About Kate Darroch:
Kate Darroch lives on the picturesque Devon coastline, where she combines her passion for cozy sleuths and her experiences of life as it’s lived in many countries to create compelling Travel Cozies.
Màiri Maguire, a Scots Irish teacher from 1970s Glasgow, heroine of Kate's debut novel, “Death in Paris”, has earned many international book awards, including Readers Favorite Gold Medal for Humor, consolidating her reputation as a notable author. Kate hopes that her readers will enjoy Màiri's adventures as much as she enjoys Father Brown, Sherlock Holmes, and that old, old movie, the Perils of Pauline.
Next, Kate created Huntingdon Hart, a dry, witty, prescient, multi-millionaire, tongue-in-cheek cross between James Bond and Sherlock Holmes, who's in love with a much older woman.
Kate's most recent work is the Christian Second Chance for Lasting Love series, Sweets By the Sea, a saga of Recovery and Redemption which her readers say is even sweeter than Màiri's adventures.
What inspires you to write?
I wrote my first book when I was 13. I get story ideas whether I put them on paper or not. I can't imagine not writing. What inspires me to keep on publishing my writing is the many beautiful emails my readers send me. I may not be making any money, but I'm making some people very happy. That's worth the world to me.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
Oscar Wilde because he's so wonderfully witty. Wolfe Tone, an Irish revolutionary who wrote the most heart-tearing articles, was sentenced to death for his leading part in the 1798 insurrection, and gave an incredible Speech from the Dock "…and does your lordship dare accuse me of shedding innocent blood, when if all the innocent blood shed during your unhallowed reign were collected in one vast reservoir, your lordship might swim in it!" is just one tiny part; Charles Dickens, who needs no introduction; Robert Heinlein, who wrote the first "strong woman" characters in science fiction, at a time when almost every science fiction female was constructed from cardboard; Connie Willis, all of whose stories I love, whose "Even the Queen" deals forthrightly with THE women's issue; Georgette Heyer, for her exquisite Regency dialogue; G K Chesterton, not just his Father Brown stories, but almost everything he wrote, he was a real trail-blazer; and Jane Austen.
Tell us about your writing process.
I always outline every chapter on paper, but I frequently depart from my outline when doing the actual writing because my characters live lives of their own, wild and free. I have 20+ Beta readers and I listen to what they are kind enough to share with me. I self-edit; I edit through Marlowe; I come back and self-edit a second time. Then I put out an advance copy, and I listen to what reviewers tell me. I send my book to typo-hunters, and then I send it to formatters, and then I get a proof copy. And guess what? I've never read a proof copy that didn't have typos in it, despite the care which I lavish on my 6 earlier stages of typo-seeking.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters are real people to me. Yes, I construct characters in the sense that I choose the storyline, and only a certain kind of person can live in that story, but once they are living in the story, my characters often change a lot. They live their own lives. So I change the story to fit who the characters really are, and how they react independently to the story world I've placed them in. For example, I did not create my first heroine's Granny, whom my readers adore. Màiri was preparing to host a Halloween party, and Granny just appeared, with plenty to say for herself and a whole bag of tricks to play.
What advice would you give other writers?
Churchill said it first, "Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up!" Recognise that more than 90% of writers can't earn enough by writing to pay their bills, that most of us need to take a day-job in order to eat – and whether you're doomed to be in that 90% doesn't have much to do with your writing ability – it's usually a matter of luck, good or bad. Some who can't write for toffee apples make millions, and some whose writing craft is superb never make sixpence. Keep slogging away, and keep the faith no matter how cold and empty the world feels to you. And think about self-publishing, it's a respectable way to get your work out there nowadays, and a self-published novel could even net you a traditional publisher! Soon after I self-published my first book I was approached by a Big Five talent hunter who had read it. I stayed Indie, but if you want a trad publisher, self-publishing could be one way to find your match.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I'm not young anymore, and my health is very poor. I decided that I couldn't face the lengthy process of getting a book to market the traditional way, which typically takes 3 years and for a first novel can take as long as 7 years. In the 24 months since I first self-published, 12 of my novels & short stories have appeared under the banner Ad Astra Press, and 6 stories have been published in third party anthologies. I would have been very lucky to get even one story traditionally published in that timescale.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
More books are being published now, year on year, and at higher prices, than ever before in the history of publishing. Readers are spoilt for choice. For me, it's getting harder to find books I like, but for the publishing industry, and for most readers, it's all good news. I cannot see that changing.
What genres do you write?: Cozies, detective duos, heists and capers, sagas of redemption and recovery, thrillers, time travel and space opera.
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Kate Darroch Home Page Link
Link To Kate Darroch Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
