The following is taken from an interview Katherine gave to AUSXIP's Sheryl-Lee Kerr

SHORT & SWEET

1. Middle name?
Kelly.

2. Age?
30 Forever...
.
3. Place of birth?
This life: Southern California.

4. Place of current residence?
Los Angeles, California, with alternate existences in Heaven and in Hell, depending on my state of mind.

5. Size of your family then and now?

I am the oldest child. Divine of that what you will. I have three sisters and one brother. Now – meaning do I have children? No children, though my cat and my younger sister Pamela both come close.

6. Name of cat?
Metropolitan Cat. Metro to his friends.

7. What you wanted to be when you were 10?
A newscaster. I used to practice the "voice."

8. What you wanted to be when you were 20?
A playwright.

9. Things you’d like to change about yourself?
It would be nice to be taller, but chunky clunky heels have helped that. But more importantly, I’d like to be a bit more amused by myself and stop judging myself so harshly.

10. Greatest script/story never told in Hollywood?
The truth about the Universe. No one has a clue, me included. But I like all the stories.

11. Where do you do your best thinking?
Driving. Late at night.


12. Favourite drink?
KF: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’s Vanilla Ice Blended. Followed by chickory coffee at Café Du Monde in New Orleans.

24. Most detested food, that you’d rather starve than eat?
Meat. I am a vegetarian who doesn’t like bopping animals on the head, then eating them. But I do eat sushi. Where’s the logic in that? I am a mystery, even unto myself.

25. What would you run back into your burning house to retrieve after people and pets are accounted for?
During the Los Angeles riots, with fires raging across the street burning down my beloved Baskin and Robbins, I was surprised to discover that after my cat, I grabbed an antique framed sepia toned picture of a Renaissance style Mary surrounded by angels off my wall. I found it at a flea market. I had no idea it was so valuable to me until then.

26. Greatest lesson mankind should always remember?
Life is fleeting. Live while you’re alive.

27. First important lesson you’d want to pass on to your children (if you had any)?
Be yourself. No one can do it better.

28. Death by what would be your idea of the worst way to exit the planet?

Dying without knowing exactly who I am. Beats any real method I can think of.

29. Thing that makes you gladdest to be alive?
Surprises. The unexpected hello from a stranger. Understanding a new thought, belief. A dream come true. The smell of brewing coffee. Love given, love returned. Moments of utter clarity. More Surprises.

32. Why do you like driving so much? Are you really repressing your secret identity as a truckie?
I learned to drive when I was 13. I find it soothing and I love the aural sound of music inside the car. The repetitive motion enables my creative brain to process information. I long to take a cross-country trip from L.A. to NY. just to brood and think.

33. What would you like to be doing in 10 years’ time?
Writing stories that move people to think, act and dream.

34. What is the one thing in life you most desire?
To stay in my light. To finally understand all the recesses of my mind and soul.

35. Was it cool having I Dream of Jeannie’s Barbara Eden as an aunt? Did that have any effect on your Hollywood career choices?
Barbara is a mother figure to me, so my feelings for her are marked with warmth and goodness. I know I can always count on her to advise, love and support me and that’s such a gift in this world. Knowing her has affected my perception of celebrities as not "superhumans" but "people with jobs." Some are nice people with jobs, some are not so nice people with jobs. But she did not have any bearing on my Hollywood career choices. Hollywood did. I live in Los Angeles and I had a degree in Theatre. At the time, I did not want to move to New York, so I chose to write scripts rather than plays.

36. You do know marketing Krispy Kreme doughnuts as a cure for writer’s block is false advertising? *g* Seriously, how does one keep a waistline with such a weakness?
Krispy Kreme is only allowed as a reward. The completion of a draft, etc. It is not an everyday occurrence. But I love the Willy Wonka Doughnut Factory assembly line. My other great love are beignets from New Orleans, the food of my daddy’s people. Hot dough deep fried in grease and smothered in sugar. What’s not to love?

37. Have you ever scuba dived, parachuted or bungy jumped? If no, any plans?
No, no and no. I didn’t get that gene. A horrid memory I have is riding Buffalo Bill’s roller coaster at the State Line near Vegas. I surely thought I was parachuting, bungy jumping and dying all at once. And then Claire Stansfield got me up in that helicopter in New Zealand, which I did enjoy, actually, but I had no urge to jump out of it.

