Author Kate Foster & literary agent Viola Hayden on The Maiden
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
27th Apr 2023
Kate Foster studied on our six-month online Writing Your Novel course in 2020 – she is now represented by Curtis Brown literary agent Viola Hayden. Her debut novel The Maiden is an electrifying seventeenth-century-set whodunit revolving around a respectable noblewoman accused of the shocking murder of her lover. Inspired by a real-life case, The Maiden gives a voice to women otherwise silenced by history. It has now been longlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Fiction.
We caught up with Kate and Viola to find out more about the inspiration behind The Maiden and how they worked together to get the manuscript ready to submit to publishers…
Kate, you studied on our six-month Writing Your Novel course in 2020, how did your time on the course impact your approach to writing?
Kate: I decided to do a six-month course because I wanted to take the time and effort in my writing and take it seriously. I was at a point in my life when was able to do that. Being on the course meant I gave my writing the dedicated effort and time it needed because we had regular workshops and feedback sessions.
Many of our students find their writing community on our courses – are you still in touch with any of your course mates?
Kate: Yes, we set up a Slack group and we continued to give each other encouragement and feedback for some time, even working from our CBC novels onto our next novels. I know there are at least couple of other book deals in my group.
Viola, what initially struck you about Kate’s writing and made you want to read on? What made Kate’s submission stand out to you?
Viola: It might sound overly simplistic, but I just remember really liking the sound of The Maiden from Kate’s query letter. It felt similar to other books I’ve read and loved (Alias Grace, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, A Net For Small Fishes), but crucially it also felt original and different. Kate’s pitch was very clear, compelling, intriguing – and I could see exactly where her novel would sit on a bookshelf. As soon as I opened the material I was hooked, because you’re thrown straight into the dramatic heart of the novel: Lady Christian Grey descends from the Edinburgh courthouse to the jail, having been sentenced to death for killing her lover. What really happened, what will happen? And then it was her characters, Christian and Violet, who are so vivid in their qualities and their flaws. I couldn’t bear to leave them be, I had to see their story through to the end.
The relationship between author and agent is a special one. Was there any point before signing the client agreement where things ‘clicked’, and you knew you had to work together?
Viola: I think it’s always very important to have a chat with any prospective client – and a writer with any prospective agent – to check that you ‘click’ creatively. You’ll get a good sense immediately of whether you’re going to get on, whether you have similar ways of working, whether you see the book in question in the same way – the foundations of a solid working relationship. And on my call with Kate I knew she would be a dream to work with. She knew what she wanted The Maiden to be, and that courage of conviction and vision I super important, but she was also open to working collaboratively to getting there. And she is great fun, so I knew we’d have a good time together along the way!
Kate: We had a Zoom call and we chatted for a while and got on well. Viola had a vision for The Maiden that chimed with mine. She said it reminded her of the TV show Harlots, and I had been binge-watching that as I was writing!
Can you tell us a little bit about the work you did together on The Maiden before sending the book out to editors?
Viola: We did a couple of rounds of edits I think; one or two looking at the bigger picture, how the narrative wove together, character arcs, balancing drama and tension; and then once that felt like everything was in place we moved to looking at more detailed things. It did take us around six months to get The Maiden ready for submission, but it was worth it! I hope Kate says the same…
Kate: We passed the manuscript back and forward a few times until Viola was happy that it was submission-ready.
Kate, can you talk us through how it felt when Viola delivered the news that The Maiden would be published by Mantle?
Kate: It was so exciting! I didn’t have long to wait – we had interest very quickly – but waiting for the final news took a couple of weeks and I was very stressed during that time. That phone call from Viola was an incredible moment. I spent the rest of the day in a daze!
The Maiden is described as a seventeenth-century-set whodunit. Inspired by real-life events, the novel revolves around a respectable noblewoman accused of the shocking murder of her lover. Can you tell us a bit more about how you approached your historical research and why you felt compelled to tell this story?
Kate: I grew up with the story of Christian Nimmo, who was sentenced to death for murdering her lover Lord James Forrester in my home village of Corstorphine, near Edinburgh. Her ghost is said to haunt the scene of the crime. I was fascinated by the intrigue of the story and wondered if the case was as clear-cut as the historical account. I researched the case but I was also drawn into the history of Edinburgh at that time. I read as much as I could and visited the locations to experience the atmosphere. I also read in the genre. Writing historical fiction is an extra challenge on top of writing a novel, because you have to make sure to avoid anachronisms, but I thoroughly enjoy it.
Kate, you won the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect prize for new writers in 2020. Do you have any advice to share with the aspiring authors reading this, particularly those who are thinking of submitting to competitions or perhaps applying to a writing course?
Kate: I felt that the time was right for me to take the leap into writing fiction and take it seriously. I had written a manuscript prior to The Maiden that was rejected by every agent and competition I applied to! But I wanted to give myself every chance of success with my second manuscript and I picked a story that I felt was not only fascinating to me, but that would sit alongside other similar novels in a bookshop. Editorial feedback is really important. Take as much as you can from those who know that they’re talking about!
Viola, without giving too much away, what is it about The Maiden that you’re most excited for readers to experience?
Viola: The ending. I can’t say too much, but I’ve always found it very powerful, and it takes me by surprise every time.
The Maiden is out now! Buy your copy here.
Applications for our next online Writing Your Novel – Six Months course are open now.
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