Authentic: Kate Racculia

Kate Racculia has been a writer since her childhood in Syracuse, New York: before she could put pen to paper, she dictated stories to her parents. At twelve years old, she wrote what she laughingly describes as “a complete rip-off of The Westing Game” in three college-ruled Mead notebooks, later partially transcribed into her school’s Apple IIe. It was excellent practice: this fall, she’ll be celebrating the publication of her third novel, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts.

Tuesday Mooney, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is a pun-filled adventure story, a love letter to the city of Boston (where Kate lived for eleven years), and an exploration of the complexities of becoming an adult. As Kate puts it, “I wanted to write a lady Indiana Jones book” that also tackled what she learned about “money and wealth” in eight years of working in financial services and fundraising. The result is a gothic-infused narrative full of wit, energy, and quite a few tell-tale hearts.

Kate’s first two novels, This Must Be the Place and Bellweather Rhapsody, are set in upstate New York. Tuesday Mooney is her first Boston book, and she could only write it once she left: “living in Bethlehem gave me time to write a more complicated, complex, demanding book.” Bethlehem has proven to be an ideal home for this novelist: she praises the “wonderfully supportive local arts community,” has joined the Bach Choir, writes for Fig Magazine, and works parttime at the Bethlehem Area Public Library.

For Kate, having conversations with her readers is one of the joys of writing: “that is a gift: to be read by people.” She’ll have that opportunity over the next few months, when her book tour will include stops at the Easton Book Festival (Oct. 25-27); Bethlehem Area Public Library (sponsored by Emmaus bookstore Let’s Play Books, Oct. 30); and Lehigh University (Mar. 3). After that, she hopes to “keep writing, keep learning things, and keep finding ways to serve and be a part of my community.”

To learn more about Kate, visit kateracculia.com.