Today I have the opportunity of welcoming debut author Katharine Britton to Chick Lit Reviews! Her debut novel, Her Sister’s Shadow, was recently released and we’ll be featuring our review for it tomorrow. Until then I hope you enjoy some wonderful insight into the life of a fantastic new author, Katharine Britton!

1. In your own words can you tell us a little about your new novel Her Sister’s Shadow?
HER SISTER’S SHADOW is the story of two sisters, estranged for forty years, who reunite in their childhood home on the south shore of Boston after the older sister’s husband unexpectedly dies. The younger sister, Lilli, has very good reasons that she’s stayed away from this sister, Bea, all these years. She also, however, has a very good reason for wanting to reconnect. The novel is set in two time frames, present day, and the 1960s when the sisters were young and all the trouble began.

2. Can you tell Chick Lit Reviews readers a little about your path to publication?
I completed a fiction manuscript in 2007 and began the search for an agent. Jennifer Unter agreed to represent me in 2008 and started sending out my manuscript; twenty-five editors rejected it. Sensing that things weren’t going well, I had started to write HER SISTER’S SHADOW, (then called LILLI’S GARDEN), which I completed in 2009. The third editor that saw it, liked it, but thought the book would be stronger if the sisters were a bit younger, and the older sister a bit nicer. I love revision, so I gave it a shot. She was right.

3. What’s been your favorite part of becoming a published author?
Seeing my name on the cover of a book was amazing, but my favorite part has been interacting with readers, other writers, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, even a television producer and an anchorman! I’ve reconnected with old friends and made new ones at every reading and signing, and everyone keeps telling me how proud they are. I think seeing someone achieve a dream really touches people. So many have been so supportive in so many ways throughout this process. It has been incredibly rewarding to share this adventure with all of them. My book launch was outrageous!

4. What would be the most important theme you’d hope readers of Her Sister’s Shadow take from it?
The themes of loss and forgiveness are big ones in this book. I’m interested in how people deal with loss, and how important it is to let go of events in our past so we can be truly present. Perhaps the most important underlying message is to check out our assumptions, because, sometimes, they’re wrong.

5. Being that Her Sister’s Shadow is primarily about two sisters, was there a reason you were drawn to this type of relationship? Why?
It is primarily about the two sisters, Lilli and Bea, although there are four girls in the family, and each has an important role. My mother had three sisters (and two brothers) and her relationship with her youngest sister was one inspiration for this story. They suffered a series of tragedies that signaled the end of childhood for them, as it does for Lilli and Bea. The events in HER SISTER’S SHADOW are fictional, not taken from my mother’s life, but the questions of what it would take to drive sisters apart, and what it would take to bring them back together, arose from watching my mother and her sister.

6. You mention on your blog that you can often be found gardening. Do you have a particular plant or flower that happens to be your favorite?
Oh, dangerous question to ask me! My current favorite is a gaura called stratosphere pink picotee, which I planted for the first time last summer. I was disappointed to discover, this spring, that it is not hardy in Zone 4. I also like coreopsis moonbeam, which is so dainty and cheerful, but is hard to weed… and I love Asiatic lilies, which I no longer grow because of the nasty red beetles that appeared a few years ago. As for annuals, I plant zinnias every year because the remind me of my mother, and morning glories. Shall I go on? As I said, dangerous question!

7. Other than writing and gardening can you tell Chick Lit readers a little more about yourself?
I have a fourteen-year old, Glen of Imaal Terrier, Maggie, who sleeps under my desk and often snores (surprisingly soothing background noise for writing). When I take a vacation, my first choice is always the shore: Maine, Cape Cod, Carolinas, SW Florida… I’m not fussy. I used to be a dancer, and my favorite television show is So You Think You Can Dance, followed by Divine Design on HGTV. I teach composition at Colby Sawyer College, although I’m taking this fall off to write.

8. Are you working on any new writing projects and when can we hope to see your next novel?
I am currently working on a screenplay, and I’ve started a novel, which I hope to have finished by next year.

Thanks, Danielle! I hope your readers enjoy HER SISTER’S SHADOW.

Thank you so much Katharine, I can’t wait to hear more about your new novel as well as your screenplay! And thank you also to Katharine’s publisher, Berkley Books, for coordinating this interview!

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