Helena Fairfax

I first met author Kate Field a few years ago at a Romantic Novelists’ Association conference, and we’ve been friends ever since. Kate is one of the authors in the Miss Moonshine anthologies – stories by nine northern authors – and it’s a great pleasure to invite Kate to visit over the Pennines to celebrate release of her novel, Finding Home – which I’m just in the middle of reading, and absolutely loving.

Welcome to Yorkshire, Kate!

Where do you live? (Let’s pretend I don’t know :) )

I live in Lancashire, in a hamlet high up on the West Pennine Moors. It’s a beautiful rural setting, and I can look out of the window and see rolling fields in one direction and the wild moors in the other. There are several farms around us, and so we regularly have cows or sheep as our neighbours in the nearby fields. It’s fun to see the cows parading along the road from one field to another, holding up the traffic!

That sounds idyllic. The perfect spot for a writer…

Where is your favourite place in the world?  

During the COVID lockdown, I’ve really appreciated living where I do. I’m lucky to have so much countryside on my doorstep, and to have been able to get outside in the fresh air so often and so easily. I’ve definitely missed holidays, though, and that makes it hard to choose my favourite place, as I’d be happy to go anywhere at the moment! One holiday I loved many years ago was a tour of Rome, Florence and Venice, and Italy is somewhere I’m looking forward to visiting again. Italy has it all: lakes, mountains, beautiful cities and delicious food.

The language is beautiful, too. Now I’m also longing to go back!

Being a writer is a great job.  What’s the worst job you’ve ever had? 

I’ve only ever had one job – I’m a loyal soul! The worst job I almost had was probably being a pathologist. When I was choosing my A level options, I selected all the sciences so I could study to become a pathologist. I blame Reginald Hill and Colin Dexter as I was a huge fan of their books at the time and clearly wanted to be part of a crime investigation. Luckily, on the very last day to submit my options I realised I was far too squeamish to be a pathologist and switched from science to English Literature instead. Perhaps in another life I would have been writing crime stories instead of romance!

That’s made me laugh :D I love Reginald Hill’s crime novels, too, and once read the whole series, one after the other.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them? 

I feel that I should come up with a worthy answer to this, but the first name that popped into my head was the novelist Georgette Heyer. I’ve started listening to audiobooks over the last year and am working my way through Georgette Heyer’s novels, both the romances and crime. It’s reminded me how much I love her books. The dialogue sparkles, the plots move along at a cracking pace, and the ending is always satisfying. I’d like to ask her for some writing tips!

I adore Georgette Heyer’s books, too. She’s one of my all-time favourite authors. But after reading this biography, I’m not sure I’d like to meet her in real life. I get the impression she wasn’t keen on meeting her fans!

What’s your happiest childhood memory? 

My happiest memory is of the holidays we used to take in Devon when I was young. We had a touring caravan and used to spend a couple of weeks every summer on a caravan site just outside Dawlish.  I loved walking along the sea front in Dawlish, waving at the trains as they passed by. We spent hot, sunny days either in the swimming pool on site or on the beach at Broadsands, eating salty chips from paper cones. We also used to walk from the caravan site to a huge market, where my mum always bought an enormous pile of towels. I suspect some of them are still in her cupboards!

I love the photo! I used to love swimming on holiday, too.

If you had to marry a fictional character, from film, television, or books, who would it be?

This is a hard one to answer. I read a lot of romantic fiction, and always fall a little in love with the hero. I particularly like the strong, silent type with a heart of gold, although I’m not sure they would make a perfect husband. One of my favourite fictional men is Harry Nelson from the Ruth Galloway series of books by Elly Griffiths. He’s the classic gruff exterior / soft centre, and he’s a fellow Lancastrian, but his infidelity would definitely be a problem!

I haven’t read this series. It sounds just my cup of tea. Just ordered the first!

What would your Desert Island Disc be?

There are so many special songs that remind me of particular times in my life and I’d hate to be without any of them. If I can only choose one song, I think I’ll pick One Day Like This by Elbow. I love everything about it: the soaring melody, the romantic lyrics, and Guy Garvey’s northern accent.

It’s a lovely song.

What’s the most important lesson life has taught you?

Perspective. I’ve probably wasted far too much time worrying about things that seemed earth-shattering at the time, but I can now barely remember. I still worry about things, but I’m more able to put it in perspective now and accept the old proverb that ‘this too shall pass’.

Finally, please tell us about your new release, and where we can find it

My latest book, Finding Home, was published by One More Chapter on 16 April 2021.

Here’s the blurb:

She might not have much in this world, but it cost nothing to be kind… 

Meet Miranda Brown: you can call her Mim. She’s jobless, homeless and living in her car… but with a history like hers she knows she has a huge amount to be grateful for.

Meet Beatrice and William Howard: Bill and Bea to you. The heads of the Howard family and owners of Venhallow Hall, a sprawling seaside Devonshire estate… stranded in a layby five hours from home the night before their niece’s wedding.

When fate brings the trio together, Mim doesn’t think twice before offering to drive the affable older couple home. It’s not like she has anywhere else to be. But as the car pulls into the picturesque village of Littlemead, Mim has no idea how her life is about to change…

An uplifting story of found family and true love perfect for fans of Fern Britton and Veronica Henry.

Buy link: http://mybook.to/FindingHomeCR

You can find Kate on Twitter: @katehaswords

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateFieldAuthor/

*

Thanks so much for visiting today, Kate! It’s been a real pleasure to host you, and I loved your new release!

If you haven’t read Kate’s book yet, download your copy here. You’re in for a treat!

And if you’ve enjoyed Kate’s interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!