What are you top five books?
I have so many books on my shelves that I don’t think I could ever choose a top five! The majority of my books are of paranormal reference. Two of my favourite books are the Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Thesaurus. I probably use those two books more than any other. I do enjoy reading suspense, romantic comedy and women’s fiction also, generally a plot that will take me away from reality for a while.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Whenever one gets asked this question, one hesitates and has to think of something interesting. But really, we are all interesting in our own unique way. My life is quite varied and there is never a dull day. I live on a sheep and arable farm on the Northumberland coast, a beautiful part of the country. I help out with the farm work occasionally but my main tasks consist of admin. I have a daughter called Amy who is twelve years old. She has autism and is the love of my life. I guess my passion of writing has always been a huge part of me though it wasn’t until 2007 when I finally made the decision to write a book, my debut novel, Discovery at Rosehill.
So, what else? I’m a telly addict, a lover of chocolate, fish and chips and Vimto. I don’t drink because I’m epileptic and rattling with medication to keep me sane! My four working sheep dogs keep me on the straight and narrow, as do my two cats and thirty-four hens. I adore animals, of any variety. Unless they have eight legs.
How did you begin writing and what was your inspiration for Discovery at Rosehill?
I’ve always loved writing short stories, ever since I was a young girl. I won a story-writing competition when I was ten years old, a mere 32 years ago now! That was an amazing moment in my life because I was bullied at school and it was like blowing a bit fat raspberry in the faces of the two girls who used to taunt me. In 2002 I undertook a creative writing course which lasted for two years, consisting of assignments and writing short stories. It was a fabulous learning curve for me and opened the door to the next course I did with The Writers Bureau. I sent off many short stories to lots of different magazines, particularly People’s Friend, but I was never successful. I never realised how hard it was, and still is, to get published in a magazine. My next goal was to publish my book.
Discovery at Rosehill was borne out of my love for my late father who passed in 2001. I am sensitive to spirit presence and decided to turn my paranormal experiences into fiction, thus creating the character of medium Camilla Armstrong. Using phenomena and the incredible atmosphere in my home, I based the book on my farm house and called it Rosehill. Many of the descriptions of Rosehill are how I would describe my own house, a large Georgian farm house that is filled with spirit presence, a wonderful ambience and enough activity to create 250 pages of what became my debut novel.
What do you like to do outside of writing?
My main hobbies are blogging and social interaction. I’ve met some fabulous people around the world and made many good friends. With my daughter’s condition, I don’t get much free time as she needs constant supervision when she’s at home. During the hours she’s at school, I tend to try catching up on housework, writing and running the farm. If you’d have asked me this question years ago, before Amy was born, I would have answered it very differently. But I would never wish to turn the clock back; having Amy in my life is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. To have my novel published was the icing on the cake.
I am editing my current novel, Hideaway. It’s a murder mystery surrounding the investigation of the murdered ex-husband of Lydia Mansfield. I hope to have this book published later this year.
Discovery at Rosehill by Kathryn Brown
Watch the book trailer:
