AUTHOR Katharine McMahon is almost certainly about to hit the big time – thanks to TV supremos Richard and Judy. Katharine, a member of the St Albans-based Company of Ten drama group where she performs under the name of Kate Rainsford, has had her latest

AUTHOR Katharine McMahon is almost certainly about to hit the big time - thanks to TV supremos Richard and Judy.

Katharine, a member of the St Albans-based Company of Ten drama group where she performs under the name of Kate Rainsford, has had her latest novel The Rose of Sebastopol included in their 2008 Book Club.

Ten authors are on the list and the success of the club is such that appearing on it is held in higher esteem than being shortlisted for either the Booker or Costa Book Prizes.

Novels by a number of previous authors have soared up the best-seller lists and it has made household names of the likes of Kate Mosse, Audrey Niffenegger and Kate Morton.

Katharine has been a novelist for a number of years but her last two novels, The Rose of Sebastopol and The Alchemist's Daughter, have historical settings marking a change from their predecessors.

The Rose of Sebastopol is set in the Crimea to which Mariella Lingwood journeys to find her fiancé Henry, a surgeon.

The inspiration was John Keats' letters to Fanny Brawne when she was in the last stages of consumption but Katharine visited the Crimea herself to absorb the atmosphere of the area.

Katharine, who has a book deal with Orion, has been involved with the Company of Ten for the past 25 years. She is married to a head teacher and has three children but was unavailable for comment this week.