IN THE DEEP END

1. On the subject of soul mates, in past interviews you seem to have a reluctance to buy into the concept yourself. You say: "It is something we all dream about, but it can be a destructive dream if we lose sight of out lives as we seek it." I understand the single tortured writer’s complex (*g*), but why this reluctance? What bothers you about the idea? Do you say this from experience? And if you don’t believe there is someone special for everyone, why write about it in Xena?
KF: It’s a double-edged sword for me. I want to believe in an epic love that transcends time and spatial boundaries, yet I think that rather idealistic belief makes it hard to live a day-to-day existence with another flawed human being. It tends to lead to disappointment and the reluctance to dig deeper to new levels once the luminescent new love giddiness fades. True soulmate love requires us to reveal all of who we are and see all that they are. I have seen it, so I know it exists. The idea doesn’t "bother" me, it thrills me and terrifies me at the same time. The destructiveness aspect comes when I’ve witnessed others try to make every potential partner they meet "fit" the soulmate ideal rather than living their own lives fully while alone, trusting a soulmate kind of love will come along and it won’t need to be forced.

2. Xena stood at the crossroads when she was crucified by Caesar and it changed her life in momentous ways. Have you ever stood at such a crossroads – presumably not one with such grim and grand choices, but at least a decision you have always wondered how your life would have been had you taken the other road? And I don’t just mean career wise…
KF: Of course, we all have, whether we’ve known it or not. The most obvious is when I majored in criminal law my first year in college. Had I not changed majors to theatre (to my family’s horror), I certainly wouldn’t be talking to you about writing a Xena episode. Or would I? Who knows what was meant to be and what was not? But it would’ve been a far more circuitous route from a courtroom.

3. You write on your website to an aspiring writer: "I once told a friend ‘we are defined by what finally makes us take a stand. What we believe in becomes who we are.’" What do you believe in this much? What is it that makes you take a stand?
KF: My biggest irritant is discrimination and judgment on how others should live their lives. Although I know it’s fear-based, it’s also hurtful and arrogant to think you know better or your "way" is right. I cry at injustice. At those who deliberately use hurtful words to tear down someone. I think words are very powerful. So I try to speak up whenever I can.

4. You seem intrigued by people living their lives to the fullest. I am reminded of a scene from The Fight Club where a character (played by Brad Pitt) puts a gun to a trembling shop attendant’s head and threatens to kill him if he doesn’t immediately alter his life and start on the path towards doing the thing that he wanted to do as a young man when he still had dreams—to live the life that would make him happy. And if he is not on his way to his new life in six weeks, Pitt’s character threatens to return and kill him. When Pitt is asked why he would terrorise the poor man in such a fashion, he replies he is actually giving him a gift – that the next morning that man’s breakfast would never taste so sweet. He would be alive and truly know it. There’s an excitement that comes from that sort of determination to live true to one’s self and dreams. Are you one of those people? Does your breakfast taste sweeter, metaphorically speaking?
KF: Great analogy. (I did not see Fight Club.) I experienced several tragic instances and deaths when I was very young. That taught me the carpe diem mentality. The idea of impermanence speaks to me. Today is not only what you want it to be, it is also all you know for certain that you have.

5. If you were the above shop attendant, would you have to make some changes in that fictitious six week period yourself?
KF: Certainly. I battle with myself every day. I’m also discovering some battles I am not meant to win.

6. You have only a day left to live, what regrets do you have, if any? How would you spend the day?
KF: I would sit in the corner with my phone and call everyone who has ever touched my life. I would thank them for all they’ve given to me – for they have also made my journey here what it is. I don’t have any regrets, which usually implies to me "words left unsaid." I try to always say what is in my heart, even if it comes out wrong or is not returned. But it is never from the quietness of my voice.

7. Why do you write as a career instead of a hobby, when it has to be one of the hardest professions in life both financially and personally?
KF: There was a time when it was hard for me to say, "I’m a writer," as if it should be a hobby, not a career. Then I realized, "Other people make a living at writing, why shouldn’t I?" Words are very powerful, and when I was able to claim definitively, "I am a WRITER!" The money and opportunities came.

8. Who/what do you miss most from five years ago?
KF: My grandmother. Her southern accent. Her early morning calls. Her love for me. I keep her alive every day.

9. Do you think the world will ever find peace? And you?
KF: I think we cannot achieve perfect peace. A utopian peace, that is. Light and dark co-exist. As do joy and sorrow. It is the way of this world, I’m afraid. I think the best we can do is achieve our own peace. If we all attempted that, the world would find itself in much better hands.

Read the full interview