Forgotten Child (31 page)

1. If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you?
   I’d be hopeless in that situation, so perhaps a book giving tips on how to survive.
   
2. Where does your inspiration come from?
   It usually comes when I imagine a character and a situation they are in, but there have been occasions when the memory of a place triggers off a story, such as Drapers Alley in
   Family Betrayal
   .
   
3. Have you always wanted to become a writer?
   With my childhood background and education, it wouldn’t have been mentioned or encouraged so no, I’m afraid not. I loved reading, but it would never have occurred to me that I could become a writer.
   
4. What’s the strangest job you’ve ever had?
   Goodness, now you’ve stumped me. I’ve had a variety of jobs, but I can’t say that any of them were strange. I met some strange people along the way though which has made the journey fascinating.
   
5. When you’re not writing, what are your favourite things to do?
   I love meeting friends for lunch, swimming and lazing by the pool in the summer with a good book, and of course…SHOPPING!
   
6. What is a typical working day like for you? Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you cope with it?
   I start work at around 10am and my first job is to edit the previous day’s writing. I then carry on, and if the story is flowing well I usually lose all sense of time. There have been occasions when my hubby will stick his head in the door to ask if we are eating today. As for writer’s block, if I’m not having a particularly good day, I find it best to stop for what I call thinking time. I take a break, relax for a while, do something else, and then I find the story begins to unfold in my mind again.
   
7. Do you have any secret ambitions?
   I’d love to see one of my books made into a TV drama or into a film, but as most writers
   probably want the same thing, I don’t suppose it can be called a secret ambition.
   
8. What can’t you live without?
   My family and friends–a bathroom (I’d be no good in a tent)–my computer or at least a typewriter (my handwriting is dreadful and after a few sentences illegible).
   
9. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
   From the first time I saw one, I wanted to be a ballet dancer.
   
10. Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party?
    Billy Connolly Stephen Fry Princess Di Bill Clinton Gloria Hunniford
    

Kitty Neale was raised in South London and this working-class area became the inspiration for her novels. In the 1980s she moved to Surrey with her husband and two children, but in 1998 there was a catalyst in her life when her son died, aged just 27. After joining other bereaved parents in a support group, Kitty was inspired to take up writing and her books have been
Sunday Times
bestsellers.

Kitty now lives in Spain with her husband.

To find out more about Kitty go to www.kittyneale.co.uk.

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Lost Angel

Nobody’s Girl

Sins of the Father

Family Betrayal

Desperate Measures

Lost and Found