AUTHOR Kate Mosse, 47, has no problems when people associate her name with that of supermodel Kate Moss. Confusion usually takes place when people are misinformed, though in Britain she is already a known TV personality as host of BBC Four’s weekly book programme, The Readers & Writers Roadshow.

“The daftest thing is when I go to the US and my literary agent over there is called George Lucas,” said Mosse in a telephone interview from Singapore, arranged by Pansing Books.

“So, when two shabby-looking Britishers turn up instead of a Hollywood director and a supermodel, it is quite funny.”

Mosse was in the city state to promote her latest book, Sepulchre, which was published last year.

The book came in the wake of her biggest success to date – Labyrinth – which made The New York Times best-selling list and has been translated into 38 languages worldwide.  Labyrinth, published in 2005, won the Best Read category at the British Book Awards 2006, and sold over one million copies in Britain alone.

Mosse said that Labyrinth and Sepulchre (which means a small tomb) are part of a trilogy featuring two heroines from two different eras who are in some way connected.

Labyrinth tells the story of Alice, a volunteer in an archaeological dig, who stumbles across a cave and finds two crumbling skeletons.

What happens after that is woven between the story of Alais, who lived in that area 800 years ago and was given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father just before he went off to fight in the Crusades.

Sepulchre is about Leonie Vernier, who in 1891, leaves Paris with her brother to live in her aunt’s home in Carcassonne. There she stumbled across a ruined sepulchre filled with mystery.

Her tale is woven between the story of modern-day Meredith Martin, who arrives in Paris, to write the story of a famous musician but ends up discovering more about her family lineage. 

Asked if she felt the pressure to live up to the success of Labyrinth, Mosse said: “With Labyrinth, there was no expectation. I was amazed that it did so well.

“When I sat down to write Sepulchre, I did worry whether I was letting my readers down. [But] once you start writing, all that fades away as you are not thinking about anything external. You are only thinking about the next sentence, the next character.”

On juxtaposing characters from different eras, Mosse said: “I enjoy writing time-slips for two reasons. One, I like a modern voice and as well as an historical voice. It is enjoyable to write in two different voices as they  have a different sort of language.

“Most importantly, you can have two different parts of history playing live in front of the reader. It also helps in the modern times to reflect upon history, which underlines my theme that the past is always with us.”

Mosse admits she is an amateur historian and likes reading up on the subject. For Sepulchre, Tarot cards feature prominently. Mosse was always interested in them in terms of their history.

To ensure that she understood what it would be like for Meredith who had a Tarot reading (a turning point in the story), Mosse actually sat through a reading herself. “Although I said I didn’t believe in it, I was frightened by it. That connection between the head and the heart is something I found to be very interesting.”

If you are looking for a hero to sweep the heroine off her feet, you will be disappointed. In Labyrinth, love is that between father and daughter while in Sepulchre , it is between brother and sister.

Mosse said that she does not set out to write in a particular style, adding that the story comes to her as she writes.

Both stories are set in  Carcassonne, France in South-west France where she and her husband Greg have a home. She did say that the third book, which she has yet to start, will most likely be set there as well. If the time-slip style doesn’t work for the third book, she may do away with it.

Mosse has written other genres as well. Her first novel, Eskimo Kiss (published in 1996), revolves around a girl searching for her roots. Her second, Crucifix Lane (1998), was a time travel thriller. She has also contributed short stories and articles for magazines and written two non-fictions, Becoming a Mother (she has two children) and House: Behind the Scenes at the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden (which was turned into a BBC series).

 Sepulchre is now available at all major bookstores. The paperback is priced at RM32.90.