Specialises in: 

Character creation, fiction.

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Services offered: 

Three and six month mentoring, Mini, Midi and Mighty Manuscript Shakedowns. 

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Laura says:

'My experience is in literary fiction. Though my debut novel English Animals is in many parts a satire, I have recently moved away from this towards something more personal and autobiographically driven though not a straight memoir. Humour plays an important role in my writing but more in the sense of a wry way of observing the world, as opposed to overtly comedic writing. Ultimately the thing that drives me is the struggle to perfect my prose, to make it rhythmic and full of imagery without being cliched or overwritten. This, for me, is the most challenging thing about being a writer as well as how to structure a plot and find the story you need to tell. In addition to the two years of studying creative writing, first at Goldsmiths and then at Manchester, where I got a lot of experience of giving feedback to the work of others, I have edited several novels of various genres. 

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The writers I love and who have inspired me are far-ranging. I love a huge variety of styles and types of writing but probably my favourite have been Carson McCullers, Elizabeth Strout, Flannery O'Connor, James Salter, Miranda July, Alan Hollinghurst, Marilynn Robinson, Lydia Davis, Sarah Waters and J.D. Salinger - just to give a flavour.

 

I would be more than happy to mentor anyone in any genre and believe that all the things that make writing good and exciting can be applied across any kind of book.'

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English Animals: 

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Daily Telegraph New Year, New Voices Pick of Best Debuts of 2017. 

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Blurb: 

When Mirka gets a job in a country house in rural England, she has no idea of the struggle she faces to make sense of a very English couple, and a way of life that is entirely alien to her. Richard and Sophie are chaotic, drunken, frequently outrageous but also warm, generous and kind to Mirka, despite their argumentative and turbulent marriage.
 

Mirka is swiftly commandeered by Richard for his latest money-making enterprise, taxidermy, and soon surpasses him in skill. After a traumatic break two years ago with her family in Slovakia, Mirka finds to her surprise that she is happy at Fairmont Hall. But when she tells Sophie that she is gay, everything she values is put in danger and she must learn the hard way what she really believes in.

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Reviews: 

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English Animals is a subversive, wry debut that fans of Marina Lewycka's A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian will love.

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'English Animals command of tone, narrative and character is so assured, and both its wit and perceptiveness about a certain kind of English life make it a joy to read.' Amanda Craig

 

'Kaye's satire hits the mark. Kaye is at her best when she sticks with her scalpel. It's good to see British writers still know how to use it.' Daily Telegraph 
 

'[A] quirky debut novel.' The Guardian

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Read more about Laura's debut novel English Animals here >>

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More resources: 

Website: laura-f-c-kaye.com

Twitter: @LaurafcKaye