Kate Morton -- April 13-17 [ Edited ]

[Bethanne]

Welcome, Kate Morton, to BN.com Center Stage. We're looking forward to discussing your new book, The Forgotten Garden, with you.

Morton, the eldest of three sisters, was born in South Australia. Her family moved many times before settling on Tamborine Mountain, where Kate attended a tiny country school and spent much of her childhood either inventing make-believe with her siblings, or reading. Her favorite books were Enid Blyton's tales, like Up the Faraway Tree or the "Famous Five" series. The love of mysteries and secrets she gained through her early childhood love of books remains with her today.

Morton earned a degree in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London, eschewing the "sensible" course of obtaining a law degree and instead completing a summer Shakespeare course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She thought the theater was her future -- but one day, quite simply and clearly, she realized that what she was in love with was not performing, but words.

She began to write in earnest, completing two full-length manuscripts (which lie deep within a bottom drawer) before beginning the story that became her first published novel, The House at Riverton. At the same time, she began a degree in English literature at the University of Queensland, graduating with First Class Honours and going on to complete a Master's degree focusing on tragedy in Victorian literature. She is currently enrolled in a PhD program, researching contemporary novels that marry gothic and mystery fiction. 

Kate is married to Davin, a composer, and they have two young sons. All four live together in a nineteenth-century house, replete with its own ghosts and secrets. 

Message Edited by Bethanne on 03-30-2009 08:22 PM

[dhaupt]

Hi Kate and welcome back to B&N I had the privilege to read The House At Riverton for First Look here at B&N and I just loved it. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for my copy of The Forgotten Garden, but knowing how much I loved The House At Riverton I have no doubt I'll love this one too.

[DSaff]

Kate, welcome back to B&N! I read The House At Riverton with the First Look group and loved it. My copy of The Forgotten Garden arrived on Tuesday and has already grabbed me.  While I am involved in the newest FL group, I am also planning to read your book this weekend. It will be good to have you on Center Stage!

[Carmenere_lady]

Hello Kate, Good to see you again at B&N.  Thanks for taking the time to talk to us regarding your newest novel.  I, too, was a member of the First Look Group for the House of Riverton and became a fan of your writing after reading it.  I have two questions for you.  Firstly, the plot for your newest book The Forgotten Garden has a very interesting premise.  What was your inspiration for this story, it sounds very original yet a little Shakespearian.  Secondly, have you considered writing a story based on that old woman, in The House at Riverton, sitting in the nursery on a rocker.  She still intriques me to this day.  Wishing you much success on your latest book and into the future.

[KathyS]

Hello, again, Kate!  Welcome back!

I, too, was with the FL discussion group, The House At Riverton.  I fell in love with your writing, and couldn't wait to receive the Forgotten Garden, which finally came this week.  I've been reading it every chance I can get.  It's a hefty one!  I love big books!

I'm loving all of it, thus far, although I can't get the ache out of my throat!  Your story, your writing, the jacket design - Bravo to your design department, it is all beautiful!

Much success, Kate!

Kathy S.

[KateMorton]

Hello everyone,

It's great to be back at B&N and I'm looking forward to talking books with you (one of my very favourite things to do!). I hope you're enjoying The Forgotten Garden as much as I enjoyed writing it...

Cheers,

Kate 

[KateMorton]

---

dhaupt wrote:
Hi Kate and welcome back to B&N I had the privilege to read The House At Riverton for First Look here at B&N and I just loved it. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for my copy of The Forgotten Garden, but knowing how much I loved The House At Riverton I have no doubt I'll love this one too.

---

Thanks for the welcome, Debbie. I hope your copy of TFG arrives soon! 

[KateMorton]

Hi Donna--it's great to have a First Look reader back to chat about TFG! I hope you're enjoying it. It's been a rainy weekend here--perfect for curling up with a good book...

