Things seem much more positive in Kate Walsh's world than when she last spoke to The Guide.

Back in July there was much talk of broken hearts, angst and boyfriend trouble, making her fragile world seem even more shaky.

But the Kate Walsh on the other end of the line in February 2008 is a totally different woman.

For a start, she is much more upbeat and brimming with news of her American campaign, which started in earnest at the end of January with the US release of her iTunes-topping second album Tim's House and included a spot on the Conan O'Brien show.

"I think in July I was on the cusp of things," she says. "There had been a lot of hard graft and there was a lot of anticipation. I didn't know whether it was going to happen.

"It is all coming together rather nicely. I am in such a happy place right now."

That said, she had to take a break at the end of the year, partly because of the effect her old, gut-wrenching and highly emotional songs were having on her.

"The songs were becoming quite stale for me," she says. "I was just reeling the songs off. At the end of the day the songs were about me and I couldn't give them the emotion that they wanted.

"All my songs are about boys and heartbreak but I'm really happy with my partner now, so singing songs about old flames can take its toll. They were important to me but I needed a break to reflect on them."

The downside of Kate's happy state is that she is finding it harder to write at the moment.

"I have written the next album already," she says. "It's the one after that will be a real struggle.

"I have to re-learn how to write. I'm really happy now, and I only used to write about sad things and heartache. I don't have an angle to write about. One good thing is I'm writing with a piano again, which I haven't done for years."

For now she is looking forward to her return to Brighton and playing St George's Church for the first time.

"I have heard it is a wonderful venue," she says. "I'm going to have a double bass and drums with me. It is nice to go out with a bigger set up this time to represent the album more like it is on the record."

Fans of Tim's House will be happy to hear recording of its follow-up is due to start in late summer, in the same close surroundings as the original record: the home of multi-instrumentalist and producer Tim Bidwell (hence Tim's House).

"I think it is really important to keep that intimate sound," Walsh says.

She admits that with all the jetting around the US and the bigger venues she now fills she misses some of her old Brighton haunts, such as the Cella bar below the Sanctuary Cafe in Brunswick Street East, Hove.

"I do miss playing smaller venues," she says. "You lose that connection with the crowd that you get with a more intimate venue. I would love to play all my gigs in a place like the Cella bar."

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