Brisbane mum most successful international bestseller
A Brisbane mother has become Australia's most successful international novelist with the release this month of her fourth bestseller.
Kate Morton, a success story in her own right, has now sold millions of books worldwide and Hollywood is calling.
At her home in Brisbane, the novelist uses her imagination to construct tales from carefully researched historical details.
"Once I discovered reading and the world of fiction it changed my life forever," 36-year-old Morton said.
"It's going down the rabbit hole and into another world."
A world of family secrets and mystery is a common thread in Morton’s novels. Her first three books were all bestsellers in Australia, the UK, the United States and across Europe.
Morton’s first three novels have sold more than seven million copies worldwide and the Brisbane Mum is now published in 32 different languages across 38 countries.
"One of the things I'm asked most often is, 'are readers different in different countries?', and the answer surprises me, but it's no," she said.
Morton has become Australia's most successful author overseas since Colleen McCullough.
Hollywood has bought the film rights to her novel, The Forgotten Garden.
It's a long way from her childhood stomping ground at Mount Tamborine where she grew up with tales from Enid Blyton.
Now she takes pleasure inspiring future writers and reading at her sons’ school.
"I think I might start to be known as that mad lady who turns up with Enid Blyton under her arm each year - wanted or not," she said.
Her fourth novel The Secret Keeper has just been released. It's a self-confessed obsession that will drive Morton back down the rabbit hole again.
