Writing on the Margins of Fiction and Life
from author and academic Kathleen Clare Waller
Welcome to The Matterhorn — a home for readers and writers who love fiction.
Fiction is at the heart of what I do. This is where I explore the ideas that stay with me — from research and memory, to the small moments of daily life, to the larger ethical and cultural questions that shape who we are.
Fiction here is likely to contain more truth than fact.
~Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”
The Matterhorn began as as a way to explore internationalism, culture, and storytelling — first through my research and travels, then through a podcast. Today, it’s the home for my fiction and the conversations that surround it.
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📚 Fiction — serialized stories, novel excerpts, and occasional standalone pieces.
🧪 Creative Lab — behind-the-scenes essays on the process of making fiction: what I’m reading, noticing, and shaping into story.
🌏 Encounters — brief, vivid reflections with texts inspired by life in Japan, international living, and the sparks of everyday experience.
☕️ The Brunch — books, art, and ideas — catch up with me for coffee, and join the conversation.
🎙 Podcast (on pause) — you can still listen to past conversations on Substack, Apple, or Spotify.
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About Me
I’m a novelist, teacher, and researcher of culture through the arts. For over 20 years, I’ve taught literature, cultural studies, and the arts, and hold a PhD in Comparative Literature (as well as degrees in English, Art History, and Education).
Having lived in eight countries, I’m fascinated by how place, culture, and history shape the stories we tell. These experiences — and the awareness of how much I still don’t know — fuel my fiction and my curiosity.
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Join the Community
This space is supported by patrons who want to go deeper — with private chats, early access to e-books, and behind-the-scenes notes. Their support keeps The Matterhorn thoughtful and ad-free.
📸 Follow along on Notes or Instagram for glimpses of life in Japan.
💬 Message me for meaningful collaborations or teaching/writing partnerships.
Thank you for being here and for joining me in this project.
Best,
Kathleen Clare Waller
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P.S. Are you new here? Check out some of these earlier posts.
If you’re just joining our Matterhorn community, you may want to look at my introduction to the first season and experience at The Matterhorn peak (these explain the title).
Here are my latest serializations:
An Interpreter in Vienna — a psychological thriller and spy novel, in-part response to Graham Greene’s The Third Man
A Hong Kong Story — A juxtaposition of Ivy’s solitary navigation with Hong Kong's journey in the 2010's. A story about divergence, culture, and love. What do you do when the future’s suddenly unclear?
To learn more about the way my research and interest in the arts inform my fiction, you can check out this lecture I delivered to Pratt Institute (Brooklyn).
You can also check out a few popular reads from my first year, or scroll through the archives for more:
Summer Travel: Maine (Summer Travel series)
Jazz Your Writing (Jazz series)
Paul Auster (series)
Childlessness (Parenting series)
September Issue(s) (fashion-as-text series)
Art of Zen: Haiku (series)
