Ask the Author: Kate Braithwaite
Answered Questions (5)
Kate Braithwaite
I'm always one to keep my next project under wraps until at least the first draft is done. Why? I don't know really... superstitious maybe! But I can say it's about two warring sisters, it's set in late 18th/early 19th Virginia and (as usual) is based on a real life scandal. More clues, hints and pictures are on the way this month as I do the #augustauthorchallenge2020 on twitter, instagram and fb. Find me there to find out more!
Kate Braithwaite
For the longest time I wanted to be a writer but didn't know what I could/would or should write about - and so I didn't write. This was a mistake! If you are in the same boat, don't do what I did. Find craft books or writing prompts on the internet. Take a course. Find a local writing group. Write. The biggest thing I've learned is that writing is a craft. We learn every time we try to write something new - whether it's about point of view, or dialogue or pacing or whatever - and writing is a journey. Put grand aspirations and dreams of publication on one side. Do the work!!
Kate Braithwaite
Hi there and thank you so much for reading my books! I'm thrilled to hear you have enjoyed them!
Yes, I am working on another book right now :) It is set in late 18th Century Virginia and is based on a true scandal about two sisters who lived in a house called Bizarre (yes really!)
If you are interested in hearing more from me, please consider following me here on Goodreads, or signing up for my blog and newsletter. Website is kate-braithwaite.com
Thanks again!
Kate x
Yes, I am working on another book right now :) It is set in late 18th Century Virginia and is based on a true scandal about two sisters who lived in a house called Bizarre (yes really!)
If you are interested in hearing more from me, please consider following me here on Goodreads, or signing up for my blog and newsletter. Website is kate-braithwaite.com
Thanks again!
Kate x
Kate Braithwaite
I came across Nellie Bly in Brain Pickings - a blog I subscribe to, run by Maria Popova. Although I live in PA, where Bly is from, I didn't grow up here and had not heard of her before. I was fascinated at the idea that this young woman had pretended to be mad in order to be committed to an asylum and report on conditions for a New York newspaper. I bought her story Ten Days in A Madhouse that same day. My book about Nellie, The Girl Puzzle, tries to explore what her time in the madhouse must have been really like for her as she lived it - as opposed to her published newspaper reports on what happened. Competing newspapers disputed some of her commentary and there was a hint that she might have had a relationship with one of the doctors. And as I read more about Nellie's whole life, I knew I wanted a story line that reflected on her later years and the way that her asylum expose wasn't the end of her story, it was just the beginning.
Kate Braithwaite
I always like to read a really big fat book over the summer, especially if we are at the beach. Last year I re-read A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel. The year before I chose Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. This year I'm leaning toward War and Peace! My college-age son who is working nights in our local store stacking shelves, listened to it as an audiobook during May. He just loved it! So I'm looking at that, but also for some good quick psychological thrillers that I can gobble up in a day or two. And finally I have a couple of YA titles on my list - The Hate U Give and The Good Girl's Guide to Murder to name but two!
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