Kate Cann

Author profile

gender

female

website

http://www.katecann.com

genre

Young Adult

About this author

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When I was a child, I wanted to be a witch. My first foray into writing was a series of nasty spells full of rats’ tails and bats’ wings. Then, when I turned thirteen, I began keeping a lurid diary, full of adoration or loathing, depending on who I was writing about. I used my later diaries for the Diving In trilogy.

I never thought ‘I want to be a writer’, but I loved books and writing. At school, I was rubbish at just about everything but English, so I went on to Kent University where I did two degrees in English and American Literature. At Kent, I fell dramatically in love with the man I'm still married to. We had loads of fights and adventures, but we kept coming back together. He's still the person I most want to spend time with. Awww!...more When I was a child, I wanted to be a witch. My first foray into writing was a series of nasty spells full of rats’ tails and bats’ wings. Then, when I turned thirteen, I began keeping a lurid diary, full of adoration or loathing, depending on who I was writing about. I used my later diaries for the Diving In trilogy.

I never thought ‘I want to be a writer’, but I loved books and writing. At school, I was rubbish at just about everything but English, so I went on to Kent University where I did two degrees in English and American Literature. At Kent, I fell dramatically in love with the man I'm still married to. We had loads of fights and adventures, but we kept coming back together. He's still the person I most want to spend time with. Awww!

My first proper job was in a publishing house, Time Life Books, as a copy-editor. I felt very glamorous. I used to go to the huge YMCA on Tottenham Court Road at lunchtime and do aerobics classes (very big in the 1980s and yes - I wore legwarmers). Then I'd fall asleep over my desk in the afternoon.

When my two kids came along, I set up as a freelance copy-editor and worked from home. By chance I got given some teenage books to edit, and I hated the way they treated sexual relationships: they were either full of gloom and doom, or were gushy, unrealistic candyfloss. So I got bitten by the ‘I can do better than this’ bug, and started writing. I remember the first day I started to write - it took me over. I forgot to eat (unthinkable for me) and I nearly forgot to collect the kids from school. About a year after that, Diving In was accepted for publication.

When I ran out of material from my diaries and memories, I realized my daughter and son were teenagers, and started eavesdropping on them. They were extremely tolerant about this although they did sometimes demand money from me.

Big changes have been afoot recently. My kids have left home - really left home, not just gap-year-travelling/university left home, and my old man is doing the sort of work that means he can work from home a lot of the time. So we've sold up and moved into the wilds of Wiltshire and so far I am absolutely loving it. The space, the silence, seeing the stars at night in the pitch black, the owls, the trees, the walks, the great food in the local pubs - everything! I'd started to bring nature into my books - it all started with Crow Girl - and now I'm working on two books about a city girl who gets plunged into the wilds. So the move is very much linked to and helping my writing. I think the sheer beauty and power of nature and how it can get right inside you is something a lot of kids are cut off from today.

I still love London though - the plan is to come up every couple of weeks, catch up with all my old mates, possibly do something seriously cultured like go to the theatre. And I want to travel a bit more, too - offsetting my increased carbon footprint with an enormous compost heap.

I love long conversations, running, reading, gardening, walking and white wine (in moderation of course) and I’m the first to admit I have the life of Reilly (who apparently had a pretty cushy life). I start the day with a run or walk with my dog, when I think about what’s going to happen next in the book I’m writing. Then I have a huge breakfast, and get down to work. I write on (or if it’s cold, in) the spare bed with a laptop, my dog at the bottom of the bed. If it’s sunny, I write in the garden, on a sun-lounger. Tough, ay? I also have this theory that you can’t be truly creative for more than about three or four hours a day, so in the mid afternoon, I knock off, and do my emails and stuff. Told you it was cushy.
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combine editions
Books by Kate Cann

Average rating: 3.55 · 3,358 ratings · 295 reviews · 29 distinct works

	Possessed (Rayne, #1) 3.43 avg rating — 502 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	My rating:
	Diving In (Art & Coll, #1) 3.63 avg rating — 366 ratings — published 1999 — 12 editions	My rating:
	Spanish Holiday: Or, How I Transformed the Worst Vacation Ever into the Best Summer of My Life 3.62 avg rating — 328 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Grecian Holiday: Or, How I Turned Down the Best Possible Thing Only to Have the Time of My Life 3.45 avg rating — 325 ratings — published 1999 — 9 editions	My rating:
	In the Deep End (Art & Coll, book 2) 3.67 avg rating — 283 ratings — published 2001 — 10 editions	My rating:
	California Holiday: Or, How the World's Worst Summer Job Gave Me a Great New Life 3.44 avg rating — 265 ratings — published 2003 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Mediterranean Holiday 3.57 avg rating — 240 ratings — published 2007 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Sink or Swim 3.56 avg rating — 243 ratings — published 2001 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Leaving Poppy 3.78 avg rating — 142 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Hard Cash (Hard Cash Trilogy, #1) 3.51 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions	My rating:

More books by Kate Cann…

Series by Kate Cann

Beach Books (4 books)
by Kate Cann

3.53 avg rating — 1,167 ratings

Art & Coll (3 books)
by Kate Cann

3.62 avg rating — 891 ratings

Rayne (2 books)
by Kate Cann

3.47 avg rating — 624 ratings

Hard Cash Trilogy (3 books)
by Kate Cann

3.59 avg rating — 310 ratings

Crow Girl (3 books)
by Kate Cann

3.18 avg rating — 61 ratings

More series by Kate Cann…

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Quotes by Kate Cann

“Sometimes when they all talk I feel like shouting, 'so your life went wrong—why assume mine will? Maybe it’ll work for me!' But this would only invite a pitying smile, and a 'she’ll learn' comment. You can’t win with them. You can’t even compete.”
― Kate Cann, Diving In

4 people liked it

“The moment had passed. But it had happened.”
― Kate Cann, Diving In

4 people liked it

“and if you think thats what i'd do you can fuck off back.
”
― Kate Cann, Leader of The Pack

4 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)	2898	731	May 31, 2011 09:01pm
Adult YA Fiction ...: What are you reading now?	655	994	Feb 07, 2012 02:49am
The Seasonal Read...: 25.2 - Jenn Renee's task: Santa by any other name is..... well, still Santa	70	153	Feb 10, 2012 02:12pm
Fiction Fair: Book Title Game	2244	67	May 30, 2012 08:50pm
Book Haven: What YA novel are you currently reading?	205	423	May 31, 2012 02:06pm

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Kate Cann

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Kate Cann

Series by Kate Cann

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Kate Cann

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by Kate Cann