Kate is a wife, mother and cat minion who lives in Saffron Walden, Essex. Her many years experience of working in schools prompted her to begin writing about Blaggard’s School for Tomorrow’s Tyrants, the world’s best educational establishment for trainee villains.
Gangster School was shortlisted for several prizes and was published first in Germany, by Piper Verlag in October 2017. Piper has just released Gangster School 2: The Brotherhood of Brimstone and there are more to follow. Gangster School is also being published in summer 2018, by Uitgeverij, Holland.
Kate has a degree in English and Creative Writing and a Masters in English Literature. Gangster School is her first novel.
Our chat with Kate…
It’s the beginning of the school year at Blaggard’s School for Tomorrow’s Tyrants and the new Year Sevens are bursting with excitement at the thought of starting their criminal training. Most of them have been dreaming about lessons in Thievery, Betrayal, Fabrication and Disguise for a long time.
Not Milly Dillane and Charlie Partridge, though. They are secret Dependables (non Criminals) and are only at Blaggard’s because their families of dedicated felons expect it of them.
How will the pair cope with a compulsory Thievery competition? Or with the evil Pecunia Badpenny, a certified super villain with a dastardly plot against the school? And how can they hide Gruffles, Charlie’s vile-smelling dog, from the school authorities? Will they survive the infamous food fights in the Dining Room? Will the Wolf, Badpenny’s robot guard-dog, use its sinister powers to obliterate them?
With the threat of expulsion to the terrifying Crumley’s School for Career Criminals hanging over them, Milly and Charlie must overcome all these pitfalls in order to secure their future at Blaggard’s.
Twitter: @KateWiseman
Intrigued? Want to read the book? Check out our twitter account @MadgeReviews for an opportunity to win a signed copy (competition closes 5pm 23 May 2018).