---

 

Kate, welcome back to B&N! I read The House At Riverton with the First Look group and loved it. My copy of The Forgotten Garden arrived on Tuesday and has already grabbed me.  While I am involved in the newest FL group, I am also planning to read your book this weekend. It will be good to have you on Center Stage!

---

[KateMorton]

Hi Lynda,

It's great to be back at B&N and thanks for joining the chat. I'm so pleased that you enjoyed Riverton and hope you like TFG as much. The plot for TFG was the joining of lots of different ideas that had been floating around in my head for quite a while. The most important of those was a family story: when my grandmother was 21 her father told her that she wasn't really his biological child. This news so affected her that she kept it a secret until she was a very old lady and finally 'confessed' it to her three adult daughters. When I learned Nana's secret I was struck by how fragile a person's sense of self can be--Nana felt like a different person when she discovered that her origins weren't as she'd thought--and I knew one day I'd write about a similar situation. (I should mention that Nell's story is quite different to Nana's, though. In Nana's story there was no cottage on the Cornish cliff-top, just waiting for a granddaughter to discover it. Sigh...)

I hadn't thought of writing a Nanny Brown story, but now you mention it... Just think of the things she would have seen. Stay tuned! 

---

Carmenere_lady wrote:

Hello Kate, Good to see you again at B&N.  Thanks for taking the time to talk to us regarding your newest novel.  I, too, was a member of the First Look Group for the House of Riverton and became a fan of your writing after reading it.  I have two questions for you.  Firstly, the plot for your newest book The Forgotten Garden has a very interesting premise.  What was your inspiration for this story, it sounds very original yet a little Shakespearian.  Secondly, have you considered writing a story based on that old woman, in The House at Riverton, sitting in the nursery on a rocker.  She still intriques me to this day.  Wishing you much success on your latest book and into the future.

---

[KateMorton]

Hi there Kathy,

It's great to be back and to see another friendly face from First Look :-) I hope you're still enjoying the hefty TFG--I couldn't agree more about the jacket. I absolutely love it. The Arthur Rackham illustrations on the end papers take my breath away--they're straight out of my child self's fantasy of fairyland. Looking forward to chatting further when you've finished.

---

KathyS wrote:

Hello, again, Kate!  Welcome back!

I, too, was with the FL discussion group, The House At Riverton.  I fell in love with your writing, and couldn't wait to receive the Forgotten Garden, which finally came this week.  I've been reading it every chance I can get.  It's a hefty one!  I love big books!

I'm loving all of it, thus far, although I can't get the ache out of my throat!  Your story, your writing, the jacket design - Bravo to your design department, it is all beautiful!

Much success, Kate!

Kathy S.

---

[KathyS]

Hello Kate, nice to see you too! 

I sincerely hope I don't overwhelm you right off the bat!  It's rare I find an author who writes the way you do.  It's deep and beautiful.  You've brought me to tears more often than not.

I'm only about 159 pages into the book, and I don't think I'll have it finished by the time you leave.   I'm not reading it fast.  But I would like to try to give you my impressions, up to this point.   And ask you a few questions, if that's okay?

Thinking about the end papers, I can't look at them enough.  I mean literally!  This illustration is so much a part of this story, it belongs to Eliza Makepeace.  

The cover has the feel of the story, with muted colors, the golden tones of autum.  I keep looking at it, as if it's telling me something about this story - the mystery that surrounds it!  Have you every seen a sunset, where even the air changes color?  It's heavy, and you feel as if you could almost slice it with a knife.  There are no real hard edges to objects.  I've only witnessed this about twice in my life, where everything turns shades of sepia.  It gives you an erie feeling when you witness this.  This is what this jacket says to me...secrets and questions. 

Your title, the Forgotten Garden, the word, the, is not capitalized.  As I'm not very far along in the book, I keep wondering about the title.  The word Forgotten, it's almost as if it refers to the characters.  They've been left behind and alone.  And the Garden seems to be a word that refers to something that could be beautiful.   These people in your story feel like the Forgotten Garden.  I'm sorry if I'm too analytical, it's just how I read.

