Get to know author Katy Walters ('A Lady's Plight')

Isabella tells a story of hope, love, despair, fear and joy, and maybe not in that order. She didn’t wish to go to Brussels under the threat of war, but if that meant being with her beau, then she was determined to do so. It took courage to face the future ahead, and even more courage to face the threat to her life. 

 
I have always loved writing. During my long career as a therapist, I would write at night, mainly short stories, and reams of poetry. I wanted to learn how to write self-help books for my clients, so I took creative writing courses at university which led to writing a novel. So self-help turned to fiction but even so, I hope the novels help the reader through their own challenges, as the characters experience love, loss, passion, jealousy, illness, joy and conflict, even the threat of death. 

 
Readers write asking me where I find my ideas, but I can hardly tell them they come from my fictitious characters! But, it’s so true. For instance Lady Isabella, first rose up in my mind as a young woman on a sunny day sitting on a grassy slope picnicking with her love. I had a vague idea that the novel would be set against the oncoming battle of Waterloo. So, with only these two ideas, and a steaming cup of coffee, I sat before the PC, and switched on the music and hoped. To my joy, Isabella and Lord Fitzroy appeared and began quarrelling. Not what I wanted to start with, but I had to accept it, as by now they were full on. It went from there. This is how I write, how I meet the characters. The steaming coffee and music is vital to me; after the first sip, the music filters through, my fingers begin to move on the keyboard, and the characters start to appear. Maybe not what I wanted, but they are there … alive. Their voices get louder, their faces clearer, talking, laughing, crying in settings I’ve usually never seen before. Then I know I am in for a roller coaster of a ride. Time flies. I go to drink the coffee, but it is stone cold. The plot is still faraway down the end of the lane, but I trust the characters, they will take me there. Thing is, they don’t seem to sleep at night, and wake me up at three a.m., with yet more talk, schemes and scenes, tears and laughter. Thankfully I drift off, hoping I will remember what they said or did.

So each book to me is alive, part of my heart, my mind, part of me. Even after eight books, I know all the characters. They can never fade. So I love to share them. I hope you will love them too, well the good characters really, but then sometimes the bad hats have a side to them, which looks for redemption. 

 
Thank you so much for having me here today.

A Lady's Plight

Lady Isabella Winton waits years to marry her fiancé, but Lord Alexander Fitzroy, a reformed rake, always finds an excuse to delay the nuptials.

With the marriage set for the next month, Fitzroy tells her he is needed in Belgium almost immediately. He warns her it may be dangerous for her to accompany him.

Isabella suspects he is bluffing. Brussels is the centre of a social whirl. She looked forward elaborate dinners and extravagant balls. Fearing Fitzroy may have returned to his rakish ways, she insists on travelling with him.

Isabella is unaware that Lord Everard Ladness, heir to a dukedom, is obsessed with her and will go to any lengths to possess her.

Buy on: Amazon (UK) | Amazon (US)

Meet the author:

I live in a Sussex village near to the Regency towns. Before writing a novel, I visit one of them to soak up the elegance of the architecture, trying to enter the atmosphere of those far-gone times. Whilst walking through narrow cobbled streets, I imagine horse drawn carriages rollicking past, of ladies in Empire fashion, of feathered bonnets and velvet pelisses, of nankeen breeches and starched cravats. Even today, the same bay fronted shop windows replete with mullioned windows yawn over narrow pavements. The only changes being the wares; an empire dress swapped for a top and miniskirt. Best of all, is stepping down rickety steps into an oak beamed tearoom, with a leaning floor, where log fires crackle in open grates, the air filled with the rich aroma of tansy and cinnamon cakes.

Katy has a BA(Hons)Psych, BA Eng.Lit and Creative Writing, MA. Hon Doc. for research into complementary methods of pain control.

Wattpad | Twitter | Website | Blog | LinkedIn | Facebook

a Rafflecopter giveaway