Page 26 of Slow Burn Summer

Definitely not coffee shop, in fact not anywhere but my office usually. I find noise in general to be distracting, certainly no radio. I used to enjoy having music on.

Cat or dog person?

Do I have to nail my colors to one mast or the other? A rescue cat once decided she lived with me, deaf and yowled like a banshee. I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid, a mutt who hated everyone except me.

What song do you sing in the shower?

I don’t sing in the shower or anywhere else.

And now a couple of questions of my own, it seems only fair…

Why did you take the job?

Who is Clive?

Sincerely,

H

Dear H,

You don’t sing, ever? Not even when you’re on your own and your favorite song in the world comes on the radio? I’ll readily admit to being the world’s worst singer, but I still belt out “Someone Like You” as if I am actually Adele, especially in the car.

I like what you said about writing being your joy and salvation. From reading the book, it feels as if you spill your DNA onto the page—it must be a very exposing and vulnerable experience. You said you’ve been wondering what it’s all for, of late. For what it’s worth, reading is my sanctuary and escape, never more so than in the last year when my life basically went to hell in a handcart. So maybe that’s what it’s all for—for you, the catharsis of writing, and for your readers, safe harbor.

Have ordered licorice. Am not convinced but willing to give it a try. I’ve been saying Jelly Tots in some of the written interviews. Jelly Tots! What was I thinking? I haven’t had them since my daughter, Alice, was about five! I don’t know if they even have them in the U.S., I’m probably saying something gross. Have been doing lots of online interviews and blog posts ready for the publication blog tour (I’ve had a crash course in publishing world lingo from Charlie and Prue).

And now to answer your questions. (Feel free to ask me anything, I’m an open book. See what I did there?! I should be on the stage.)

Why did I take the job?

Well, my life fell apart last year when I discovered my (now ex-) husband was having an affair with his secretary—cliché, I know. I felt as if I was starring in my own straight-to-TV movie, walking in on them in a VERY compromising position, him saying it’s not what it looks like when there’s very little else he could have been doing with his trousers around his ankles! It’s all very sordid, sorry.

Long story short—I’d signed a pre-nup, and I found myself living above my sister’s fancy-dress shop in what used to be her storeroom. A lady of reduced circumstances. Our daughter stayed in the family home for a while but is off at uni now, probably glad to get away from us!

It’s not as bad as it sounds, the studio flat is really quite pretty in a tiny homes sort of way and I get to spend a lot of time in the shop with my sister, who’s basically Rebecca fromTed Lassocrossed with Villanelle fromKilling Eve.

So anyway, I wrote to Jojo, who used to be my agent before I got married and disappeared off the face of the earth for twenty years, and Charlie picked up the letter at just the right moment. It felt like one of those puzzles where one missing piece turns up and they all fall into place. I’m one of the pieces. I guess that makes you one of the pieces too. You’re a bigger piece than me, though, obviously. You’re a corner, I’m a random piece of the sky.

Clive is a tortoise I co-own with my sister, Liv. He was given to us by a neighbor when we were kids; imagine, a 6- and an 8-year-old girl in charge of a 54-year-old male tortoise! We were clueless but thrilled to have a pet, he was our one and only. He lives like a reptile king with my sister and her family these days. I don’t think boarding-house life would be for him, somehow.

(Note to self: never use personal email address for book-related things! I promise I’ve set an official one up, it just felt more appropriate to speak to you as the real me, unfiltered.)

Can I ask you a couple more questions that have cropped up a few times?

Do you write longhand or on PC/laptop?

Have you ever broken any bones?

Favorite holiday destination?

Speak soon,

Kate

Dear Kate,

Your ex-husband sounds like an arsehole and your sister should run the country.

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