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Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself, share some of your private life? A: I currently live in the Great Lakes area of the Mid North Coast of NSW with my husband and my dog Lucy. We settled here about five years ago and love the area, where we are surrounded by bushland but also close to both the mountains and the beaches and only a 500 metre walk to a river. Although originally from Adelaide we moved to Sydney over twenty years ago for business reasons and now consider ourselves New South Welshmen. We have made many friends here and enjoy our life, but still go back to Adelaide often to visit family and old friends. I would love to say I spend every day just writing but so many other things seem to get in the way. Apart from the everyday chores we have not finished establishing the garden (will we ever finish??) and I am Treasurer of the local Neighbourhood Association and also of the ‘Taree Scribblers’, where I sometimes give workshops/seminars on various aspects of writing. But I must say I am happiest when I am writing, developing a story and finding my characters growing and often changing as their story unfolds and they strive to reach their goals.
Q: We know you are dying to tell us about your latest work. A: My latest book ‘An Independent Woman’, which has just been released, is a story of love and intrigue. It is a historical novel that begins in England in 1878 when Kitty Morland yields to temptation and steals from the man responsible for her father’s financial ruin and subsequent death. She then flees to Australia, accompanied by her widowed mother, Bella. On board the ship carrying her to the other side of the world she meets three men who will influence her future. When she arrives in Australia, she finds her past follows her. Fearful of discovery in Sydney, she rejects the man she loves. Seeking security for herself and her mother she marries, and accompanies her husband to Bulahdelah in NSW, home of the giant cedars and with gold and diamond mines nearby. Her bullying husband brings her no happiness, but the laws of the day, which compel a woman to be subservient in all ways to her husband, prevent her from leaving the marriage. When she has a chance for love and happiness she must make a difficult decision.
Q: Where can our readers obtain a copy of your book? A: It is available on my website or from my publisher, Scribe’s Ink Publisher, at www.scribesink.net, from selected bookstores or from on-line Australian bookstore Fishpond.
Q: Generally, how long does it take you to write a book? A It takes about five or six months for the first draft and then about the same time for re-writes and editing. About a year altogether.
Q: When writing, where do your ideas come from?A: It may be from a news item that captures my fancy, a location or even wondering about someone I have seen or met and saying “what if?”.
Q: Is there part of you and/or your life experiences, in your writing? A: Not my actual life, but I think my life experiences help me to understand how my characters feel and act in the circumstances they find themselves in.
Q: Do you spend a lot of time marketing yourself and with what amount of effort? A: Not anywhere near as much as I should. I find all promotion takes a lot of effort, I guess I’d rather stay in the background. Not good for a writer, I know!
Q: How did you get published? By that I mean, what steps did you take? Some people struggle with this aspect of writing and how to go about it. They need to know, step by step, what they should do. A: Look up publishers on the internet and find those that publish your type of story. Then check their submission guidelines and follow their directions implicitly. This usually involves sending many query letters.
Q: Is there any advice that is a little bit different, that you’d like to give new writers? A: The most important advice I could give is to read your work aloud. That way your ear picks up things that don’t sound right. Then re-write your work as many times as it needs until you believe it is as good as you can make it.
Q: What can we expect from you in the future? A: ‘An Independent Woman’ is the first in a trilogy I have planned and I am currently working on the second book, ‘A Liberated Woman’. The third book is tentatively named ‘A Modern Woman’.
Q. Do you have a website and blog, where readers and writers can keep up with your releases? A. My website is www.kateloveday.com and I have recently started blogging at www.kateloveday.blogspot.com I also love to hear from my readers and welcome any comments on my books, either good or bad. It is only through feedback that I can tell if I’m writing what you want to read.
AA. Thank you Kate for an intriguing interview, I’m sure readers and writers will be captivated.
Interviewed by Suzanne Brandyn September 2009
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