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Though the story is not autobiographical, much of it is “true” in the sense that it was written after a difficult period of my life. I lost my father when I was seventeen and my mother when I was thirty. After my mother passed away when my daughter was ten months old, I found myself sandwiched between the death of my best friend and the presence of this new life. The act of writing was a way for me to work through my own grief and to also find new purpose my life.

HOW TO BE BRAVE specifically started as a thought experiment to see what my relationship with my dad would have been like had my mom died first. As I started writing, Georgia became her own character with her own struggles. As Georgia discovers, there are many different ways to live a life of courage – whether it be by skydiving or taking a trapeze class (numbers 3 and 4 on Georgia’s list), by learning how to draw or dancing to your heart’s wild content (numbers 6 and 10), or by reaching out to others in their time of need (not on the list, but equally important). I hope this book encourages readers to reflect on their own fears and to face life bravely.

What's your favorite thing about Los Angeles?

I originally moved here for the weather, but I’ve stayed for the people. I have a wonderful community of friends here in L.A. who I love dearly.

Who was your childhood hero?

Michael Stipe. I was in the seventh grade when I discovered R.E.M., and besides loving their music, I always admired the fact that Michael Stipe was outspoken about issues he cared about. I loved that he could be poetic and insightful, dignified and cool. I still hold great respect for him, more than twenty-five years later.

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Edith Wharton, Maya Angelou, and Douglas Coupland. It would be an odd mix, but I’d be curious to see what they would have to talk about.

We asked our readers this question, now it's your turn! What would be at the top of your "Ways to Be Brave" list?

Let’s see...
1. Learn how to roller skate and/or ice skate without using the wall.
2. Ride my bike to yoga. (Bike lanes scare me!)
3. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and all the way back up, I guess...)
4. Visit every continent (I’ve only been to two.)

What fictional literary world would you most like to visit?

Mount Olympus, though I’d be a little scared of meeting Zeus.

What are you currently craving?

Pizza. Always pizza. More specifically, Chicago-style. (Cornmeal crust with cheese on the bottom, sauce on top.)

What's your favorite quote or scene from How to Be Brave?

“Being brave isn't about living every minute exhilarated. It's about waking up and knowing that despite the worry and the sadness and the deep, dark fear, you're going to go forth anyway. That you're going to try anyway. That you have a choice, and you're going to choose to live, today, bravely.”

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

“Understand the power of a single action.” As I mentioned earlier, my obsession with R.E.M. goes back to middle school. This statement was written on the back of the 1989 Green World Tour t-shirt, and it remains my favorite motto.

E Katherine Kottaras is the author of the new book How to Be Brave

Connect with E Katherine
Author Website
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Hi everyone. ‘Infinity Lost’ is a part coming of age story, part action adventure, part mystery thriller set in the near future. It revolves around a seventeen year old girl named Infinity “Finn” Blackstone who is daughter of the richest most powerful man in the world. Raised by servants all her life, she’s never met her father, so when she embarks on a journey to find out more about him she unwittingly unleashes dark and dangerous family secrets that threaten to destroy not only her and her friends, but all of humanity.

You're hosting a dinner party and can invite anyone- alive or dead, fictional or real. Who's coming to dinner?

That question is almost too hard to answer! Of course you’d want the guests at that dinner party to be a mix of the most interesting people you can think of but I’d want them to be fun as well. I’ve asked my friends that question before and it’s surprising how similar some of their answers have been. Einstein, Ghandi, Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill, Beyoncé, the list goes on. Personally I’d have to do weeks of research but there’d probably be celebrities, pop stars, cartoon characters, Batman and Neil Degrasse Tyson thrown in for good measure. Maybe I would just have famous actors on one side of the table and the most famous or infamous characters they’ve ever played on the other? That would be awesomely weird for everyone. But if I had to answer off the top of my head right now I’d probably just reserve a table for two at a quaint little bistro on the French Riviera and invite God. But I’m an atheist so he probably wouldn’t show.

What is the one movie that you can quote the most?

Haha! There are a few that would almost cross the finish line at the same time in a race, like any of the three original Star Wars movies and the first Matrix. Fight Club is right up there too, but the winner by Samuel L Jackson’s majestic nose has to be the movie whose poster sits in pride of place over my computer where I write. Quentin Tarantino’s cinematic masterpiece, the incomparable Pulp Fiction. “Where’s Zed?” “Zed’s dead baby.” Damn right he is.

What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?

This may sound a little strange coming from someone who writes books, but I don’t read very much. I generally only tend to do it when I’m on vacation, but that said, there is only one series of books that I’ve read three times through, and that would be the Harry Potters. I obviously don’t need to tell you how good that story is but wow, I’m gonna do it anyway, it’s so damn good, and the proof is on every page. There’s only one billionaire author on the planet and she completely deserves it. Kudos Ms Rowling, I gaze in humble awe at the scope of your imagination and talent and will somehow find it in my heart to forgive you for not letting Harry use the time turner. Hedwig didn’t have to die you heartless woman!

If you had to pick one place to vacation for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

There are so many beautiful places in the world that I want to visit so this answer may change in the future but for now there’s only one contender. Rarotonga. It’s a tiny sun-kissed tropical paradise in the South Pacific where my wife and I were married.

You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?

Oo, that’s a tough one but I’d have to say Neptune, the fictional town in Veronica Mars or Charming, the fictional town in Sons of Anarchy, two places I’d probably end up dead in if I ever was caught there. But real life is not a TV show so; I’d have to say Syria. In my opinion, that’s the worst place on the planet right now.

What's your favorite quote or scene from Infinity Lost?

I don’t have single favourite, but being a big horror fan, I have to admit that I especially enjoy the gory action parts. If I want to design a scene that’s intended to gross my reader out it has to gross me out first, and I still remember reading this passage back just after I had written it and saying out loud “Ew. Yeah that’s gross.” The following is an excerpt of that scene and takes place when two of the characters are trying to escape from a shape shifting room inside Blackstone Technologies…
‘Karla scrambles up from Percy’s shoulders onto the top of the barrier and shimmies sideways on her stomach into the now-tiny and ever-decreasing hole. Karla kicks both legs through the small space in an attempt to drop out feet-first.
But she isn’t fast enough.
The shiny black glass completely envelopes her body from the bridge of her nose down. There’s an awful wrenching, tightening sound, like a thick dry rope that’s being twisted to breaking point. A desperate muffled scream can be heard coming from the glossy dark surface. The scream is gruesomely silenced with a sickening thock as the top of Karla’s skull, complete with its mane of beautiful, thick, shiny brown curls is guillotined clean off, toppling from the side of the dome and dropping onto Percy’s back like a brain-filled bowl of bone and hair.
With a horrific realization, Percy arches upward, frantically pulling his blood-spattered blazer from his shoulders. He throws it to the ground behind him, too afraid to look down at what he has cast aside, and is promptly pelted in the face with one of Karla’s hands and three of her fingers.’

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Oh absolutely, I actually have a few life philosophies. Do what you love, work hard play hard, make sure your happiness outweighs your regrets and try to be kind. But as I’ve gotten older and wiser the creed I try to adhere to almost every night now has to be Netflix and chill. Very sage words to live by.

S Harrison is the author of the new book Infinity Lost.

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