Editorial director Rachel Slatter at Joffe Books acquired world rights for a three-book Elizabeth Darcy mystery series from Kate Wiseman, following a referral from Monica Chakraverty through the Scouting Programme at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. The first book, Rage and Retribution, will publish in 2028. Ahead of the release, we checked in with Kate to congratulate her and ask more about her writing and publication journey!
Kate Wiseman is an award-winning author of 10 novels for adults and older children. After an adventure filled youth, she went to university at the age of 38, achieving a first-class degree in English and Creative Writing. She was one of the real-life ‘Ritas’ who featured on the Radio 4 Woman’s Hour programme commemorating the 40 th anniversary of Willy Russell’s play, Educating Rita. Her passions are books, history and crime, so writing the Elizabeth Darcy Investigations is something of a dream come true for her. She is a licensed and frankly obsessed mudlark. She has a grown up son and a fluffy black cat called Zebedee. Read on to learn more about her journey to publication…
As a fledgling author, I remember the euphoria I felt when I secured an agent. I thought that I had made it: an offer from a publisher was sure to follow, then publication, then letters from grateful readers whose lives had been profoundly moved by reading my book.
Right.
My book was published and was followed by others, but somehow the agent thing never worked out and one agent was replaced by another. Don’t get me wrong, they were lovely, but three years ago, when I was hit by what I thought was a blinding idea for a series of books, and my agent said they couldn’t sell them, I had a big decision to make: to stay and consign my idea to the dusty drawer of book plans that would never see the light of day, or go it alone and follow my urge to write what I thought was the best idea I’d ever had.
After a lot of heart-searching, I decided to go it alone and I separated from my agent. I was scared, but at least I could go ahead and follow my compulsion to write what I wanted to.
My idea was to make the newly married Elizabeth Darcy a sort of amateur sleuth, ably supported by her adoring husband and a whip-smart maid called Ellen. Together they would enter the worlds of Jane Austen’s books, one at a time, interact with the characters of that book, and work out who was murdering the ones I didn’t like.
The obvious place to start with was Pride and Prejudice, and the obvious victim was Lady Catherine de Burgh. She’s a monster, and I had great fun devising a particularly fiendish death for her. It was very satisfying, as was setting up the prime suspect…
In due course, more deaths occurred and the mystery played out. I called it Rage and Retribution. But I had a problem: what to do with it now? I tried a couple of agents but as far as I know, my letters of approach are still languishing on their slush piles. I had faith in my manuscript, but how could I get it in front of the right publisher?
Enter Cornerstones. Some years ago, they had edited a very different manuscript for me. I thought their advice was spot-on, and the book went on to be published in several languages. I had kept in touch with them and knew that they offered a scouting programme. I decided to approach them in the hope that they would like what I had produced.
And much to my astonishment, they did!
My mentor, Monica Chakraverty, couldn’t have been more helpful. There were a few amendments that she felt would improve my manuscript. I thought about her suggestions and couldn’t disagree and when I’d done them, I knew that my story was a lot tighter.
Then came the thorny issue of synopses, not only of the book I’d written but of two more in the series that I wanted to write. I don’t know about you, but to me a synopsis is harder than writing a whole book. Monica guided me through the process. She took my manuscript to the London Book Fair and told me who was interested and that I would need patience while they considered it. Patience isn’t my forte, but I managed to acquire a modicum of it and actually, it didn’t take long. About six weeks later, I had the fantastic news: wonderful Joffe Books, the home of so many great crime stories, wanted the series! I was cock-a-hoop (I’ve always wanted to write that).
So now comes the wait. Rage and Retribution, the first in the Elizabeth Darcy Investigations series, will publish in 2028, with two more shortly after. My vision is going to become a reality and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m currently working on the next book, based on Sense and Sensibility. Hmmm. Who would you kill off from that story?
