = 2, ... z = 26), then see how much our names were worth by adding up the values. K-a-t-i-e = 11+1+20+9+5 = 46. For some reason, possibly a devastating bout of low self-esteem, having a worth of 46 just wasn't good enough for me. So, in one of those brilliant epiphanies we can only have when we are young, I realized I could add a Y to my name to gain an extra 25 points for a grand total of 71.

After that it stuck. (And my friend Kim became Khymn, but I'll let her tell that one.)

Fast forward ten years. After the end of my starter-marriage I decided to give myself the gift of identity and had my name legally changed.

Search on the web and you will find that the meme of "kaytie" has spread to include other girls on swim teams, teddy bears, a goat, a horse, and a dog.

Why does the Blue Chicken fly at Midnight?

It shall be revealed. But not before its time.