Kate Thompson: Secrets of the Sewing Bee

So many of us have memories of making our own clothes and being taught how to sew whilst still at school. But what about the ladies who worked in the rag trade when it was a thriving business during the war years? We are thrilled to welcome Kate Thompson to the blog to tell us about these ladies and how they became the focal point of her novels.

How long have you been writing novels and do you write anything other than novels?

I’ve been writing novels for Pan Macmillan for two years now and Secrets of the Sewing Bee is my

second book. I was thrilled to sign another two-book deal with them for titles to be released in 2017 and 2018. Prior to fiction I was ghostwriting memoirs for publishers like Penguin and Simon & Schuster. I combine writing with work as a freelance journalist for newspapers and magazines.

How important do you feel it is to have an agent? 

How important is it to have a solicitor when you move house, or a locksmith if your key snaps in the door? To me, it’s vital. Agents handle all the tricky, complex negotiating, with a view to getting you the best deal and importantly when it comes to brokering book deals, they act as a buffer between you and the publisher. If you’re someone like me, who is uncomfortable talking about money and couldn’t negotiate her way out of a paper bag, then having an agent whom you like, trust and respect, is well worth it. For me, it also goes beyond sheer financial value. I talk through plot lines, brain storm ideas, discuss covers and chat through all aspects of writing with my agent Kate, usually over tea and cake or wine!

As a writer of historical fiction how do you undertake your research? 

I like a three-pronged attack! First hand testimony archives and interviews with historians or experts in their field, to provide a complete overview. For example, I’m researching a book now set in 1936 in Whitechapel, in a photographic portrait studio. The narrative encompasses rent strikes and the Battle of Cable Street.

            In order to research this, I visited the Stepney Jewish Club where amazingly I found three incredible women, all in their late 90s, all very smart and sharp, who recalled with clarity their involvement in the Battle of Cable Street. It was a total revelation to me. I assumed, wrongly, that women would not have been out in force on the day fighting the fascists, but these women set me straight in no uncertain terms. Beattie, now 98, told me how as a young Jewish woman she was chased down her street by fascist Blackshirts, who whipped her with belts and screamed at her to go home. ‘I am home,’ she told them, before outrunning them. Politics was personal to Beattie. Soapbox orators were on every street corner and getting involved in marches and the huge fight to stop Oswald Mosley marching through the East End, was about a fight for freedom and a just society. 

Hearing a first hand testimony like that brought my novel to life and when I wrote the Battle of Cable street scenes in, I was seeing it through Beattie’s eyes, listening to the great roar of the crowds and feeling their jubilation when they forced Mosley and his Blackshirts to turn back. I left that interview on an absolute high because for me, history had just burst into life and I knew it would directly impact my writing. I am endlessly fascinated by the women of the 1930s and ’40s and how war shaped their lives. Whenever I am offered an interview with a woman, or man, who can recall those times I jump at the chance. They are voices that demand to be heard. First hand memories like that will not be around for very much longer so it's so important we listen.

I also visit archives extensively and if there are random questions I need answering, like what camera would a 1930s portrait photographer have used, I call up museums and historians to fill in the gaps. People are always so incredibly helpful and in the main friendly. I’ve had one or two people say they haven’t the time to help, but that’s a rarity. It’s a fine line though between doing too much research and then feeling the temptation to pile everything you’ve unearthed into your book. I always have to remind myself that it’s the characters and plot, which should drive the book forward. Dividing time between research and writing is a constant balancing act, and one I’m still figuring out.

Can you tell us more of how you came to decide on the theme of sewing?

When I started Secrets of the Singer Girls I decided to set it in the East End rag trade, more specifically a garment factory, which makes and repairs uniforms for the troops, as that seemed to me to be a largely untold story of the war.

When it came to writing the prequel it made sense to stick to the theme of sewing, especially when I found out the huge contribution that sewing circles made to the war effort.

The irony is I can't sew for toffee! When I wrote the books I had never so much as sewed on a button. My publisher recently arranged a visit to the Singer Sewing School in London where I was videoed making a tote bag! I found the hum of the sewing machine surprisingly therapeutic, not sure the finished article would have made it past a 1940s factory forelady mind you!

You have hit upon important historical events in your stories. How important do you think this is to your readers?

There is a fascination for little known events of the past and I think people really like it when you bring to light something they had never previously heard of. When I wrote about the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, where 173 people, mainly women and children, were crushed to death hurrying to take shelter during an air raid, I had so many letters from people saying how stunned they were that they had never heard of this event and how moving they found it.

One woman even told me how she was reading my book as she travelled through Bethnal Green on a bus and she reached the scenes of the crush, just as the bus drew level with the entrance to the Tube. She says she was flabbergasted and it made her reassess the way she views the East End today. The way people pitched in to help, with boy scouts working alongside housewives in aprons to free the dead and injured, brings a human tragedy into sharp focus.

