Name: Kathryn Croft

Age: Hmmmm…

Where are you from: I was born in Watford but moved to Guildford as a child.

A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc:

 I have a degree in Media Arts with English Literature and am also a fully qualified secondary school English teacher. However, I gave up teaching three years ago and write full time now. I’ve been married for ten years and we’re expecting our first baby – due at the end of November!

Fiona: Tell us your latest news?

Kathryn: My third novel – The Girl With No Past – is published by the fantastic Bookouture and is currently number 1 in the Amazon Kindle chart, so that’s very exciting.


Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?

Kathryn: I’ve always loved writing, and I first attempted to write a novel in 2000. I got to 50,000 words then life got in the way and I left it abandoned. My second attempt was more successful and I started Behind Closed Doors in 2010. But it wasn’t until I gave up teaching I was able to finish it in 2012. I’ve always been an avid reader, and I think I write because I believe this is what I’m meant to do, and there’s nothing else I can imagine doing!


Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Kathryn: Probably only now with my third book!


Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?

Kathryn: I just wondered what would happen to someone if they’d been through the worst thing they thought they could go through, only to find the worst was yet to come.


Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?

Kathryn: I just write words as they occur to me, I don’t give it too much thought or try and sound a particular way – it’s just my natural voice I think.


Fiona: How did you come up with the title?

Kathryn: Actually, I really struggled with the title for book three, and the working title was ‘Until You Die’. Thankfully, Bookouture came up with The Girl With No Past and I’m so grateful to them as it’s worked brilliantly!


Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Kathryn: I just wanted to explore the issue of what goes around comes around and things we do coming back to haunt us.


Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?


Kathryn: I think readers will be the best people to answer that! I always try to write about scenarios that could actually happen, and my characters are often flawed as I believe no human is perfect and we all make mistakes.

Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Kathryn: No, I just try to come up with ideas, as of yet I haven’t heard a true-life story that I could use but I’m always on the lookout!


Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most? a mentor?

Kathryn: I absolutely love classics like The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. As far as thrillers go, though, Nikki French’s early books really introduced me to psychological thrillers so I was massively influenced by them.


Fiona: What book are you reading now?

Kathryn: I’m currently reading The Betrayal by Laura Elliot (another Bookouture author!) and I’m really enjoying it.


Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Kathryn: One that comes to mind is Claire Kendal, who wrote The Book of You. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait for her second novel.


Fiona: What are your current projects?

Kathryn: My fourth book is due out early next year, and I’m currently writing book five, as well as growing a baby!


Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

Kathryn: My agent was the first person outside my family and friends who really believed in my writing and I can’t thank her enough for that. Other than that, my faith that things will work out in the end keeps me going!


Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?

Kathryn: It is definitely a career for me now as I write full time.


Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Kathryn: I might be able to answer that in a couple of years, once I’ve had some space from it!


Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Kathryn: It probably comes from my love of reading and books, and the fact I was always writing something as a child.


Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Kathryn: I always find working on the edits the hardest part of writing.


Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

Kathryn: It’s too hard to pick just one! But for psychological thrillers it would have to be Nikki French.


Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?

Kathryn: So far my books have all been set in London, which I know very well after living there for twelve years, so I’m able to do most of my research online.


Fiona: Who designed the covers?

Kathryn: Amazon Whiteglove designed the cover of Behind Closed Doors, Paper and Sage designed The Stranger Within cover and Bookouture designed the cover of The Girl With No Past.


Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Kathryn: Doing the edits!


Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Kathryn: Hopefully I learnt how to be a better writer.


Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Kathryn: Never give up and just keep going with that first draft. Set yourself a word count for each day.


Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Kathryn: I owe everything to my readers and I’m truly grateful to everyone who has bought or reviewed my books. I’m also extremely grateful when readers take the time to contact me and let me know they’ve enjoyed my books.

Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?

Kathryn: Other than the Richard Scarry books I read as a child, I remember loving Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?

Kathryn: My husband makes me laugh – he has a great sense of humour. And at the moment, being pregnant, just about anything can make me cry!

Fiona: Is there one person past or present you would meet and why?

Kathryn: Richard Branson. I think he’s a true inspiration.

Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why?

Kathryn: Carpe Diem! (seize the day!) I think it just sums me up perfectly!

Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?

Kathryn: Reading!

Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?

Kathryn: There are so many! I love Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The X Files…

Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?

Kathryn: Maybe a lawyer or a councellor/psychotherapist.

Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?

Kathryn: www.kathryncroft.com

Amazon Authors Page http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kathryn-Croft/e/B00HNRD7D0/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1