Katie Ward Interview Published on: 18, Feb 2021

I was really lucky to grow up in an area with lots of fields and woodland and opposite my aunt’s house was a gully we would go to play. In order to access it you needed to climb over a big tree and duck under a barbed wire fence. When you got there, it was like a secret jungle and we had a rope swing that would swing us over the river and we would then jump off onto the nearby bank. I needed a little help with this as I was quite small so would grab someone’s hand and they’d pull me across safely. That would take us to a big field which in summer would be full of buttercups and I always really loved the sight of that and we’d play there for hours. That’s definitely one of my most favourite childhood memories.

The first book I can remember was Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile which I discovered on one of my first days starting school at 4 and a half years old. I was already a fully-fledged bookworm at this point as my mum used to buy me a new bedtime book to read to me every Saturday and even before I could read I would flick through the pages by myself as if I was reading it! So, when I started school I quickly spied the bookshelf and when it came to our maths class, which I hated, I went to sit behind the bookshelf quietly reading for the rest of the day. I read my first Roald Dahl book that day who is still my favourite author now. I got into so much trouble with my teacher and parents but I still think it was totally worth it!

What I look for in a contemporary romance is a plot that is more than just a romance. That may sound counter-intuitive because it is about romance, right? But as it is in life, romance is only one facet of any one person and to hook me in I need to experience my character’s life in full to really appreciate the romance. It can be the central theme but it can’t be the only thing as it takes away from the character if they seem desperate to find a guy at all costs. I also love a story that keeps me guessing as to the ending, those are the books I just can’t put down.

When I came to publish The Pretender, my childhood friend reminded me how I had first told her when I was nine that I would be an author so it appears this was a dream of mine from a young age. Initially, I had wanted to be a journalist and went to university to study Journalism but after graduation I got a placement with a local paper and that was when I realised I didn’t want to be a journalist but an author. When that placement ended, I moved to Dublin and undertook a course at the Irish Writers Centre to hone my skills. This culminated in me submitting a short story called ‘Defying Gravity’ into a competition on Irish National TV station RTE which was chosen to be published in an anthology called Do the Write Thing. I was also shortlisted for a competition I entered in Metro Eireann newspaper which was judged by MAN Booker Prize Winner Roddy Doyle with an extract of an earlier version of what is my next novel Red Roses. So, it was my time in Dublin that really set me on the path to being a professional writer which is really interesting as in Victorian times Dublin was a hub of literary excellence and has a very strong literary history, so it’s nice to think that living in close proximity to the legacies left by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and James Joyce helped me in my journey too.

The Pretender is an adaptation of the Mark Twain classic The Prince and the Pauper which was one of my favourite stories as a child. I wanted to remain faithful to the original story but modernise it for a new audience and this is where it became difficult. There were parts of the story such as when a kind priest educated that Pauper which just wouldn’t happen in modern times and it was sometimes tricky to work out how to modernise situations like that. The ending of the original was the only part I felt could be stronger and so I chose to change it to a more realistic ending for the modern day and that was a challenge as I wanted to do it justice. It took a long while for me to write the ending but given how well it has been received I’m glad I took the time to get it right.

The inspiration for Princess Isabella’s character came from my own personal experience at the time. I felt stifled at work and I just didn’t feel I was reaching my true potential. I wanted more from my life. So, I was able to use that frustration and feeling the need for freedom and transfer it to Isabella’s situation. It works so well as Royal life is extremely restrictive and rigid. I wanted to present a different view point of royalty away from the idealised way most people see it and show the human impact it has on the lives of those who have to wear the crown. They effectively give up their lives for their duty and it is a difficult burden to carry in reality especially when you are young and want the freedom to live life and explore.

A good cover and title is such an integral part. I struggled a lot with my title as I wanted it to be just two words so it was punchy but it also had to link to the actual story. I knew that “Pretender to the Throne” was an actual term and I kept playing around with different variations but when I was driving home one day I heard “The Pretender” by the Foo Fighters on the radio and when I realised a “Pretender” is also used as a shortened version to mean “Pretender to the Throne” I had my title!

