Interview with Sophie Whittemore // Author of Catch Lili Too

Today I’ve got a special post for everyone! It’s an author interview with Sophie Whittemore, the author of Catch Lili Too! I’ve had a wonderful time talking with Sophie, they were such a lovely author to work with! I’m so excited to share this interview with you.

Hi Sophie! I’m so happy to be interviewing you on my blog today! Can you tell me a little bit about your book Catch Lili Too?

Hi Bertie! Thank you for hosting me. Hmm… how to sum up Catch Lili Too? I’d say it’s a very queer and very punk novel about an asexual siren who is jaded to the max (think Blade Runner Detective Deckard jaded combined with Lisbeth Salander’s flair for vengeance and Wednesday Addams’ sense of gothic humor). Immortality’s a very long time, and Lili is over it. That is… until one fast-talking poltergeist comes along and makes a very risky bet: catch a killer who targets the living AND undead. Nobody’s safe.

One of the things I absolutely loved about the book was Lili’s asexuality! How did you come up with the idea for an asexual siren?

As a demisexual and panromantic person, I know I wanted my main character to be queer. I think the concept of an ace siren came about from the idea of what it was like to navigate queerness and asexuality in social spaces. Society is built to be heteronormative in any sexuality represented and having to navigate a queer identity makes you feel out of place – both internally and externally. That sense of isolation only increases for QPOC and QTPOC.

As a siren who needs to play a part in order to get food, Lili navigating her identity is a life-or-death situation. Navigating one’s own sexuality and/or gender identity in our world also carries this sense of danger. It’s not safe everywhere to be entirely yourself.

Luckily, Lili’s found family of magical misfits help her learn more about her own identity. In the end, you’re never too old to have a coming-of-age moment (even immortals can do it!)

You’ve written such a large cast, and the found family vibes were immaculate! I hate to ask, but who’s your favourite character?

Lili for sure is very near and dear to my heart.

I remember a very rude little boy telling me sarcasm would mean ‘nobody would ever want to be friends with me for the rest of my life’ when I was younger. (Thanks, kid, hope you’re doing well). Lili is kind of like that – she uses sarcasm to push people to a kingdom far, far away from her at all times.

I think I relate a lot with Lili because she takes that to heart. Her sarcasm’s a defense mechanism. But, in the end, her found family did just what the name suggested: they found her, sarcasm and all. And they helped her not be so lonely anymore. (Shout out to my found family – I love y’all and am grateful to you every day).

I love how many different identities are represented in this book! It’s even reflected by how many different immortals and magical people there are! Did you always know you wanted to feature an incredibly diverse cast?

For sure. I think the most important thing in writing is respectful inclusivity, especially now with BIPOC representation (please support BIPOC/QTPOC authors by the way!) I hope to grow in writing and, as the Gamin Immortals series continues, to leave more room for characters that showcase a variety of life experiences. In other words, there’s more than just one type of magic in Gamin!

What was your favourite thing about writing Catch Lili Too?

Moments where the characters just joked around and had fun together. I like having stories with heart, and I ensured Catch Lili Too had a lot of heart. (Even if Lili ate some occasionally).

Do you have any ideas on what you’ll be working on next?

Currently, I’m working on the sequel to Catch Lili Too alongside juggling some other very queer punk passion projects. We don’t have enough of them in the world.

I’m always interested in what books authors are reading! Have you read anything good (recently or otherwise) that you’d like to recommend?

Currently, I’m reading “Mala & the Mask of Gold” by Jaime Martin Ko which is rich in Filipino and queer mythology, “Cemetery Boys” by Aiden Thomas, a really cool ghostly Latinx storyline about brujx, and “Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo which is a dark fantasy currently getting adapted for the screen and is a magical ride so far.

For past books that I’ve finished and highly recommend: “Sissy: A Coming of Gender Story” by Jacob Tobia and “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. And anything by Neil Gaiman, because goth-punk vibes.

Last question! Do you have a message for my readers? What are you hoping they’ll take away from reading your book?

The only thing I could ask people to take away from my book is the hope that they enjoyed it and felt a little less lonely, if only for a little while.

I don’t know about messages exactly, but in general, I want people to be so amazingly kind and awesome to one another and to be kind to themselves when life is tough. We need a world of absolutely mountainous levels of kindness and compassion and forgiveness.

If a group of queer punk-rock monsters and entities can grow to love and understand each other in Catch Lili Too, then I hope the world can learn to love more too.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this interview, and if you’re interested please check out Catch Lili Too.

If you want to add this to your TBR you should Add to Goodreads!

You can buy this book from the publisher, or major book sellers such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

I’d recommend checking out your local indie bookshop!