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Some exciting news! My new novel, Avalon Sky, came out on 23rd October!
You can buy it directly from Amazon here https://shorturl.at/8PT7p or via Blossom Spring Publishing - and it's currently available on Kindle Unlimited, as well as in paperback or on Kindle. The blurb is below:
Some secrets should never be told.
Some crimes can never be forgiven.
Following a private tragedy, TV historian Kit Pevensey and his wife Lissa seek respite in the quiet of rural Somerset, to compile a village history for a friend.
When their friend vanishes without a trace, the Pevenseys' research stirs memories of dangerous secrets. Amid the deceptive peace of the Somerset Levels and Lundy Island, a killer plans the perfect murder - and Kit must face his own demons, whilst battling to prevent the crimes of the past from tearing a family apart.
Avalon Sky is the first in a projected series of crime/psychological thrillers, with TV historian Kit Pevensey and his wife Lissa, a researcher, as the central characters.
For readers curious to learn how Lissa and Kit got together four years earlier, a new edition of my previous thriller, Echo of Bells, will be on Amazon in November.
In case the blurb on the cover is too small to read, I've repeated it beneath the image.
'Tell Lissa I'm sorry. We did it for the best. May God forgive us.'
When Lissa Byrne's grandfather suffers a fatal accident, his dying words reveal a man tortured by guilt and regret.
Her cousin's arrival is a further shock. Kit Pevensey, her first love and once her closest friend, has been gone for five years; but days before their grandfather died, he warned Kit that Lissa is in danger.
As Lissa and Kit struggle to unearth the secrets of their troubled family, it soon becomes clear that time is against them - for the past can do worse than haunt your dreams and betray your most treasured memories.
The past can kill.
Although Echo of Bells was originally a stand-alone psychological thriller and love story, Kit and Lissa took on a life of their own and I wanted to know where their shared destiny would take them. Kit's career in television seemed a good springboard for a crime series, and in 2023 I retired and suddenly had more time for novel-writing. Avalon Sky is the result - and the first of many, I hope!
I am currently hard at work on my next book about the Pevenseys (working title: Sunken Ground), with a view to publication in 2026.
My parents taught me to read and write unusually young, to keep me busy and happy during a long illness, and I've been writing stories ever since. In 1988 I completed a historical novel while working full-time - an extremely demanding schedule, which I wouldn't recommend long-term.
After that, I rediscovered a social life, and met Pete, my amazingly tolerant husband for the past 28 years. While our son Mark was growing up, I worked as an Admin Assistant at a local secondary school, still writing as a hobby.
After consigning a couple of feeble manuscripts to the loft, my first contemporary novel, Echo of Bells, was published in 2016.
I retired in 2023, so am now lucky enough to be able to write full-time and (I hope) be a lot more productive.
Although most of Avalon Sky is pure invention, and certainly all of the characters are fictitious, a little of my real life has crept in. In 2000, Pete and four fellow pilots won a Jabiru microlight aircraft, in kit form, in a magazine competition. The build took three years and the tiny plane (or a fifth share of it) became part of the family. This, and many weekends spent at small airfields, inspired part of the background to Avalon Sky. Holidays in Somerset and on Lundy Island supplied more material. The island is one of my favourite places.