The concept for the front cover of “The Pretender” was my idea, although I definitely didn’t draw it! But I had the idea of a young Sophia looking in the mirror and seeing an adult Isabella looking back at her to signal that their paths are destined to cross in the future. The cover has to give an essence of what the book is about in just one picture and this seemed a great way to convey a visual hint of what’s to come to the reader. The back of the cover was designed by my illustrator who used a scene from the book where they both meet at the palace gates. It works so well and gives a real glimpse into what’s to come at first sight. That is the value of a great cover and why it is worth taking time to get it right. I think it is also nice for my readers to know that all of the aspects of my books are created by me and not just the text!

The thing that really struck me when I read classic fiction for the first time was the ambience the author manages to create that carries through the whole book. In books such as Woman in White and Wuthering Heights, they have this sustained foreboding sense even when nothing bad is happening. I think in those days people didn’t really like happy stories but as times and tastes have changed we’ve lost that style of writing. I aim to encapsulate that style into my writing so I can modernise it as I think it is still something people would love. Red Roses is a modernised version of the classic tragedy but that said don’t mistake it for being just sad, the story is actually very uplifting despite the tragic element.

I am part of an archery club and I was ranked 14 th in the UK for Ladies Beginner Recurve Archery out of 93 that took part that year, so I am pretty good at that! I also sing well and am part of a community choir which I love as well. I do have a lot of hobbies!

Yes, I have left reviews on books that I’ve read and liked as I do understand how important they are for authors especially new ones. For me, reviews are how I evaluate my work and know if I’ve done a good job. My aim is to create books that people love. So, if my reviews are mostly positive and saying how people enjoyed the book then I know I did just what I needed to. Luckily ‘The Pretender’ has had great reviews and people seem to really resonate with the story. That was amazing to learn especially for my debut and the only way I was able to gauge that was through the reviews it received so never underestimate how important they are to an author.

I think most authors when they start out seek to want to publish conventionally and I know that I did. I spent so much time trying to gain a publishing contract but what I’ve come to realise is that publishers are looking for way more than a good book. They want you to already have a large following and most debut authors can’t achieve that unless you are a celebrity or influencer. I chose to self-publish ‘The Pretender’ because I could really see the beauty of the story and knew it had a market and people would love it. That has been proven by it being awarded a BRAG Medallion Award and the fact it became a top 30 YA bestseller as well as the lovely reviews received from my readers. Self-Publishing does have a stigma and is seen as a new phenomenon but it actually dates back to almost the beginning of publishing and authors who have self-published include Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Stephen King and Ernest Hemingway. America’s founding father, Benjamin Franklin self-published a pamphlet for 26 years! So, self-publishing is anything but new and has actually produced some of our best loved literary works such as Sense and Sensibility and A Christmas Carol.

No, not at all. For both novels, I’ve had a vague idea of what would happen at the end but that is usually very different to how it actually ends because by the time I’ve finished the novel you have all the sub-plots and characters to tie up and finalise. So, I don’t think it is possible to know the ending fully beforehand. I quite like that I don’t know as it makes writing the ending even more exciting. I remember with both novels, the flurry of nerves and excitement as I tapped out the ending and realised this was how the story was going to end. I would always read it straight back too just to make sure it came across how I envisaged it and when you have it right it’s just the best feeling. It’s the pinnacle of your story and I work hard to make sure it really satisfying for my readers.

I am hoping to be able to publish Red Roses between June – September 2021, I’m currently making changes before I send it to an editor. After the editing is complete, I will set a release date. It’s the editing that takes the most time and I don’t want to rush getting it right. I’m very particular about how I want it to read and how the story comes across because the reader’s experience is very important to me and at the heart of all my work.

Not long after I published ‘The Pretender’ a colleague of mine bought the book for her daughter to read and a little while after she came back to me with a letter her daughter had written for me. When I opened it, she requested that if my book was made into a film could she please have a part in it and which was her preferred part. She then listed all her credentials and why she should get the part! It was really very sweet and I always think you should take a risk and put yourself out there for what’s important to you and it was nice to see her doing that at such a young age. I wrote back to her as I think it’s important to nurture the self-confidence it took to take that chance as I think that is what really helps you to get ahead in life.

I’ve had a great experience with AllAuthor as the promotion given really helps readers to find my books and that’s one of the biggest challenges for a self-published author. I also really love the mock-up tools offered and I have used them to help create my own interesting social media mock-ups. It really is a great asset for authors and I find it so helpful and a great aid to market my books effectively. It has definitely helped me increase my sales too.