Kathryn Player started writing Moody not Broody after she got married when everyone kept banging on about her having children. Then, three years later, she surprised everyone and became a mum to twin girls. After deciding to have a career break, it was a perfect time for Moody not Broody to get some air.
Now, still a full time mum, Kathryn works on her second novel whenever the girls are asleep. Moody not Broody is her debut novel which is based on her teaching antics (sorry, 'experiences') over the past ten years.
1. Why did you want to become a writer?
I wanted to create real people who were different from the norm, characters who were quirky and likable. Above all else, I wanted to entertain people.
2. What's the toughest part of the writing process for you?
Undoubtedly, finding the time to sit down and actually produce something. It’s a cliche, I know!
3. What's the most enjoyable part of writing?
I love it when your characters do something unexpected and you smile and think, ‘well, that wasn’t planned!’ That’s when you know your characters have become ‘real’.
4. Out of all the amazing books out there, which book do you wish you had written and why?
I would love to have written Bridget Jones’s Diary because Bridget is so lovable and Helen Fielding is so witty.
5. If you could only save one of your characters from fictional calamity, who would you pick and why?
It has to be Emma, in Moody not Broody. She is the first protagonist I ever created that made it to a finished novel. Naturally, I feel ‘protective’ over her. ;-)
6. If you could spend the day with your favourite character (not from your books), who would you spend it with and what would you do?
I would spend it with Harry Potter because I would love to learn how to fly a broom! ;-) Plus, I would love to be a commentator for a Quidditch match; I’d get the crowd going for Gryffindor!
7. What can we expect next from you?
At the moment, I’m writing a series of short stories about two sisters who work in a charity shop. The sisters and the charity shop workers are characters in a sitcom that I wrote two years ago.
8. Is there any particular writing advice you wish you'd been given at the start of your writing career? If so, what is it? If not, what advice would you give to someone starting out?
Make sure your writing is polished. It has to be the best of your best in order for you to do it justice.
9. Tell us what a typical writing day involves for you.
I never have a ‘writing day’ available, more like a writing half hour. I try and do some writing when my twin daughters are in bed and when all the chores are done. If you include the marketing side of my writing then, during the day, I might go on Twitter and do a promotional tweet or just have a nose and see what everyone is up to. I’m a slow writer, but I get there in the end. ;-)
10. Finally, what are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading Twinkle, Twinkle... My Year Observing the Implosion of a Little Star by Mary Roulston who is a fellow Indie author. I’m enjoying this glitzy story and the humour that goes with it.
Emma is a newly-wed looking forward to some blissful years with her new husband, but everyone else expects her to have children. They think that because she is a teacher, she MUST want children. However, Emma has never wanted children and has to convince her husband, her family and her friends that she's not cut out for motherhood.
Emma would much rather pursue her career in teaching and work with children with Special Educational Needs, but then her plans are thwarted and she has to make a choice which will affect her and her husband, Mike, forever.
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