Knowing that an event you’re reading about in a novel actually happened, albeit to fictional characters, has the power to move us and make a novel memorable. It also helps to bring a fresh perspective to an event that may have become clichéd in the retelling. I absolutely loved Hazel Gaynor’s, the Girl Who Came Home, about a young Irish woman who survived Titanic. There were so many small details in there that made me see the tragedy in a new light. It was also so beautifully written and evocative, I had to watch Titanic the film again!

Facebook or Twitter? Which is your preferred promotion tool? 

I do use Twitter, but I don’t get the same enjoyment out of it as Facebook. The people that read my books don’t seem to go on Twitter as much either so if I want to connect with readers and potential readers I reach out through Facebook. For me it's a brilliant way of reaching into women's minds and seeing what fires their emotions.

To give you an example, whenever I post up a lovely black and white nostalgic photo of children playing football on the cobbles, (jumpers as goal posts) conkers, or knock down ginger, it always gets the most extraordinary response and more likes/shares than any other post. Strangers start interacting and sharing their childhood stories and you see how much people truly love recalling their childhoods and the lost communities they were raised in. I always try to keep that in mind now and instill that nostalgia into my writing.

 I also try to share photos and a few words about some of the amazing people I might have interviewed that week, which people seem to like and competitions are perennially popular. Having an on line community to reach out to for advice and to act as a sounding board, is really worth the time and effort it takes to manage it.

How do relax when not writing?

Relax, what’s that? I have two small boys and a dog to tire out daily. Relaxing for me comes when they are safely tucked up in bed, and I can sink onto the sofa with a glass of red and Call the Midwife, or get into my bed with a new book I’ve been looking forward to. I’m currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying, Elaine Everest’s brilliant new novel, The Woolworths Girls and after that I’ve got Iona Grey's, Letters to the Lost to look forward to. Maybe I’m old before my time, but a good book, a cup of chocolate Horlicks and a hot water bottle warming my toes and I’m happy. 

What’s next for author, Kate Thompson? 

I am about two thirds of the way through my third book for Pan Macmillan. This one is set in 1930s Whitechapel and focuses on women working in the wedding industry. Two of my characters work in a photographic portrait studio, photographing brides and the third makes wedding dresses.

The East End was grindingly poor back then in the Depression, but despite that, or many even because of it, every bride wanted to look like a Hollywood movie star. Having a beautiful wedding portrait was a badge of honour, as was having the very best day your family could afford.

It was a time of stark contrasts and the illusion of glamour. The streets were full of danger, with fascist Blackshirts marching and the threat of war looming on the horizon, so young women lived for glamour and romance. 1936 was a helter-skelter of a year with the Depression, hunger marches, the abdication of the King and the Battle of Cable Street, providing a suitably dramatic backdrop to my character’s lives.

About Kate:

Kate Thompson is an author, journalist and ghostwriter. Her debut novel, Secrets of the Singer Girls, became a Sunday Times bestseller and is followed by the recently released, Secrets of the Sewing Bee. Kate lives in Twickenham with her husband Ben, their two sons, Ronnie (8) and Stanley (4) and an elderly Jack Russell called Twinkle. She is currently working on a third novel for Pan Macmillan, due for release in spring 2017.

Links:

Facebook

Twitter: @katethompson380

Website

The RNA blog is brought to you by,

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write for us please get in touch: elaineeverest@aol.com

All Roads Lead to London: CBC Discovery Day 2016

For all unpublished writers there is nothing more exciting than to meet a literary agent. To be able to pitch a novel and receive individual feedback can be a dream come true. Your blogging team recall with fondness the excitement of attending a Curtis Brown Creative Discovery Day when they were once members of the New Writers’ Scheme and only dreamt of securing an agent and being published.

So, how was this year’s event? Who better to ask than some of our current NWS members.

Thank you to Sue Lovett (SL), Julie Stock (JS), Michael Clarke (MC), Tammy Lovell (TL), Rosemary Goodacre (RG), Elaine Roberts (ER), Elaina James (EJ) for answering our questions.

How did you prepare for the day?

(SL) Instructions for the day were very clear – after introducing yourself, your pitch should take no longer than 30 seconds.  So, I worked hard to boil the essence of my novel down to 100 words, trying to maintain the tone of it then read it out loud over and over.

Tammy Lovell

(JS) I spent a lot of time preparing my pitch, using the tips on the Curtis Brown Creative website, as well as reading various articles on the Internet because I had never pitched to an agent before. I also edited the first page of my novel to give to the agent on the day.

(MC) With the stopwatch app on my phone! I knew that 30 seconds was a very short time in which to do make the pitch – 100 words maximum. I practised repeatedly and still came in at around 40 seconds so I hoped I wouldn’t be gagged just before I’d shoehorned in the final hook.

