A chat with Kate Mosse
Firstly, what inspires you to write?
The combination of place and history, pure and simple, and the idea that there is a story that I could tell set in this particular place, at this particular time in history. I call it the 'whispering in the landscape' when I go somewhere and I start to imagine… All my fiction and non-fiction starts at this point, then add a dollop of mystery, and the characters start to appear.
Please tell us a few highlights of your career as an author
Too many to mention, but I think the most wonderful thing is having the opportunity to travel to so many different cities and countries - from Japan to Jaipur, Norway to New Zealand, Minneapolis to Madrid and meeting readers all over the world. What it's taught me is that readers have much in common, regardless of where they come from. We are linked by stories, they help us to stand in other people's shoes and to live many lives.
And what about some of the most challenging moments of your career?
Oddly, it was the success of Labyrinth and, because of it, realising that the amount of time I now had to research, to draft, to write and to edit was being squeezed. I have learnt how to manage my writing time over the past twenty years, and it's a great problem to have, but it's a juggling act balancing the quiet with the bustle: the part of your brain you need to dream, to create, a novel is very different from the part of your personality you need to come to the fore when you are promoting one…
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Labyrinth - how are you celebrating the occasion?
In Spring 2025, I embarked on a six-week theatre tour of my one-woman show celebrating Labyrinth with audiences who had taken the novel to their hearts. It was an amazing experience hearing readers talk about 'their' Labyrinth, and their own visits to Carcassonne. But, of course, there is nothing like being in Carcassonne itself and this trip with Tripsmiths is my chance to celebrate the novel where it all began. Languedoc in the Autumn is beautiful - I can't wait to be back.
What makes Carcassonne so special for you?
The immense skyline and landscape, the sense of history, the way the sun rises over the walls flooding the cobbled streets with light, the quiet of the early morning and the small of freshly-ground coffee, the bustle at dusk when all the restaurants are busy and Languedoc rosé is being poured. Most of all, walking around the battlements and seeing the Pyrenees to the south, the Black Mountains to the north, the vineyards and the orchards, the quartier Trivalle and the quartier Barbacane. And the river Aude running between the Bastide and the medieval citadel. It feels timeless.
What do you think will be the real highlights of the trip?
Being with a group of like-minded people who love stories, who love visiting beautiful (though haunted) historic sites, the sense that we will together step back in time and relive moments from history.
And finally, can you give us a teaser of what you will be talking about on the trip?
I will be sharing the locations within La Cité that inspired the story of Labyrinth, in both the present day and the 13th century past - from the Basilica St Nazaire to the Porte de Rodez, the Château Comtal to the tiny streets where the characters live out their lives. It will be an insider's guide to the hidden history of Carcassonne and my novel, as well as taking in the more obvious tourist landmarks. But wear sensible shoes!
