Past and present collide in Kathleen McGurl’s dual timeline stories, where family secrets and past mysteries are unlocked in the present day.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Kathleen talks about the stories her readers love, interwoven tales of social upheaval, emotional drama, and lost love spanning centuries.br /

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And we’ve got three e-Books of Kathleen’s new book, The Secret of the Chateau, an absorbing timeslip saga which stretches from the Paris of the guillotine to the South of France today. Enter the draw and you could be one of three lucky readers to win a copy. Draw closes June 20.br /

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Kathleen McGurl authorbr /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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Why writing on the move appealsHer passion for Irish storiesThe magic of past and present collidingA family mystery that haunted herThe writers she admires mostWhat's coming up nextbr /

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Where to find Kathleen McGurl: Website: http://kathleenmcgurl.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenMcGurlTwitter: @KathMcGurlbr /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Kathleen. Hello there Kathleen, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.br /

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Kathleen McGurl: It's lovely to be here.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Just as an introduction, you are in the UK, in Bournemouth, and I am in New Zealand, in Auckland, both in various stages of a global pandemic. Tell us – what’s happening in your part of the world and how is social distancing  affecting you?br /

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Managing in the pandemicbr /

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Kathleen McGurl:  Here in the UK we haven't had a full lockdown. We've been allowed out for exercise every day and actually, as we're speaking, today is the first day of a slight further relaxation.  We're allowed to go out as much as we can for exercise and if you can't work from home, you're encouraged to go back to work.br /

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So things are easing off a bit and whether it's the right time to do that or not, there's a lot of discussion.  But yes, I'm in Bournemouth, which is on the south coast of England.  br /

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We are five minutes’ walk away from the beach and the clifftop and so because we've been allowed out for exercise, we have been out most days walking along there and it's just lovely.  We've been out for bike rides as well.  br /

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Family re-unitedbr /

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I've got both of my sons living at home. They're grown up. They're 22 and 25 but they've both been here for the duration of this.  My youngest son thought he was coming for a fortnight stay and then the lockdown started so he's been there ever since, with his stuff in a room in London.  br /

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My oldest son, the minute the locked down was announced, he just piled everything into the car, drove down here and he's been working from home here ever since. So there are some good sides to it and I've had my family around me, which is lovely.br /

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How Kathleen got startedbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: Was there a Once Upon A Time moment when you dercided to write fiction, and if so what was the catalyst?br /

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Kathleen McGurl:  It's a kind of yes and no answer to that.  Not a sudden epiphany that I wanted to write, because I always wanted to write.  As a child at school, if we were told to write a story, I was like, yay, I can write a story.  And I absolutely loved writing them.br /

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However, I went down the science route at senior school and then I ended up in a job in IT.