Claire Nicholls

Who is Rothko?

And Rothko's come back to this seaside town where they grew up.

When we meet them, they are very solitary, apart from a very loyal dog, Donovan, who's always trotting along by Rothko's side.

But how lonely is Rothko?

How cut off?

I did want to talk about this one scene in this book, Cade Tempest.

We go back to see Rothko as a teenager.

They're about 16.

They're with this wonderful girl, Dion, and Dion takes Rothko to the shops to buy a pair of boxer shorts so that they don't have to wear knickers anymore.

Are you able to talk a little bit about what that means for Rothko?

there's kind of the spectre of Rothko's mother hanging over this town.

We get the sense from early on that Rothko thinks about their mum a lot but hasn't seen them for a long time.

What can you tell us about Rothko and their mum?

Yeah, I adored Meg.

Kate Tempest, I want to finish with a practical question.

You've talked about how much you've poured into this novel, the deep connection you've made with these characters.

You've been doing this all while continuing with your career as a rapper and a performance artist.

You've been to Glastonbury doing all this stuff.

How on earth do you write a novel of this size and depth while also holding down your other job?

I hope they will too.