Kate lives in the town of Totnes in Devon, England and has been writing seriously since sheI was twenty. Her first novel was published when she was twenty-eight, though it was actually the second one she penned. It was called Fall Of The Flamingo Circus, written in diary form about a young rebellious punk girl. It was to be another thirteen years before her second novel was published courtesy of a small off-the-wall indie press called Skrev.

She was born in Crosby, north Liverpool and has also lived in Cirencester, Bournemouth and now Devon. Most of these places have featured in my novels. Cirencester provides the setting for Thalidomide Kid, Liverpool the setting for Sucka!, and Bournemouth the inspiration for Seaview Terrace and Break Point as well as some of the Fall Of The Flamingo Circus.

She has been inspired by a number of authors, especially those of a literary ilk including Graham Swift, Ali Smith, Nell Dunn, Paul Magrs, Helen Dunmore, and Mark Haddon to name a few. Her mother inspired her to start writing novels as she was writing her first one when Kate was a teenager. Kate was able to pick her mother's brains about the whole process. Although her mother has never been published, she has recently rewritten her autobiography, which makes fascinating reading as she grew up with some of her Jewish relatives in East London during WWII. Kate's father, now sadly deceased, was always very encouraging about her family's creative endeavours. Her sister Ann, who she shares a house with, has been a rock supporting me through the troughs and often deeper troughs of the writing world! In fact, Ann, an artist, designed the cover for Thalidomide Kid and Kate's brother also contributed his expertise on the graphic design side; so it was a joint project.

Kate Rigby on USA Today (12/11/07)

Kate Rigby on Reuters (12/11/07)

Pain and Prejudice, An interview with Kate Rigby, author of 'Thalidomide Kid': http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=432062&no=368816&rel_no=17 (25/09/07)

INside Authors interview with Kate: http://www.fwointl.com/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=23&num=980 24/08/07