(TL) Before the day I wrote a short blurb giving an overview of the plot. As the pitch was only meant to last for thirty seconds I aimed to make this 100 words, which would take around that long to read. However when I got there I abandoned what I’d written and decided to freestyle it instead!

(RG) I struggled with the pitch and was still practising it when I arrived early at the station and there was a clock showing seconds. I was especially motivated as I gained a place at the last moment when someone wasn’t able to attend.

(ER) I wrote my pitch in bullet points, making it easy to read. I also practiced and timed myself with a stopwatch many times. My paperwork, which included my pitch, first page, synopsis and a family tree I had created, was protected in a folder. I took everything, just in case.

(EJ) I’m terrible at public speaking. Stage fright kicks in and I end up a blabbering wreck. My only hope of calming my nerves is to be exceptionally well prepared. I spent weeks refining my pitch, talking to people who had attended before and getting every bit of advice I could.

What was it like waiting in the queue for your appointment?

(SL) Thankfully my appointment slot was early (11.45am) before the afternoon backlog build-up.  I queued for 20 minutes or so.  The whole process (queue, interview, then Q&A session) took around 45 minutes.  By the time I returned to the cafe, the queue was snaking two floors down the central

Julie Stock

staircase.

(JS)When I arrived on the 5th floor, I got chatting to another author with the same slot as me and we practised pitching our very different novels to each other. We eventually joined the queue together, making our way slowly up the stairs and I found that companionship really eased my nerves.

(MC) It was a surprisingly calm and orderly forty minutes, given that everyone’s insides were probably doing somersaults. I started queuing on the fourth floor and the pitching room was on the sixth. Seeing that long line of writers snaking upwards is a sobering reminder of the huge number of other aspiring novelists out there

(TL) I had the final 3.15-3.45pm slot and managed to be the last person in the queue for the whole day! It took me about 40 minutes to get to the front, but it went quickly as I was chatting to the man in front of me about his crime novel.

(RG) We were tense, of course, and the queue was winding up a flight of stairs. I imagined a customer arriving to buy a book and accidentally getting caught up in it and then being asked to provide a pitch...

(ER) On previous occasions, the queues wrapped around Foyles, which made us a nuisance for those who wanted to buy books. This time, we were not allowed to join the queue until five minutes before our half an hour slot. For me, it was better organised and the time flew by.

(EJ) The queue looked daunting as it snaked down the stairs, however it wasn’t actually so bad once I’d joined it. Chatting with the other writers I barely noticed the time passing until we were in the final stretch and the door was in sight. Then the nerves kicked in.

Which agent did you speak to and was your pitch well received?

(SL) I was seen by Matthew Marland. He listened carefully to my pitch, asked questions about the plot, then about me, then (speed) read my first page.  He was very positive and although mine was not the kind of book he handled, he thought the voice strong and liked the concept.

Elaine Roberts

(JS) The agent I spoke to was Abbie Greaves from Curtis Brown, who works alongside Sheila Crowley (JoJo Moyes' agent!) Abbie was very kind, putting me at ease straight away. She listened carefully to my pitch and was very positive about it. She read my first page straight afterwards and made some notes.

(MC) Catherine Cho, who works with Jonny Geller. She was very polite, patient and seemed genuinely interested in the novel and in me as a writer. The pitch went better than I’d dared hope (I didn’t clam up anyway), Catherine liked the first page and recommended I submit a named agent at CB when the MS is ready: so very well received.

(TL) I spoke to Sophie Lambert from Conville & Walsh. As she read my first page she laughed a couple of times which was encouraging (luckily it was intended to be funny!). She was very constructive and praised my character’s voice and the setting of the novel.

(RG) I spoke to Catherine Cho, who was very encouraging and asked me some more questions about my story.

(ER) I spoke to Sophie Lambert of Conville and Walsh, who immediately put me at ease. Sophie wanted more than the pitch; the detail, where was it set?, what was the plot? how did it end? The response was excellent. She gave me an agent’s name to send my manuscript to.

(EJ) I pitched to Johanna Devereaux who was very friendly and helpful. It was fantastic watching her nod and smile as she read the first page. Johanna asked lots of probing questions and said they don’t get many submissions like mine which is a good sign.

What advice was given to you?

(SL) He said to submit to Sheila Crowley or Rebecca Ritchie (Rebecca being the better option he thought as Sheila’s list is big with some pretty big names too, eg Jojo Moyes).  He said to make my cover letter as good as it could be (the CB website gives good guidelines).

Sue Lovett

(JS) She thought my story idea was sound and my writing good but she said that to grab an agent's attention, it would need a real twist to make it stand out in the contemporary romance genre. Commercial success is uppermost in the agent's mind when considering submissions.

