Hi and welcome to my stop on Kate Donne’s Bobby ‘Chicken Legs’ Muldoon: Fame and Fortune in the Gorbals (The Bobby Muldoon Trilogy Book 3) blog tour with Love Books Group Tours!

Many thanks to Kate Donne and Kelly @ Love Books Group Tours

Interview with Kate Donne…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

My name is Kate Donne and I live in Dollar, Clackmannanshire with my Welsh husband Steve, my dog Brodie and eight chickens!

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I have always used the creative side of my brain! I’m no academic. In fact, I failed my O grade Arithmetic in secondary school! From school plays to directing musicals to writing scripts, that has been my life. I spent three years at The Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, studying drama and we did a lot of character building work there. Ideas for characters and scenarios seem to come easily but I must admit, where they come from I have no idea!

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

I have been running my personal development company for many years and, thinking back to the first book, I would say I based my characters on personality types rather than specific people.

Bobby is a young man with no confidence but he is very determined and has a sharp, witty sense of humour. Maw is an aggressive character and Granny Pat is simply aff er heid! Then there’s Faither who is extremely submissive. I felt that mix gave me plenty of scope for conflict! Then I added Jeannie, Bobby’s girlfriend, to bring a bit of normality to the mix as a very clear thinking, confident young woman.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I use lots of combinations of first and last names until I find the right fit. I think the names have to reflect the characters personalities. I write comedy so I needed names with a touch of humour. For instance, I don’t think Bobby ‘Chicken Legs’ Ferguson would have worked!

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I have been trained to think in pictures so I see the characters in the storyline before I write it! Does that make sense? If I can’t see it then I know it won’t work! Perhaps all along I have been writing a stage play and I’ve only just realised it! Many of my readers have said they love reading Bobby out loud. That’s great feedback.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Number one would have to be Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret. I have read the whole series, The Secret, The Power, Hero and How The Secret changed my life. Her books certainly changed my life!

Numbers two and three would be Scottish authors James Kelman (How Late It Was, How Late) and Anne Donovan (Buddha Da). Both have had real success using the Scottish dialect and their work is a joy to read.

Four would have to be Alexandra Sokoloff. I am working my way through her book Screenwriting Tricks for Authors at the moment. It’s a big read full of amazing advice.

Five is Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence. He claims EQ is much more important than IQ and his book is packed with self development advice! His chapter on turning our negative affirmation into positive affirmation is mind blowing!

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I’d like to meet Chris Brookmyre! I was short listed last year in the Tarbert Book Festival short story competition and Chris did an amazing presentation as part of the weekend. The guy’s a genius!

Were you a big reader as a child

My honest answer would be ‘No’. I was part of a folk group when I was very young and I sang professionally all through my teens until my late twenties. There was very little time for reading.

When did you start to write?

It started at primary school when I was 12. I wrote a story about Rabbie Burns and all his girlfriends and it won the Robert Burns competition! I went on to write humorous weegie poems and short stories and was pleased to have some of them published. That’s when I decided to take my writing to the next level.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

This has got to be the ending in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. I remember reading somewhere that her publisher went against her wishes and insisted on the unsatisfactory ending! I would rewrite it and do a happily ever after ending for Jo and Laurie and leave Amy to be bored out of her mind with the dull professor!

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

Me, Myself and I. (I have many different characters in me!)

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I would invite every single character from Shakespeare’s Complete Works! Then I would host a massive costume party in the grounds of Stirling Castle and stand back and wait for the fireworks!

What are you working on right now?

I am working on a stage adaptation of the trilogy. I plan to spend the next year working on this and create a three act stage play. Then I want to tour Scottish theatres with Bobby! I have many professional contacts who are already interested in working as a team so I am very excited at the moment! All I need is lots of funding and I’m aware that will be the biggest challenge!

Tell us about your last release?

Book three of the trilogy, Fame and Fortune in The Gorbals, was released earlier this year. It brings the story to a very positive end but still leaves it open for future books!

Do you have a new release due?

I am about to release the complete Trilogy. It’s called Life in The Gorbals and it will be out next week!

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Breathe a sigh of relief first, then start planning the next phase of Bobby’s journey!

How can readers keep in touch with you?

Readers can find me on

Website: weegiewords.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyChickenLegsMuldoon/

Instagram: katedonne

Twitter: @Donnekate

Linkedin: Kate Donne (BA Dramatic Studies)

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Not much more to say except ‘thank you’!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Kate 🙂

Blurb

Robert James Muldoon. That’s me. Sixteen years auld, four feet three wi bright red hair an legs like a chicken…’

It’s 1969 and Bobby, as he is usually known, has spent the last year dealing with one crisis after another. He’s a Gorbals’ boy though so with sheer determination and a witty sense of humour he’s moving on. Thanks to some carefully considered action plans and the support of Jeannie, the love of his life, Bobby has so far overcome every obstacle in his path. Now he and Jeannie have a plan to create a good life for themselves. Will Bobby finally become a confident, successful young man? Or will he go one step further and find…

Fame and Fortune in The Gorbals?