Ex-ballerina and single mum Sylvie is in trouble. Juggling her ballet classes in the nearest town, preparing shy Sam for his first day at Penmenna Village school and trying to finally move out from the farm she shares with her cantankerous Uncle Tom means life is anything but easy.
Television Journalist Alex is facing challenges of his own. Seeking a calmer environment for his newly adopted daughter, Ellie, he’s swapped reporting in war zones for the school PTA in quiet Penmenna, where his best friend Chase has persuaded him to start laying some roots.
Fireworks ignite when Sylvie and Alex meet but as Ellie and Sam become instant best friends, will they be able to keep things strictly platonic for the sake of the children?
Kitty Wilson lived in Cornwall for twenty-five years having been dragged there, against her will, as a stroppy teen. She is now remarkably grateful to her parents for their foresight and wisdom – and that her own children aren’t as hideous. Recently she has moved to Bristol, but only for love and on the understanding that she and her partner will be returning to Cornwall to live very soon. She spends most of her time welded to the keyboard, dreaming of the beach or bombing back down the motorway for a quick visit! She has a penchant for very loud music, equally loud dresses and romantic heroines who speak their mind.
Welcome to an interview with Kitty Wilson
Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello, I’m Kitty Wilson and I write romantic comedy set in Cornwall. Up until summer this year I lived in Cornwall and had done for twenty-five years and am planning to get back there as soon as possible. It really is my happy place. Currently though I’m living in Bristol (a city that also makes my soul sing ) with my partner, daughter and my Very Naughty Dog, a lurcher named Tatters. Both my children are now full-blown adults, which means I have a lot more time to dedicate to writing. Before I became an author, I used to be a primary school teacher and it is my experience in the classroom and my very happy memories of this time which help inform my writing.
How did you get started on your writing journey?
I have always written, starting as a small child who dreamt of being an author, but it was only recently that I made the decision to prioritise it. I became chronically ill several years ago and this meant I had to give up teaching. It took me quite a while to come to terms with this as a lot of my identity and self-perception was tied up with what I did for a living. I absolutely adored my job and it was hard accepting I could no longer do it.
After a couple of years, I made my peace with my diagnosis and began to look for ways I could turn it into a positive. I had always written but as a lone parent and with two small children and working full time the writing always got side-lined. I wrote poetry when I did get a chance – I really enjoy the discipline of poetic form and it’s quicker than writing a novel.
However, with life turned on its head I decided to put my time to good use and, when well enough, started to write. I found I was loving it, what I was writing made me giggle and gave me purpose. I haven’t stopped, although I have learnt to fit it around my health and not beat myself up on days when I’m too poorly to write. Once I dedicated myself to developing my writing it was a case of practice, practice, practice and submit, submit, submit until I got to the point where I was publishable.
Let's talk about your novel! What is it about?
The Cornish Village School - Second Chances is the second novel in my series of romantic comedies based around a school in the fictional village of Penmenna in Cornwall.
In the first novel of the series we meet the headteacher in Penmenna and see how she has to fight her (understandable) need for control to allow her to move forward in her life. In this novel I wanted to focus upon parents within the school community and how friendship can blossom into so much more.
Both the main characters in this novel are single parents and doing the absolute best they can for their children, both of whom have suffered loss. We see how their friendship not only provides stability and security for the children, but gives the adults something to hold on to as well, something that as time passes both are far too scared to mess about with. It is because they are so good for each other that they are fearful of taking the next step.
I loved writing this story and the two children really made the book come alive for me, they are larger than life and I must admit I stole a little bit of material from my own experiences as a parent to help create their characters. There were many joys in raising my own naughty little offspring (one friend compared the experience of looking after my daughter to driving in India!) and I can’t seem to help weaving some of their stories into mine.
Where did inspiration for this come from?
The series itself was inspired by living in Cornwall and loving it so much that I wanted to write something that celebrated the strength of community – people in a village may know everything about you (and then make up a little bit more on top) but this means when things are going a bit wrong, they are often the first to step up and support you. Once I had learnt to live with the lack of privacy it wasn’t long before I really began to value this.
For this second book in the series the setting and genre was already set, it was to be a romantic comedy that centred around the village school in the fictional village of Penmenna. I wanted this book to be about the parents, an often overlooked but invaluable part of the school community. Whilst I wanted it to carry on the thread of community that was strong in the first book, I also wanted this to be about friendship and pay homage to the fact that everyone, no matter how perfect their life looks from the outside, struggles sometimes. This was, I suppose, my ultimate inspiration, to pay homage to the sheer strength, resilience and goodness of people. Plus, I wanted to write the children. Ellie is probably my favourite character in this book - although anyone who has read the first one will guess how fond I am of Marion, the terrifying head of the PTA.
Do you have any writing quirks?
Obviously, I think everything I do is entirely rational and very normal so I’d like to say no quirks, no quirks at all.
But the truth is that a lot of my creative process takes place in water and I suspect this may not be strictly usual. When living in Cornwall (I know, I never shut up about it) I spent a huge chunk of time at the beach, it soothes my soul and stimulates my senses, in all weathers. Away from the sea for now I find that the best place for me to plot the next part of my book (I know the overall arc and intent of each chapter but plan the details just before I write it) is in the water. So, I spend a lot of my time at a swimming pool close to me sitting in a hot tub (it’s a hard life!) or at the end of the pool and staring into space. I’ve found that living in a city people just let me get on with it. I sometimes zone out so much, so caught up in the plot, that if I were still in Cornwall my friends would probably drag me out the water and use the community defibrillator. In the city, I am left well alone. If I can’t get to the pool then I do the same thing in the bath, as long as it’s water I seem to be able to think and the ideas come thick and fast. When I try outside of the water, nada, zero zilch!
How did you go about getting published?
I had heard somewhere, and I’m not sure where, that getting published takes several practice books, so I wrote and wrote and submitted and submitted, not necessarily expecting anything to come of it just yet. As a member of the Romantic Novelists Association I was lucky enough to be part of their fabulous scheme for New Writers, where once a year they critique your work. As an anonymous service it means they can really examine your writing and not pull their punches. It provides a fabulous opportunity to have your weaknesses pointed out, enabling you to improve your writing and have someone objective tell you where your strengths lay so you don’t lose heart completely. My reader made some suggestions but also recommended that I submit my first Cornish Village school book for publication, so buoyed and excited I did what was advised and then sent it out. I had a few rejections and then an email from a publisher saying how much they loved the book. Based upon that deal I secured myself an agent who then offered it to alternative publishers. I was in the extremely privileged position of then being able to choose which publishing house I wanted to go with and the series was born and my dream of becoming published was realised.
What plans do you have for the future of your writing?
I have just signed a new contract with Canelo for a further three books in The Cornish Village School series and am very excited about being able to develop the characters. Each book will be able to be read as a stand-alone but there is a story arc for one of my characters that will spread throughout the whole series and be tied up in the final book. These books are currently what I shall be concentrating on. However, being able to write is an utter dream come true and I can’t quite believe that I’m lucky enough to be doing it professionally. After these three books I have every intention of continuing to write romantic comedy, but where I set the next books is, at this moment in time, a complete mystery.
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