She married Rick Lieder who Is an artist; they have one son. Kola has been writing since she was young girl. Kola says that ” Writing Is more than what I do for a living: writing is who I am, the way I see the world, and the way I try to make sense of what I see” .When she attended a Clarion Workshop, she got serious about writing.
At Clarion, she et writers whose books she had actually read, who read her stories, offered helpful critiques, and most of all, took her seriously as a writer . That changed her life. Kook has perfected a sensual narrative style that projects the intense emotions of her characters (SST. James). Only in Buddha Boy novel she narrated in first person. Her first book for young people, Straying, ushered her into a world as a writer. She is also a strong supporter of animal right.
Kathy Kook is Ritter for both modern horror novels for adults and sympathetic outsider tales for young adult (Authors and Artists). She has written many readable novels, Including Buddha Boy, Straying, and The Cipher. She has received the Horror Writers of America Abram Stoker award and Locus award for first novel, The Cipher, 1992. “She believe that you can learn everything you need to know about a person by watching the way s/he acts with animals and little SLD, the powerless ones”. Buddha Boy is primarily about the same: power.
In Buddha Boy novel, she writes bout a new boy in high school who must deal with the bullies and find his place in a new social hierarchy (Authors Profile). “Kola’s books are taken seriously as a new direction in horror fiction also” (Authors and Artists). Most young adults and adults enjoy Kathy Kola’s books.
