Tell me about your latest book and why we should read it?
My most recent book is All the Wild Weather, published by Crooked Cat.
If you’d like a break from the real world, come and visit the Isle of Larus, a charming alternative world full of odd adventures and quirky 18th century characters. My readers tell me they’d rather like to move there.
If someone was to write your life story what would the title be?
Life Begins at Sixty
What’s the strangest fan question or request you’ve received?
- Q “Did you write this?”
- A “Yes.”
- Q “What, all of it?”
- A “Erm, yes.”
- Look of bafflement on questioner’s face. Look of greater bafflement on mine.
If you could co-write with anyone in the world (alive or dead) who would it be?
Patrick O’Brian. Such a wonderful storyteller.
Tell me something nobody else knows about you (yet!).
I once owned a toucan called Maurice.
Finally please recommend 3 books that you have recently read and tell me why you’ve chosen these.
(1) English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. A big, moving story told in a quirky way. Made me laugh and cry.
(2) The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. A truly beautiful book with many wise things to say about the nature of love.
(3) Music and Silence by Rose Tremain. I haven’t even finished reading this one, but its historical setting is so evocative it’s made me rethink my writing style.
Who is Kathy Sharp? Kathy Sharp lives by the sea in Dorset (UK). She is a prolific writer of short fiction and song lyrics, and is the author of the quirky Larus Trilogy of novels, inspired by the dramatic scenery of the Jurassic Coast. The sea, and ships and boats, feature strongly in Kathy’s writing, as does a wry sense of humour. She is now working on her fourth novel, Whales and Strange Stars.
Kathy says: “When I first began writing fiction, I asked myself what exactly it was I wanted to write. The answer came back, ‘Something magical!’ The result was three novels about the not-quite-real Isle of Larus. Since then, I have looked for that sense of the magical in all my writing.”
