Sunday, 16 December 2012
Please Welcome to Brook Cottage Books the wonderful Kathryn Brown. I have Kathryn to thank for introducing me to the world of book reviewing when I was lucky enough to win her book Discovery at Rosehill in a competition run by Loveahappyending.com
Kathryn is the writer of Discovery at Rosehill, a paranormal romance. ‘The story centres around Camilla, a medium, who buys, following the advice of her grandmother, a farmhouse called Rosehill. From the moment Camilla enters the house she is met by a variety of Spirits, all with some sort of story to tell her and a mystery for her to solve!’
Read my full review tomorrow!
Kathryn is also a featured author in the Famous Five Plus group of authors. Kathryn also runs a farm with her husband and is a very busy mum.
Kathryn, you are obviously a very busy woman running a farm and being a mum to a child with additional needs? Where do you find the time to write?
KATHRYN: I am busy. My daughter has AUTISM and when she is at home she needs constant supervision. But even though I run the farm, my husband does the majority of the grafting whilst I do all the admin. I write when my daughter is at school between 8am and 4pm, so I have plenty time to myself.
Discovery at Rosehill is a wonderful book. Where did you get your inspiration for the book from?
KATHRYN: That’s a good question! I was inspired by my father who passed in 2001. Knowing he is still with me in spirit was the push I needed to get on and write about the paranormal. His presence around me has been a wonderful inspiration. I was also inspired to write the book by the house in which I live. It’s a Georgian residence that was built in 1750 by a Gentleman of high profile. The house oozes character and I have felt a presence in almost every room. The atmosphere is alive day and night and has overwhelmed me with spirit activity. All have been welcoming experiences, and none of them to be scared about. Rosehill was based on my own home.
In Discovery at Rosehill, the central character Camilla is a very strong and independent woman. Is she based on anyone you know?
KATHRYN: I have been asked this question so many times because those who know me personally need me to confirm their suspicions; Camilla is partly based on me. Though I don’t have a romantic involvement with a vicar, I am sensitive to the spirit world. I’ll let you into another little secret; the character of Ross was also based on someone I know, or should I say, someone I knew...
You obviously have an interest in the paranormal and that is evident in Discovery at Rosehill and your great site Marvellous Mable. Where does this interest come from and have you had any paranormal experiences you’d like to share with us?
KATHRYN: I’ve been interested in the paranormal for many years, probably since my first encounter with what I suspect was a spirit presence when I was ten years old. Furthermore, my interests escalated when my grandmother passed in 1990, an inspirational and strong lady to whom I was particularly close. When I was given very personal messages from her, via a medium, I knew then that I needed to pursue my fascination with the world of spirit. In 2001, my beloved dad passed over and it turned my life upside down. But even though he was no longer with us in human form, he was most definitely still around in spirit. He has proved this many times since his passing, not least whilst I was writing and researching Discovery at Rosehill. Many of the experiences that Camilla encounters in the book are my own. I have elaborated on some in order to make them sound more interesting to the reader.
KATHRYN: The romance part of the book came from my imagination. I guess I’m a romantic at heart, though I’m quite hard on the surface! But the paranormal side to the story was an amalgamation of fiction and real-life events.
KATHRYN: It took me three years from start to finish writing the book. Unfortunately, I have EPILEPSY and spent nearly twelve months unable to concentrate on my writing which delayed publication significantly. I didn’t do much plotting for Discovery at Rosehill because most of the ideas were already in my head; for example, Camilla’s paranormal experiences. But it was evident during the structural edit that I should have spent more time plotting because I am sure it wouldn’t have taken quite so long to finish it. My advice now is to know what you want to write before you write it. Have lots of notes, a synopsis, character names, and places; once you start writing the first draft, everything will fall into place. Otherwise, it makes the editing process particularly tedious and dare I say it, a little disheartening.
Do you write every day and if so for how long per day?
KATHRYN: I do write every day, but I don’t work on a book every day. I write for many websites including my blog, so I make sure I always have something to write about.
Thanks so much Kathryn for telling us a little about your life and your writing career. Kathryn's career is one we will follow with interest. Don't forget to look out for my full review of Discovery at Rosehill tomorrow!
The book can be bought in Kindle Format also.
Kathryn’s blog can be found HERE. She also has a paranormal blog called Marvellous Mable which can be found HERE . Both sites are well worth a visit!
Kathryn is a great writer and a brilliant blogger and I'm amazed at how much she manages to pack into her busy life. I enjoyed Discovery at Rosehill and am looking forward to her new novel.
I throughly enjoyed Discovery at Rosehill and can't wait for her new book. Kathryn is an amazing person.
Wonderful finding out more about you, Kathryn. I read Discovery at Rosehill and loved it. I can't wait for your new book to come out.