We're thrilled (literally) to have Kate Moretti back at CLC today in honor of the publication of her latest novel, Girls of Brackenhill. She's sharing a letter she wrote to the version of herself from ten years ago and she has one e-book and one signed print copy to give away!
Kate Moretti is the New York Times Bestselling author of five novels and a novella, including Thought I Knew You, While You Were Gone, Binds That Tie, The Vanishing Year, Blackbird Season, and In Her Bones. Her first novel THOUGHT I KNEW YOU, was a New York Times bestseller. THE VANISHING YEAR was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery/Thriller category for 2016 and was called "chillingly satisfying." (Publisher's Weekly) with "superb" closing twists (New York Times Book Review).
Kate has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for twenty years as a scientist and enjoys traveling and cooking. She lives in Pennsylvania in an old farmhouse with her husband, two children and no known ghosts. Her lifelong dream is to find a secret passageway.
Synopsis:When Hannah Maloney’s aunt dies in a car accident, she returns to her family’s castle in the Catskills and the epicenter of a childhood trauma: her sister’s unsolved disappearance. It’s been seventeen years, and though desperate to start a new life with her fiancé, Hannah is compelled to question the events of her last summer at Brackenhill.
When a human bone is found near the estate, Hannah is convinced it belongs to her long-lost sister. She launches her own investigation into that magical summer that ended in a nightmare. As strange happenings plague the castle, Hannah uncovers disturbing details about the past and startling realizations about her own repressed childhood memories.
Fueled by guilt over her sister’s vanishing, Hannah becomes obsessed with discovering what happened all those years ago, but by the time Hannah realizes some mysteries are best left buried, it’s too late to stop digging. Overwhelmed by what she has exposed, Hannah isn’t sure her new life can survive her old ghosts. (Courtesy of Amazon.)
Dear 32-year-old Kate,
Welcome to your thirties, baby girl. The next decade is going to be a wild ride and you don’t even know it.
You have a toddler and a brand-new baby infant, a mere five days old. The two-year-old stopped sleeping about six months ago, your thyroid started acting up a month ago and now your hair is falling out. But, you’re happy(ish). Your new baby smiles in her sleep all the time. She is fat and just a little jaundiced, giving her skin a healthy glow. Your oldest loves the baby, mostly, until she doesn’t. All the baby does is sleep. Sometimes you have to put ice on her belly to wake her up to feed her. Even then she doesn’t always open her eyes to eat. You took her to the pediatrician the other day because she went over twenty-four hours without opening her eyes. He told you to buy a lottery ticket and you cried because everything makes you cry.
But listen. In about three months, you’re going to be bored to death. This little baby will sleep A LOT (she’ll also vomit a lot but there’s meds for that and she’s fine). You’re going to try watching daytime TV, and you’re going to read every book on your shelf. You’re going to refinish a piece of furniture that’s in the garage (and hate it ten years from now, but I digress). The two-year-old will go to preschool and you’re going to spend your days cleaning the house until you want to pull out the remainder of your post-partum hair.
Then, your friend Sarah will tell you she wrote a book and you will be THUNDERSTRUCK. Because you know you’ve always wanted to do that. Even if you buried it under piles of dirty diapers and bottles, the dream is still there. Twitching, but barely.
And you will write a book that makes your husband disappear.
Everyone will wonder if you’re okay. If your marriage is okay. Well… get used to it. Writing is a weird, wild thing where you put your life on the page in small ways and huge ones, and the best part is, no one can truly figure out which parts of the page are YOU. This will be uncomfortable for a while, but eventually, it will be endlessly amusing, I promise.
Ok, now hold on to your hat. That little book will be published by a small press. And go on to become a New York Times bestseller. An agent will contact you. You’ll sell a book to a major New York publisher (in fact you’ll sell three books to them). Sounds bananas, right? It’s completely bananas.
You’ll tell your husband you’re meant to be a writer, not a scientist. He’ll tell you that you have a mortgage. You’ll negotiate a part-time position. You’ll re-negotiate your marriage, your friendships, your job, over and over again. You’ll give up time with your kids, your family.
But you will have found the thing that ignites you (and sometimes almost crushes you).
You’ll learn that publishing, like life, is hills and valleys. You’ll hear the words “declining sales record” more times than you ever want to admit (but you will admit it, in a keynote speech at a large conference, which will be both freeing and mortifying in equal measure). You’ll seriously consider going back to work full time. You’ll figure out that writing is 10% talent, 40% luck, 50% perseverance (I made those numbers up, there’s no actual formula).
Here’s the thing you need to know now: you’re going to screw up a ton between where I am and where you are. Be gentle with yourself and those around you. Be generous, but learn boundaries early (I did not). Celebrate every milestone with abandon – you’ll sometimes need to float on the memory of those champagne bubbles. Take care of yourself while you’re taking care of everyone else around you. Don’t set yourself on fire to keep everyone around you warm. Treat writing like your job and make everyone in your life take it seriously. Don’t be afraid to feel pride in your accomplishments.
Hug your husband more – he’s doing a lot for you. In ten years, there’s going to be a global pandemic and you’re going to be spending A LOT OF TIME together inside the house. That’s a subject for another letter but if you could make sure you like each other, it helps quite a bit (also be forewarned, he cheats at Rummikub).
Oh, and one last thing: the kids are fine.
With fond affection and few regrets,
42-year-old Kate
Thanks to Kate for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.
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Giveaway ends November 10th at midnight EST.
