Manuscripts out of Mysteries: revealing the writer with Kate Morton

The impressive rise to stardom of author Kate Morton and her haunting, page-turning novels isn’t anything like typical for a relatively new writer. With two books to her credit and a third one on the way, Kate is an inspiration to would-be writers everywhere. Her first novel, The House at Riverton, sold over half a million copies and its successor, The Forgotten Garden, published in the UK earlier this year, seems set to follow the trend, having reached the number one position in the Sunday Times paperback fiction bestseller list for UK books in June. But the appearance of a rapid ascent to fame can be somewhat illusionary: Morton herself had two full-length manuscripts rejected before she achieved success. As she acknowledges, ‘Most writers have war stories about the years of failure and rejection before they experienced their overnight success!’