Kathryn's Inbox

My recent post on Stephen King and the lack of success he would have if he was an unknown writer attempting to publish his first novel, Carrie,  in the current era make me think of another author and the lack of success they would have writing for the modern market. Lousia May Alcott is another brilliant writer who probably wouldn't be able to find either publication, or an audience of willing readers, if she were alive today and trying to get published. Granted, Alcott's most famous novel Little Women  was written purely for commercial purposes. Prior to that, Alcott had attempted to write and publish several novels that were of little interest to anyone, due to their lack of marketable content in the time and era where she lived. And then there is that whole urban myth about how she hated little girls. Anyway, Little Women, proved so popular with it's themes of loyalty and living right that it soon spawned a sequel titled Good Wives where the March sisters grew up

This week I am taking part in Feature and Follow Friday, an awesome weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read , designed to help like-minded book bloggers meet, reconnect and make some fantastic new connections. This week's all-important question is: Q: Happy Mother’s Day! Who is your favorite mom from fiction? Wow, you folks don't ever make it easy for us, having to pick just one favourite. There are plenty to choose, though I'm willing to bet that plenty of book bloggers today placed Molly Weasley as their favourite. So, as much as I love Molly, I'm not choosing her. =P My choice is Marmee March from Little Women . She loves all four of her daughters equally, though for different reasons. Her advice is always fair and sound, even if it isn't what her children always want to hear. In Good Wives it is Marmee who offers Jo comfort when she feels (quite wrongly) that her life is not working out.  So who did you choose? PS I'm

Time once again for Feature and Follow Friday, that awesome weekly meme hosted by those stars of the book blogosphere Parajunkee and Alison Can Read  . This week's question is: Q: Tell us about the most emotional scene you’ve ever read in a book – and how did you react? Probably when Beth dies toward the end of Good Wives (published as the second volume of Little Women in the US and Canada). But if I can have a second choice, it would probably be the moment in Anne of Green Gables where Anne discovers that Marilla and Matthew had never intended to adopt her and that they had wanted a boy instead. It sounds silly, but I felt so sorry for her, after she had her hopes up thinking that she was going to have a home and a family of her own, discovering that she was unwanted after all. Of course, Marilla eventually changes her mind ... Anyway, in happier news, this week I've got a signed copy of my novella Best Forgotten to give away to one lucky reader. (It has

Yeah! It's time once again for Feature and Follow Friday, an awesome weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkie designed to help like-minded book bloggers connect. This week's all-important question is: Q: Activity! Who do you want to be? If you could choose any character from a book. What do you think that character looks like and what do you have in common? This is an interesting question. Clearly, I am that delightful darling, Severus Snape, owing to the uncanny resemblance between myself and Alan Rickman. See: Kathryn Snape What is that camera doing in front of half of Snape's face? Okay, in all seriousness, I don't know how to answer this question. I think that family and friends have compared me to Jo March from Little Women, or more specifically Winona Ryder's portrayal of Jo March in the 1994 film adaption of Little Women, which can be summed up in part here: Ahh, the young writer with big dre

Wow, how fast has this week gone by? I've been a bit too busy formatting files and creating book covers to do much blogging this week, (plus you know, there are the usual dramas surrounding my life, a complete lack of sleep, extra hours at work ...) Anyway, the good news is I'm online now and it's time for Feature and Follow Friday, a weekly meme hosted by  Alison Can Read  and  Parajunkie's View  designed to help book bloggers meet and connect. This week's all important question is: Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships? Strangely enough, I was thinking about Little Women  by Louisa May Alcott while I was on my way home from work this evening and the relationship that Marmee March has with her daughters. I like the way that she treats all four of her daughters as individuals and allows them to grow and blossom. In Australia, Little Women is