Friday 14 September 2018

This looks brilliant!! Remeber the classis Prince and the Pauper? Well, here's the modern-day adaptation! .@rararesources @KatieWWriter


Katie Ward discussing her character from the novel

The Pretender



It’s clear from the start of my debut novel ‘The Pretender’ that Sophia Lazarus has had a rough start to life but fear not she is a survivor. In this guest post, we will delve further into Sophia and what makes her the way she is. 

Firstly, it is worth noting that ‘The Pretender’ is a modern-day adaptation of the Mark Twain classic ‘The Prince and the Pauper’. Set in Tudor England, the pauper comes from an abusive home, however, it is portrayed in the original as almost an acceptable part of life. When I came to write the story, I really liked the idea of having two characters at the extreme ends of the scale so this is how Sophia came to have such a difficult start in life.

Sophia has a real strength of character, although she feels her mistreatment keenly she uses it as her force to succeed not as an excuse to fail. The more her father tries to stop her by belittling and abusing her the more she stays firm. This leads to her being targeted by her father even more.

Despite her appalling parents, she has a very special bond with her sister Mireille, whom she looks to as a mother figure. In turn Mireille adores her baby sister, even a long separation can’t weaken the bonds between them. It is her loyalty to her sister that brings her back to her family home, it is her greatest wish to see them both out of that situation once and for all.

Sophia is a very kind and gentle person, she isn’t brash or aggressive but she can stick up for herself if she has to. Given her background, she can’t stand to see people being bullied or harassed and her inner strength means she will always stand up for others too.

On the fateful day she returns home, Sophia is confronted by her father. Initially she tries to avoid a confrontation but when he pushes her she tells him exactly what she thinks. This is Sophia to the core, she isn’t one to cower even when she feels scared and she has a real defiance towards her father. She knows how much he wants to see her scared so she makes sure she stands proud, as she knows it will irritate him. While she is so scared of her father, she won’t let him know that.

The one thing Sophia wants most out of life is to be happy and to have the family she never had as a child. She places a lot of importance on security and safety, that’s what her attraction to the Palace is. Ever since she was a child she has idolised Princess Isabella, for Sophia it isn’t really about the fact she is a Princess, when she looks at Isabella she sees the life she always wanted. Not in terms of material possessions as these haven’t ever been that important to her, but the fact that Isabella is from a family who obviously love her. Isabella seems happy and contented in a way that Sophia would love to be. Given they are the same age and born on the same day, Sophia has always been curious about whether Isabella and herself would ever be alike and similar in nature.

When Sophia comes to swap places with Isabella, she becomes her protector and ends up trying to fix the problems that Isabella places her in to. Sophia is the perfect counterbalance to Isabella’s tempestuous and spontaneous nature. Despite being virtual strangers, Sophia cares a lot about Isabella’s wellbeing and takes a lot of responsibility in the situation they find themselves in, which causes her a lot of anguish that isn’t really of her making.

 You might think, having such differing backgrounds to each other, that Sophia would become jealous of Isabella and her Royal life but she doesn’t. While she does wonder why things couldn’t have been easier for her, having seen how Isabella lives, she never succumbs to jealousy. To the contrary, she believes in Isabella when others don’t and sees the good in her when others only see her as selfish.

Sophia is the friend we would all want, she is truly selfless and loyal. As her family life has always been so difficult, her friends mean the absolute world to her, they are her rock and while she doesn’t easily confide in them, she knows she is truly loved and that she has their support which truly means everything to her.

The Pretender

France 2000: Two babies are born on the same day just two hours apart - but to very different lives.
Isabella is a Princess and heir to the French throne, while Sophia is born into a life of poverty and abuse at the hands of her father. 



At the age of 18, Sophia runs away from home. That same night, Isabella is also fleeing from the burden of her royal life when she finds Sophia slumped at the palace gates. Amazed by how alike they look, Isabella proposes a daring plot - to exchange their lives for one week. 
‘The Pretender’ is an emotionally intense and compelling story of friendship, love and the strange power of destiny.

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Author bio

Author, Katie Ward always knew she wanted to write for a living. However, she was told by her careers advisor that “it might be more appropriate for you to work in a shop”. When Katie didn’t get the grades she needed to get into college, she negotiated a three month trial. After successfully completing the course she secured a place at her first choice university to study Journalism.

After realising she wanted to be an author, Katie moved to Dublin where she worked her way up from receptionist to Executive Assistant at Merrill Lynch. Katie continued to write in her spare time, submitting her short story into the “Do the Write Thing” competition being run by Irish TV show ‘Seoige and O’Shea’. This story was originally written when Katie was 14 after she was inspired by an article in her favourite teen magazine. Katie was the only non-Irish author selected to have her story published in an anthology of the same name which reached 19 in the Irish Best sellers List. Katie was also shortlisted for a competition judged by MAN Booker Prize winning author Roddy Doyle which was run by Metro Eireann newspaper.
Katie currently lives in Devon with her cat (aka ‘Her Royal Fluffiness’) where she sings in a community choir and has recently taken up Archery. Katie’s favourite author has been Roald Dahl since she was a child as she loves the dark edge he brings to his books. On the flip side though, Katie loves Disney, magic, unicorns and a good rom com film at the cinema with her friends.





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