A Pivotal Right: (Shaking the Tree Book 2)

Florence struggled for breath as she stared in the face of a ghost. "Jack?"

Twenty years after being forced apart Jack and Florence have been offered a second chance at love. But can they find their way back to each other through all the misunderstandings, guilt and pain?

And what of their daughter, Viola? Her plan to become a doctor is based on the belief she has inherited her gift for medicine from Emile, the man she believed was her father. How will she reconcile her future with the discovery that she is Jack's child?

A Pivotal Right is the second book in the Shaking the Tree series set in colonial New Zealand. It continues the story of Jack and Florence begun in The Moral Compass.

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If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Study - Writing is as much about the craft as the art. I don't think anyone can teach you how to have a creative brain that comes up with great ideas for stories (either you have that or you don't), but creativity is no good without the technical skills to back it up and those can be learnt.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I realised the importance of outlining. I pantsed my first book with only a vague idea of where I was going. I wasted a lot of time writing myself into corners and having to go back to get out of them. Now I outline - I don't always follow my outlines, but at least I have some idea where I'm going.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

The student loan to complete a three-year full-time diploma in advanced applied writing. I learnt so much it was totally worth it. Also, the subs for membership of Romance Writers of NZ. They are an amazing group of people who are always willing to lend a helping hand.

What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?

Eleanor Catton - I tried and failed to read The Luminaries twice. Then I read her first novel, The Rehearsal, and loved it. When I tackled the Luminaries the third time it dragged me in and I really enjoyed it.

Tell us a bit about your book...

A Pivotal Right is the second book in the Shaking the Tree trilogy, a sweeping historical romance set in colonial New Zealand. In this novel, we pick up our main characters, Florence and her daughter, Viola, nearly twenty years after Florence left New Zealand for England heartbroken and believing her husband Jack to be dead. The women return to NZ and unwittingly walk into one of Jack's shops where Florence comes face to face with her late husband.

The discovery that Jack is very much alive sends Florence into a spin. Not only does this make everything she has believed about the events of twenty years ago a lie, she also has to decide whether to tell Viola that Jack is her father.

About the Author

An overwhelming urge to create led Kathy to pursue qualifications in both fashion design and screen-printing which were followed by a twenty-year career in the fashion and applied arts industries.

She then discovered a love of teaching and began passing on the skills she'd accumulated over the years—design, pattern-making, sewing, Art Clay Silver, screen-printing and machine embroidery to name a few.

Kathy’s first novel, Peak Hill, was a finalist in the Romance Writers of New Zealand Pacific Hearts Full Manuscript contest in 2016.

Her second novel, Throwing Light, was published in February 2017.

The Moral Compass is her third novel and the first in a historical series set predominantly in colonial New Zealand.

Having recently completed a diploma in advanced creative writing, Kathy fits writing around teaching sewing and being a wife and mother.

K. A. Servian on the web: