Twenty Questions with... Kate Hewitt

I am delighted to welcome Kate Hewitt onto my blog today, author of This Fragile Life, released earlier this month by Carina (Harlequin UK).

An established author for Harlequin and Mills & Boon, I already own some of Kate's books - both hard copy and digitally - so I couldn't wait to get to know more about this wonderful author during a round of twenty questions.

ACT ONE – all about you…

Kate Hewitt has been writing creatively since she was five years old. She wrote a lot of angst-ridden poetry in high school, and then moved onto writing and directing plays about the meaning of life while in college. After her first child was born she began to write short stories--the perfect amount of words to complete during nap time. After selling over 200 short stories to various women's magazines around the world, she started to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon, a long-held dream. She has written over 20 romances for Harlequin Presents, and has been both a RITA and Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice finalist. She has also written several historical novels for a UK publisher. After living in both Yorkshire and New York City, she now resides on the remote coast of Cumbria with her husband, four children, and a Golden Retriever puppy.

1) Have you always been a writer or is it something you fell into?

I've always made up stories in my head. I only started writing them down when I was in my twenties.

2) Do you have a particular writing style or ritual?

I like to write fast, and then revise... a lot! I also have a superstition about not making any typos on the first page. If I do, I feel like it's going to be a hard story to write. Nonsensical, but there it is.

3) Is there a book or an author that has influenced you in your writing?

So many! I love Libby Purves, Jane Porter, and Anna Quindlen. I think they all influenced my style when it comes to writing women's fiction.

4) Is there one piece of writing (or life?) advice that has stuck with you, or that you would like to share?

The wisdom that you can't revise a blank page. You need to get the words down. That's the most important thing.

5) Can you tell us three things about yourself that we probably don’t already know?

I'm the youngest of five children, and I have five children myself. I'm also the wife of a vicar!

6) What five luxury items or gadgets would you hate to be without?

I don't know if I have five! Probably my laptop, internet access, my Kindle, and... a deep, hot bath with a glass of wine. That's about as good as it gets!

ACT TWO – all about your new release…

You love your best friend. You trust her with your life. But could you give her the most pre­cious gift of all?

Alex’s life is a mess. She’s barely hold­ing down a job, only just afford­ing her apart­ment, and can’t remem­ber when she was last in a rela­tion­ship. An unex­pected preg­nancy is the last thing she needs.

Martha’s life is on track. She’s got the high­fly­ing career, the gor­geous home and the lov­ing hus­band. But one big thing is miss­ing. Five rounds of IVF and still no baby.

The solu­tion seems sim­ple.

Alex knows that Martha can give her child every­thing that she can’t pro­vide. But Martha’s world may not be as per­fect as it seems, and let­ting go isn’t as easy as Alex expected it to be.

Now they face a deci­sion that could shat­ter their friend­ship forever.

7) Congratulations on your recent release of This Fragile Life, what was your inspiration for writing this story?

I actually had the idea years ago, about two best friends, and one agrees to give her baby up for adoption to the other. I was curious about how that would affect their friendship, their roles as mother and wife, et cetera. I never wrote it, though, until last year, when I suddenly thought of a twist to the story, a kind of 'what if' moment, and then I started writing.

8) Did the story flow from your finger tips or did some scenes take a bit of cajoling?

It flowed, more than anything else I've ever written! I wrote half the book in a week.

9) How long did it take for the initial spark of the story to make it onto the page and then onto the publisher’s desk?

Well, years to the page, and then things happened quickly after that. My editor at Mills & Boon looked at the first 100 pages and accepted it on those. So then I had to finish writing it!

10) Do you have a favourite paragraph or sentence from your story that you would like to tantalise us with?

The first paragraph:

It's not good news. It never has been, so at least I'm expecting it and it's easier to take. Except maybe it isn't, because after I disconnect the call I bow my head and press my fingers to my temples and then I do something I never do. I cry.

11) Over to you, what can you tell us about This Fragile Life to make us rush out and buy it?

If you want a story that will make you think and cry, that will force you to ask yourself 'what would I do if...', then you'll like This Fragile Life.

12) What can we expect from you next? Is there something you are working on right now?

My next Harlequin Presents is out in December, and another women's fiction, The Vicar's Wife, is out in November in paperback.

QUICK FIRE ROUND – it’s pop quiz time…

13) Plotter or pantser?

Pseudo-plotter who ends up being a pantser.

14) Secret Seven or Famous Five? (please tell me you know them!?) 

Famous Five all the way.

15) Digital books or print books?

Digital for pleasure reading, print for books you want to treasure.

16) Tea or coffee?

Coffee although I drink both.

17) Cats or dogs?

Dogs.

18) Extrovert or introvert?

An introvert who likes people.

19) Save or spend?

A bit of both, although my heart is more in saving.

20) Facebook or Twitter?

Both, for different reasons.

And that’s a wrap!

Thank you so much for taking part, Kate, I wish you every success with your new release.

To discover even more about Kate Hewitt, and to keep up with her latest projects, you can visit her at:

Blog     Facebook     Twitter     Website

Buy it now…

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ISBN: 9781472017109

Carina
Mills & Boon
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Nook UK
Kobo