I'm not certain how to phrase this.  As you change the characters, with the chapters and periods in time, you have nailed the voice!  I feel each character as  real, and different of the next.  The English language they speak, changes, as well.  It's amazing. You obviously have an ear for language! 

I know you must slip into these characters as you write them, but did you write each chapter as the story unfolds to us, the reader, or did you write each character independently, and then tie it all together?  Does that make sense?

Okay, that's enough for now. I would have served you up a cuppa as you read this, but it's a little hard to get it through my monitor. 

Thank you for your time!

Kathy 

---

KateMorton wrote:

Hi there Kathy,

It's great to be back and to see another friendly face from First Look :-) I hope you're still enjoying the hefty TFG--I couldn't agree more about the jacket. I absolutely love it. The Arthur Rackham illustrations on the end papers take my breath away--they're straight out of my child self's fantasy of fairyland. Looking forward to chatting further when you've finished.

---

Message Edited by KathyS on 04-12-2009 10:41 PM

[DSaff]

I haven't been able to put this book down much, and am really loving the story. Your characters are so real. My husband is getting antsy because he wants to read it too. LOL  I do have a question now. Did you write the fairy tale that is in the book? I loved it. If so, are you planning on writing more?

---

KateMorton wrote:

Hi Donna--it's great to have a First Look reader back to chat about TFG! I hope you're enjoying it. It's been a rainy weekend here--perfect for curling up with a good book...

---

 

Kate, welcome back to B&N! I read The House At Riverton with the First Look group and loved it. My copy of The Forgotten Garden arrived on Tuesday and has already grabbed me.  While I am involved in the newest FL group, I am also planning to read your book this weekend. It will be good to have you on Center Stage!

---

---

[Bethanne]

---

KateMorton wrote:

Hello everyone,

It's great to be back at B&N and I'm looking forward to talking books with you (one of my very favourite things to do!). I hope you're enjoying The Forgotten Garden as much as I enjoyed writing it...

Cheers,

Kate 

---

Welcome, Kate! We're delighted to have you here. I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden so much. 

Bethanne, your moderator 

[Bethanne]

---

dhaupt wrote:
Hi Kate and welcome back to B&N I had the privilege to read The House At Riverton for First Look here at B&N and I just loved it. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for my copy of The Forgotten Garden, but knowing how much I loved The House At Riverton I have no doubt I'll love this one too.

---

Glad you're on this thread and that you loved Kate's first book. What was your favorite thing about her writing in The House at Riverton?

Bethanne, late to the party but still with bells on... 

[KateMorton]

I did write the fairytales (there are three in total) and I'm very glad indeed to hear that you're enjoying them! It had always been my plan to include some of Eliza's tales in the book--for one thing, I wanted to embed some of the mystery's clues in the final tale, and for another, I'm always disappointed when you're told that a character is a terrific poet/writer etc but are shown no example--but I kept putting off the actual composition. I was daunted, I think, because I adore classic fairytales and I wanted to do them justice. Finally, though, when I was about half way through the book I decided I'd better give it a go and I was thrilled to discover that writing them was a great pleasure. There's something elemental in the writing of fairytales, that required me to access the child inside. It helped a great deal in understanding Eliza's mind, too. I have no plans to write any more fairytales, and you know, I sometimes wonder whether I'd be able to write them now that I'm no longer channelling Eliza Makepeace.

---

DSaff wrote:

I haven't been able to put this book down much, and am really loving the story. Your characters are so real. My husband is getting antsy because he wants to read it too. LOL  I do have a question now. Did you write the fairy tale that is in the book? I loved it. If so, are you planning on writing more?

---

KateMorton wrote:

Hi Donna--it's great to have a First Look reader back to chat about TFG! I hope you're enjoying it. It's been a rainy weekend here--perfect for curling up with a good book...

