THREE IN A ROW
Like so many authors, I’ve been writing since childhood, writes subscriber Jacqueline Harrett.
Despite success with publishing non-fiction, I never thought I’d see a novel with my name on it. I joke that it has taken nearly sixty years, but, by the end of November 2022, I will have three novels traditionally published. All within the space of a year.
The Nesting Place, published by Diamond Books UK, took shape during lockdown aided by feedback from James McCreet on the Crime Writing course. It’s a police procedural with a mystery at the core. When the body of Megan Pritchard is found in a field in the Vale of Glamorgan it looks like an accident. But DI Mandy Wilde is not convinced and is determined to find the truth.
In the second book of the series, The Whispering
Trees, DI Wilde has a problem. A dead man with no identification. No-one knows where he came from. The only clue – handmade shoes.
Mandy is a bit of a maverick –Wilde by name and wild by nature. She has a softer side, worried about her missing sister while guardian to her fifteen-year-old niece. I never intended to write a police procedural, but when she appeared on the page DI Wilde was not going to be sidelined. Both novels are based in Cardiff where I live, having moved from NI over forty years ago.
The third novel, What Lies Between Them, is co-authored with my friend Janet Laugharne under the pseudonym J. L. Harland. It’s women’s fiction, published by Dixi Books. It tells the story of Elin Fiorelli, an academic battling with a secret in her past while dealing with the problems of the present. We enjoy co-authoring and planning in the pub!
It’s been a busy and exciting year. I’m thrilled to see my writing out there and gaining good reviews. I’ve been privileged to talk to groups of readers during the last year and share my love of reading as well as the inspiration behind the stories.
All three novels are available on Amazon and Waterstones or ordered direct from the publishers. Websites: www.harrett.co.uk and www.jlharland.co.uk