Kate Mosse

Kate Mosse, 46, a co-founder of the Orange Prize for Fiction and author of the bestselling novel Labyrinth, talks to Fanny Blake about her family and friends and why France just had to be the setting for her new book

Kate lives with her husband Greg, 46, a teacher and translator, their two children, Felix, 15, and Martha, 17, and her mother-in-law Rosie, 76. Her time is divided between Sussex and the family's holiday home in Carcassonne, France.

Greg and I met at school at a joint girls' and boys' high school musical production. We went out for a couple of years, but then lost touch. In 1986, we bumped into each other at Gatwick on a train. When Greg finally recognised me, the first thing he said was “Are you married?” A few days later, we realised we'd been right first time round.

I had a very happy, old-fashioned childhood outside Chichester, with two happily married parents and two lovely younger sisters, one granny living round the corner and the other not far away. We're still all very close and live in the same area.

I never made a decision to be a writer. When I was pregnant with Felix, I was offered a big management job in publishing, so I had to decide whether I wanted to stay in the industry and be that sort of person. I'd also been invited – along with many, many others – to an informal discussion about literary awards.

That was the beginning of the Orange Prize. And, finally, when I moaned to a friend, a literary agent, about how when I was pregnant the first time round, the book I wanted to read wasn't available, he simply said, “Write it.” So I found myself with two projects and could give in my notice.

We bought a house in Carcassonne in 1989. The minute I set foot there, I felt at home. We've got a tiny two-up, two-down built into the bottom layer of the medieval city wall. Overhanging from the grassy slopes above are tomatoes and vines and we have a tiny space for vegetables and a couple of chairs. We used to spend six months a year there, then school holidays too, but the irony is that since Labyrinth (which is set in that part of France), we've spent less time there than we ever have done.

When I sat down to write Labyrinth, I knew I wanted to write about the Cathars and that part of southern France, but not what sort of book it was going to be. Only once I started to plot and plan did I realise the framing for it was an adventure novel and then it took on a life of its own.

I've always wanted to write a ghost story and that was part of the inspiration for my new novel Sepulchre. That and my interest in Tarot cards, wondering what it was about France that led to the occult association, plus the fact that Claude Debussy, one of my favourite composers, was interested in the esoteric. Sepulchre is a time-slip novel set in France in the 1890s, partly in Paris and partly in the south-west of France.

I've been interested in Tarot cards since I was a teenager, but only had my cards read when I researched for the book. Modern Tarot readings work on the principle of being shown possibilities, rather than the movie version, which says the future is there already, set in stone and waiting for the cards to reveal it. I surprised myself by being really nervous, full of contradictory feelings and rather on my guard. I wanted the Tarot reader to say things I related to, but at the same time I didn't want her to be too accurate. In the end, it was a fascinating experience.

As I've got older I've become more comfortable with myself and I am in much better shape. I wasn't a glam teenager, so I don't have a sense of loss. I do look after myself, but I wouldn't have plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons. I think it puts a lot of pressure on women when there are more important things to worry about.

I wouldn't be surprised if Greg and I went to live in the French Languedoc permanently, but that's a long way in the future. Otherwise, my hopes are that everybody who is important to me continues to have the life that they enjoy. As for me, I would like to be able to carry on dreaming up stories and making them work because it's a jolly nice way to spend your time.

Sepulchre is published by Orion

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