Kat Miller is a Scottish author of dark academia mystery thrillers. She also writes history and children’s books as K C Murdarasi. She lives in Glasgow with her two budgies.
Author Q&A
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a Scottish author, living in Glasgow, although I’ve also lived in England and Albania. My background is in history – I studied Ancient History at the University of St Andrews – and up until now most of what I’ve written has been either historical non-fiction, or for children, or both, under the name K C Murdarasi. My new trilogy is mystery thrillers for adults, so it seemed appropriate to use a new pen name, which is why I used “Kat Miller”. It’s also easier to spell and pronounce!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called The Sarcophagus Scroll, and I came up with the idea for it while reading Augustine’s City of God. He mentioned the scrolls of the Roman King Numa, and a footnote said that these scrolls had been destroyed by the Roman Senate because they were so dangerous. My first thought was “What on earth was in these scrolls that made them too dangerous to exist?”, followed by “But what if a copy did survive…?” And that was the basis for The Sarcophagus Scroll trilogy.
What genre do you consider your book(s)?
The Sarcophagus Scroll trilogy is definitely mystery thriller, but it’s also part of the sub-genre known as dark academia. That means it involves secret societies, murders and nefarious goings-on at ancient universities, the pursuit of dangerous knowledge and so on. Although The Sarcophagus Scroll is contemporary, it’s also got a touch of the gothic about it in that sense.
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learnt about book conservation and the production and care of old manuscripts. Maia Sheridan at the University of St Andrews Special Collection was very kind, showing me around and explaining things to me. The detail from The Sarcophagus Scroll about old scrolls being used in the binding of medieval manuscripts is not made up, that’s true! I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
I did a huge amount of travel researching the books, and I had a fabulous time doing it! While the first novel is based entirely in St Andrews, the second one is partly based in Paris and also features Leiden (the Netherlands) and Ferrara (Italy), and the final book ends on the Greek island of Samothrace. I had originally intended to travel to Leiden in 2020, but covid put paid to that. When restrictions lifted in 2022, I travelled to Leiden, Ferrara and Samothrace as part of one big Interrail adventure. You can read about it on my blog here: http://kcmurdarasi.com/2022/04/28/interrail-day-one-glasgow-to-brussels-via-london/
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best piece of writing advice I’ve ever heard is from Mary Heaton Vorse: “The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.” So many people wish they could write a book. And they could! But the thing about writing is that you actually have to sit down and write, even when you don’t feel like it, even when, as Stephen King says, you feel as if you are just “managing to “shovel [excrement] from a seated position.”
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Can I cheat and take an omnibus edition? That way The Hunger Games series would count as just one choice. I return to this story again and again; it is my literary comfort food.
My second choice would be Palgrave’s Golden Treasury, which is a poetry anthology. Poetry is like medicine for the soul, and this is a particularly good collection, stretching from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth, or even the twentieth if you get the edition with the additional fifth book. I can tell it’s a great collection because I must be on my fourth copy of it; whenever I lend it to a friend, they don’t give it back!
My third choice would be the Bible. I’m a Christian and my faith is at the centre of my life. I read a little Ancient Greek and at church I like to read along in the original, but on my desert island I think I’d better choose the good old New International Version.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a history of Glasgow told through its bridges, called Spanning the Clyde. I started in the early medieval period and I’ve now reached the mid-twentieth century, so the end is in sight. It will come out with Amberley in 2027 or 2028.
How can readers discover more about you and you work?
They can visit my website at kcmurdarasi.com, where they can also sign up for my infrequent author newsletter.
The Sarcophagus Scroll is available for pre-order from major retailers including:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sarcophagus-Scroll-Book-one-trilogy-ebook/dp/B0GX2NRYKV/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sarcophagus-scroll-kat-miller/1150246653?ean=9781916490970
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sarcophagus-scroll
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-sarcophagus-scroll/id6772615907