Writer Of The Week: Kitty-Lydia Dye

This week, we welcome Kitty-Lydia Dye, whose new series ‘The Country Maid’ begins this week.

Welcome! Tell us about ‘The Country Maid’.

Set in 1855, ‘The Country Maid’ follows Jane Beckett leaving her family’s farm to work as a maid in Norwich after her sister vanishes with their savings.

Marchant Manor is unwelcoming and the work never-ending, but as Jane forges connections with the staff, she discovers herself, uncovers the household’s secrets and experiences love.

Where did the idea for this series come from?

This story has been brewing for a long time.

When I was younger, I loved the ‘Horrible Histories’ books.

One chapter particularly stayed with me. It featured a day in the life of a Victorian maidservant.

I wondered what this young woman’s backstory might be and decided to make one up myself.

Can you tell us about the process of writing a series?

I emailed my editor with details about the story’s time period, setting, and the dilemma affecting my main character. She gave the go ahead for the next stage: a plot overview alongside the cast’s personalities/motivations, which was a page long.

Once that was okayed, I was given a publication schedule and asked to create a paragraph summary for each part’s events. It’s double the planning for a serial, but I found it helpful when writing the story as I could refer to it.

I was so, so excited when I got the green light. The 30 parts were divided into batches of 6. The pitch was sent in April 2024. It was February 2025 when I submitted my final completed parts.

What are the main differences between writing a piece of short fiction, and working on longer pieces? Do you have a preference?

I enjoy including plenty of historical research in my stories. Often, I discard most of it due to the word count. With a longer piece, there’s breathing space because I don’t have to keep laying the groundwork as readers are familiar with the characters and setting.

Short stories are fun for a more contained idea, but they couldn’t match the scale I desired for ‘The Country Maid’. I wanted an overall arc, Jane’s missing sister and leaving the countryside for the city, with the story broken into snapshots of her time at Marchant Manor.

When I saw on ‘The People’s Friend’ website a call for series submissions, I thought the format perfect for ‘The Country Maid’. With the vignette nature of a series, I’ve been able to include my research without making the writing feel bloated, from the ordinary (how Victorians cleaned their cutlery and windows) to the grandeur of a party at Norwich’s Assembly House.

What are the differences between writing a series and a serial?

The biggest difference is how characters are represented. For serials, I tend to pick five main characters with the story’s POV split between them. In ‘The Country Maid’, we follow Jane becoming embroiled in the lives of the supporting cast, such as cheering up broken-hearted maid Eliza who’s had to abandon her sweetheart, or meddling in the strained relationship between Lady Marchant and her daughter as she is pushed into the marriage market.

Do you have plans for writing more longer-length fiction?

I’m currently working on a summer serial set in Southwold, Suffolk. It has a fraudulent haunting, a cursed family and twins who switch places only for their love lives to become complicated when one twin falls for her sister’s fiancé.

I enjoyed writing ‘The Country Maid’ so much, I’ve fired off a proposal for another series. It’s set in Brundall shortly after WWII and was inspired by Norfolk’s unique department store history, some examples being Roys of Wroxham and Jarrolds. I felt a shop setting was a perfect way to bring together a diverse cast of characters. I also loved the idea of showing the changing seasons via window displays.

Marks & Spencer has a fascinating online archive showcasing how stores were affected during the war years. Restrictions on clothes. Bread rationing. However, once the country emerged from the conflict, people were keen to get out there and have fun.

Do you have any writing goals?

I’d love to write another series. After that, I want to return to pocket novels. My last one, ‘The Rogue Redcoat’, had several side stories I cut during the second draft stage, including one about Scottish kelping estates.

Do you have a top tip for anyone who may like to try a series?

Always keep in mind the 800-word count for the parts when writing your series breakdown. Is too much happening or too little? Will a plot point from part 4 run out of steam by part 26? Write about what excites you, and it will show in your writing.