---

 

Kate, welcome back to B&N! I read The House At Riverton with the First Look group and loved it. My copy of The Forgotten Garden arrived on Tuesday and has already grabbed me.  While I am involved in the newest FL group, I am also planning to read your book this weekend. It will be good to have you on Center Stage!

---

---

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[KateMorton]

And I'm delighted to be here! You weren't late to the party, either, Bethanne: with my half day time advantage here in Oz, I arrived early!

K 

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Bethanne wrote:

---

KateMorton wrote:

Hello everyone,

It's great to be back at B&N and I'm looking forward to talking books with you (one of my very favourite things to do!). I hope you're enjoying The Forgotten Garden as much as I enjoyed writing it...

Cheers,

Kate 

---

Welcome, Kate! We're delighted to have you here. I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden so much. 

Bethanne, your moderator 

---

[DSaff]

Thank you for your response. I never thought about not being able to write when not one of the characters. That makes a lot of sense, although I am sure there are children all over who would love more of Eliza's fairy tales.   I can't wait to get to the other two.

---

KateMorton wrote:

I did write the fairytales (there are three in total) and I'm very glad indeed to hear that you're enjoying them! It had always been my plan to include some of Eliza's tales in the book--for one thing, I wanted to embed some of the mystery's clues in the final tale, and for another, I'm always disappointed when you're told that a character is a terrific poet/writer etc but are shown no example--but I kept putting off the actual composition. I was daunted, I think, because I adore classic fairytales and I wanted to do them justice. Finally, though, when I was about half way through the book I decided I'd better give it a go and I was thrilled to discover that writing them was a great pleasure. There's something elemental in the writing of fairytales, that required me to access the child inside. It helped a great deal in understanding Eliza's mind, too. I have no plans to write any more fairytales, and you know, I sometimes wonder whether I'd be able to write them now that I'm no longer channelling Eliza Makepeace.

---

DSaff wrote:

I haven't been able to put this book down much, and am really loving the story. Your characters are so real. My husband is getting antsy because he wants to read it too. LOL  I do have a question now. Did you write the fairy tale that is in the book? I loved it. If so, are you planning on writing more?

---

[Bethanne]

---

DSaff wrote:

Kate, welcome back to B&N! I read The House At Riverton with the First Look group and loved it. My copy of The Forgotten Garden arrived on Tuesday and has already grabbed me.  While I am involved in the newest FL group, I am also planning to read your book this weekend. It will be good to have you on Center Stage!

---

DSaff, did you finish? I could not stop reading The Forgotten Garden....

Cheers,

Bethanne 

[Bethanne]

---

Carmenere_lady wrote:

Hello Kate, Good to see you again at B&N.  Thanks for taking the time to talk to us regarding your newest novel.  I, too, was a member of the First Look Group for the House of Riverton and became a fan of your writing after reading it.  I have two questions for you.  Firstly, the plot for your newest book The Forgotten Garden has a very interesting premise.  What was your inspiration for this story, it sounds very original yet a little Shakespearian.  Secondly, have you considered writing a story based on that old woman, in The House at Riverton, sitting in the nursery on a rocker.  She still intriques me to this day.  Wishing you much success on your latest book and into the future.

 

Carmenere Lady, I also wondered about the genesis for this book's plot. Looking forward to reading Kate's response to you!

Bethanne, your moderator 

[Bethanne]

---

KathyS wrote:

Hello, again, Kate!  Welcome back!

I, too, was with the FL discussion group, The House At Riverton.  I fell in love with your writing, and couldn't wait to receive the Forgotten Garden, which finally came this week.  I've been reading it every chance I can get.  It's a hefty one!  I love big books!

I'm loving all of it, thus far, although I can't get the ache out of my throat!  Your story, your writing, the jacket design - Bravo to your design department, it is all beautiful!

Much success, Kate!

Kathy S.

---

Kathy, isn't the design beautiful? I hope jacket design never goes away. I love ebooks, but I really want book jackets to continue. They add a great deal to the reading experience for me.

Bethanne