(MC) Catherine advised me to consider what type of reader my novel would appeal to – the dreaded ‘compare yourself to famous authors’ question. She was encouraged that I’d had lots of feedback on the novel from my likely target readers via writing courses and groups, etc. She also advised about the importance of a strong narrative arc.  

(TL) Sophie advised me that domestic thrillers are very popular in women’s commercial fiction at the moment, so when writing outside this genre it was important to have a gripping plot. She told me to make sure the character faced lots of challenges which allowed her to develop outside of her romantic relationships.

(RG) She advised me to submit to one of two agents, appropriate for my genre.

(ER) I was told not to forget to include the architecture of the area and not be too heavy with dialogue. Also, because it was historical, make sure it was written in keeping with the time, although she did feel my first page did fit the time and setting.

(EJ) Johanna’s advice focused on my elevator pitch. Basically I just wasn’t selling my novel well enough.  One of the key things she told me was to consider what a character thinks they want and what they actually need. Once I did that the pitch I should have made became clear.

How did you feel about your appointment?

(SL) Don’t expect too much – nobody gets signed up here – but it’s worth the effort. You’ll learn what agents want, what standards they expect from writers and how you might gain an edge.  You’ll learn that agents are human too and want your novel to succeed just as much as you.

(JS) I was very pleased with my pitch and with Abbie's comments on the day. We had a good talk about my writing and where I might go from here. She was friendly and not at all as daunting as I had expected and I know that I was lucky in that respect.

(MC) I felt far more positive than I’d anticipated I would. I’d been concerned that six minutes to pitch a novel was an impossibly short time but after the appointment I felt I’d been able to myself and 

Michael Clarke

the novel justice. So I’d both obtained some concise but very positive feedback and honed an elevator pitch.

(TL) Beforehand I was really nervous and expected it to be a Dragon’s Den style drilling in which the agent would interrogate me about my plot and characters. However Sophie couldn’t have been nicer and I left feeling positive, encouraged and motivated to keep writing.

(RG) I understand that the agents did not all receive pitches all through the day. However, it must be demanding on them sitting there for long sessions and I can’t help wondering if they manage to stay focused throughout. There was no sign of Catherine going off message, though, and obviously they are professionals.

(ER) My appointment was quite late in the afternoon, but if the agent I saw was tired, she hid it very well. I was very happy with the questions I was asked. The conversation was detailed and not just a pitch. I was relieved I had prepared and practiced for it.

(EJ) Nerves struck on the day and I didn’t put my pitch across particularly well, so initially I was disappointed with myself. It wasn’t until later that I realised it wasn’t actually that bad. The pitch may have flopped, but the first page, the concept and plot lines had gone down well.

Would you recommend attending Discovery Day, and events like it, to other authors - and why?

 (JS) I would definitely recommend the experience. I found the discipline of writing a pitch about my novel and honing my first page very useful, and it was so helpful to be able to discuss it with an agent. I also enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions of Jonny Geller, no less, afterwards at the surgery.

(MC) I’d been a little sceptical about attending but was pleasantly surprised at the courtesy (and stamina) of the agents and organisers. I got a motivational kick from the feedback and a genuine

Rosemary Goodacre

sense of interest in my novel so when it’s ready to submit I’m likely to send it in Curtis Brown’s direction. However, the sheer number of other pitching writers, shows how tough the competition is likely to be – perhaps a reflection that, unlike at writing conferences, these one-to-one were absolutely free . Fortunately a couple of other writing friends were also pitching and I had the bonus of catching up with them for a coffee in the excellent Foyles café.

(TL) I’d definitely recommend Discovery Day to any author as a great opportunity to get invaluable feedback from a literary agent and ask any questions you have. Preparing the pitch is also good practice in itself. It’s not surprising the day is so popular when you get to receive a personal critique totally for free.

(RG) Yes, I’d definitely recommend it. It’s daunting but good practice for strutting your stuff. There are other worthwhile elements: the surgery, with an opportunity to ask further questions to an agent, and the panel session, featuring an author, agent and publisher, to complete the overall picture. The venue is pleasant, with a good range of refreshments to boost our energy.

(ER) Yes. Discovery Day is an opportunity to focus on selling your novel. Not to be discovered, but to be given an agent’s time and a detailed critique. That is something you can’t buy. The afternoon panel also gave an insight into how everyone in the publishing world has to pitch.

(EJ) I would definitely recommend it. It’s an amazing learning experience. I discovered that despite all my careful drafting my pitch simply wasn’t strong enough to do justice to my novel. If I hadn’t gone to this event I might not have realised that.

Thank you, Sue, Julie, Michael, Tammy, Rosemary, Elaine & Elaina for answering our questions. The opportunity for a one-to-one with any industry professional is always worthwhile. Writers never stop learning!

The RNA blog is brought to you by

Elaine Everest & Natalie Kleinman

If you would like to write for the blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com