Kate Murray will be at the Book Fair both days, but she will also talk on Sunday April 30th at 12 noon at the Fountain Fine Art Gallery about her own story as writer with dislexia.
Kate Murray: “Writing my way out of dyslexia”
Kate Murray: “Writing my way out of dyslexia”
Er bod Kate Murray yn dyslexic, mae’i wedi ymroi I ysgrifennu yn greadigol er gwaethaf hynny. Dyma gyfle I glywed ei gwaith.
Welcome to our blog, Kate. Please tell us about
the books you’ll be bringing to the Book Fair.
I will be bringing at least three
adult novels; The Gone, The Shallow Sea and Truth and Lies. The Gone is a
horror about a woman who walks off a plane and finds the whole world changed,
The Shallow Sea is a disaster, and Truth and Lies a murder mystery, how far
would you go to protect your only child? I will also have Shadows Close, Love
Just Is and The Phantom Horse which are short story collections, from horror to
love.
For my children’s fiction I will
be bringing one or two picture books, ‘How the Moon lost the Stars’ and one
other that is under construction. For seven year olds and over I have ‘Fey’;
Dai’s sister has been kidnapped and he must get her back from an enchanted
land, ‘Here Be Dragons’; Jimmy must find his parents, and he also happens to be
a dragon, and ‘Tunnels’; Heather lives under Edinburgh in a town still stuck in
the Medieval period, but she has got to get above ground to save her mother.
I’ll also have a colouring book
with me, ‘Fairytales’, but this one is for adults.
Which genres do they
belong to?
My adult and children’s fiction
have a horror theme running through them but I also lean toward thrillers.
What are the
characters and plots like?
I love using strong female
characters, but all my books have heroes and villains. Although I can be
partial to the anti-hero. My plots can be surprising as I love to add a twist.
Tell us about your
newest book.
My newest book is ‘The Gone 2’.
Here my characters are evolving into anti-heroes. They are not exactly good,
but they are not bad. In fact, the whole concept is to question the role of
people and how we are judged on our differences, although the book is set in an
apocalyptic world where monsters are common.
Which of your books
are you most proud of, and why?
When I first started writing I only
really wrote short stories. I couldn’t seem to push the envelope and write a
novel. I tried but it never seemed to work. So I decided to write a stepping
stone book. One that wasn’t exactly a novel but nor was it a collection of
independent short stories. It had to be different. It had to have characters
that were present though out the book, to have cohesion. So I planned and wrote
‘Shadows Close’, a book that tells of a street. A cursed one. The stories move
up and down street, visiting houses and telling the stories of the people in
them. Based on a real street the stories have an element of fact. It’s the book
I love above the others.
What is the best thing
that has been said about your books?
Last year I was at Llandeilo book
fair and a man came over to me. He had a sort of frantic look about him. He
picked up ‘Here Be Dragons’ and said, “Have you written the next one? I came to
check. My boy loves it.” I apologised and said I hadn’t. He bought every other
kids book I had. “Next year?” he asked and looked so hopeful, I nodded. And I
am hoping that I can keep that promise.
Why did you decide to
come to the Llandeilo Book Fair?
I decided just before Christmas.
I enjoyed it last year and just had to come again.
Do you have a special
connection to Wales?
I used to live in the Midlands,
Staffordshire and I was subject to some antiracial feeling. I moved to Wales
because I couldn’t live there anymore. It was the best thing I have ever done.
Wales has become my home. If I have to go to England I feel my body relax as I
approach the mountains in the return trip. I’m home.
What is your personal
background?
If there is one career that I
knew, without a doubt, I would never do it was to be an author. I can’t write,
or perhaps I ought to say I couldn’t. I didn’t learn to read until I was
eleven. It was only through my mother’s blind stubbornness that it happened at
all. The school system had given up. I’d given up. But she never did. I went
home for one summer holiday and found our trip cancelled. Instead, I learnt to
read. I’m not sure if my brother and sister ever really forgave me for that.
But when I went back to school I was able to keep up. I still have a low
reading age and I rely on audio books for most of the classics but I love to
read… And to write. Although it took me a long time to realise I could. I do
know the reason now. I am dyslexic, dyspraxic and aspergic, but I say they give
me a different perspective to write. I write because of them, not despite them…
Who are your favourite
authors?
I love James Herbert and Dean
Koontz. A big Stephen King fan but lately I have found that I love to browse
the classics and a huge amount of non-fiction. Have a look at ‘Touching the
Void’ by Joe Simpson, that is brilliant.
Please share your
social media links and buy links to your books.
@the_toymaker
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