Tuesday 5 February 2013

The Hampton Warlock Trilogy


The first three of my novels to be re-edited by Cloudberry Books make up a trilogy set against the background of a seemingly tranquil village on the Dorset Coast. I call the village Hampton Warlock… and it harbours unexpected family secrets.

The Portesham family live at King’s Priory Manor. Colin Portesham’s grandfather, a fighter pilot, died in WW2 in mysterious circumstances. What happened to him and to Colin’s Great Aunt Lucy? Unearthing the truth leads to the discovery that the family are not all who they appear to be. And someone is going to die as a result.

Rose Greenwood lives at Priest’s Cottage in the shadow of Warlock Hill. Legend has it that an Irish priest was hanged on that hill back in the seventeenth century. As she discovers the truth hidden within the Greenwood family history, Rose uncovers a link to the man who was executed on The Gallows on Warlock Hill.

Douglas Hadleigh and his family live in a seemingly ordinary Victorian house, but there are secrets here also. A letter from Australia leads Douglas and his wife to the story of a child who was lost in the Amazon rainforest. That child’s escape from the jungle was her Long Road to Sunrise. It was a journey that was destined to throw the Hadleigh family into disarray.

Three families, three different secrets in one small village. And those families will never be the same again.

Now, here’s something to set you thinking: how did I dream up the name Hampton Warlock. Could it be associated with a real place? The first person to come and see me in person at the next Swanwick Summer School (in August) and give me the right answer will get a free copy of one of my books. You have six months to think about it and I won’t accept any answers before Swanwick.

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