A Catherine Cookson fan, whose sequels to the author’s books have been massive hits worldwide, is to make a special appearance in Our Kate’s home town.
Multi award-winning novelist Rosie Goodwin is heading to The Word at South Shields on 18 October, for a special, Audience With event.
And not only will the Warwickshire-based author discuss her newest novel, Mothering Sunday, but she will also talk about the woman “whose influence runs through every book I have written.”
Rosie’s first book, The Bad Apple, was published in 2004 and not only has she since cornered the market in historical fiction, but she is also the only author in the world to be granted permission to follow three of Catherine Cookson’s trilogies with her own sequels.
“And I couldn’t have been more honoured, said Rosie. “Some of the UK’s best-known authors hoped to be chosen but Catherine’s agent picked me. She said she could almost feel Catherine telling her, “this is the one.”’
Rosie had just eight weeks in which to write Tilly Trotter’s Legacy – continuing the story of Catherine’s famous heroine – and this was quickly followed by The Mallen Secret and The Sand Dancer; a continuation of Catherine’s earlier The Hamilton trilogy.
“I tried very hard to follow Catherine’s example and write about ‘real’ people,” said Rosie. “People with flaws and multi-faceted characters – the sort of people any one could imagine knowing.”
Such was the success of the sequels that Rosie – who had dabbled with contemporary fiction – returned to historical novels “and I’ve felt Catherine at my shoulder ever since,” she said.
Mothering Sunday, which reached number two in the Sunday Times best-seller list, follows the fortunes of 14-year-old Sunday Small, who escapes from the workhouse in search of her long-lost mother.
Rosie will also talk about her upcoming novel The Little Angel, due to be published later this year and audience members will be able to ask her about her life, career and characters.
Tania Robinson, Head of Marketing and Culture for The Word, National Centre for the Written Word said: “We are thoroughly looking forward to welcoming Rosie. An established and hugely successful author in her own right, she is a very worthy successor to Catherine Cookson.
“And it is especially fitting that she is to appear at The Word – a building dedicated to books and to writing – in Catherine’s home town.”
An Audience With Rosie Goodwin will take place between 1.30pm and 3pm and tickets, which cost £2, can bebooked online, by visiting www.theworduk.org or at the venue’s gift shop, Shop@The Word.
For more information about The Word, call 0191 427 1818 email enquiries@theworduk.org or visitwww.theworduk.org.