Ask the Author: Kate Furnivall
Answered Questions (12)
Kate Furnivall
Hello Linda,
An interesting question. You are right that the end of The White Pearl is open for a sequel . To be honest I did plan to write a continuation to Connie's story but other stories elbowed it to a back seat and now it's a bit late to go back there. So I am unlikely to write a sequel at the moment - but I never say never!
An interesting question. You are right that the end of The White Pearl is open for a sequel . To be honest I did plan to write a continuation to Connie's story but other stories elbowed it to a back seat and now it's a bit late to go back there. So I am unlikely to write a sequel at the moment - but I never say never!
Kate Furnivall
Annalice, how lovely to hear from you. I am so pleased to know you loved The Russian Concubine - that book is very special to me. As for your question - why did Valentina have to die? Let me try to explain. Lydia and Valentina were bound together by so many deep emotions that Lydia always felt the need to look after her mother, even after Valentina's marriage. So I knew Lydia would never be able to leave China while her mother was still there. And I needed Lydia to leave China to go to Russia to search for her father in the sequel - The Concubine's Secret. So to make up for killing off one of my favourite characters, I then gave her a book of her own - The Jewel of St Petersburg. I love Valentina even with all her faults and she bears the name of my Russian grandmother. I hope you enjoy the rest of her book!
Happy reading, Kate
Happy reading, Kate
Kate Furnivall
Hi Lindy Lou,
What! I am shocked. Thanks so much for alerting me to this. I will re-establish it immediately. Thanks in advance for the review too.
Kate
What! I am shocked. Thanks so much for alerting me to this. I will re-establish it immediately. Thanks in advance for the review too.
Kate
Kate Furnivall
Hi Frances, I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed my Russian books. Writing about that period was very special to me because of my grandmother's connection there, but at the moment I have nonewplans for another book set in Russia. Nevertheless, Lydia is always kicking around in the back of my mind wanting another story, so maybe one day .....
Kate Furnivall
Hi Lara,
Great to hear from you. Yes, I did do research into women architects in Italy in the 1930s and yes, you are right, they were few and far between. But officially the Rome School of Architecture was open to them, though very few were accepted. So Isabella had to fight her way to success by being the best!
Great to hear from you. Yes, I did do research into women architects in Italy in the 1930s and yes, you are right, they were few and far between. But officially the Rome School of Architecture was open to them, though very few were accepted. So Isabella had to fight her way to success by being the best!
Kate Furnivall
Hi Line, thanks for getting in touch. You're right, I have been asked many times for a final episode in the Lydia story but it hasn't happened yet. Lydia is still kicking around in my head, keen to have her voice heard again, so it is possible I might yet be beguiled into one more book for them - which is what I originally intended. But publishers are always eager to move me on to new pastures, so it might have to wait a bit longer. Delighted to hear you became so involved with Lydia! Kate
Kate Furnivall
Go for walks, change my routine, drink wine, and then plough on through it. Writer's block usually means I am not involved enough with my characters, so I concentrate on spending more time with them in my head.
Kate Furnivall
Finishing a book.
Kate Furnivall
Care passionately about your story. If you love it, so will your reader. Write every day - it is a muscle that needs to be exercised. And read-read-read.
Kate Furnivall
I am excited about this. It's another story set in Italy but this time in Naples and Sorrento in 1945. The war has just finished and Italy is still under the control of the Allied Military Government. Tensions rise as people struggle to rebuild their lives, and one woman fights to clear her father's name when he is accused of crimes against Italy.
Kate Furnivall
Inspiration can come from anywhere - a newspaper article, an overheard conversation, a thought that runs away with me. To get up each morning and find the words to put on the page can be tough at times, but the secret is to care really passionately about your characters.
Kate Furnivall
I adore Italy and had always wanted to set a book there. It was only when I heard about Mussolini building five new towns just south of Rome in the 1930s that I knew I had found my story at last. I wanted to explore what it would be like for these strangers all to be thrown together, the tensions and conflicts, and what life would have been like for a professional woman in the very male dominated world of architecture in the time of Fascism.
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