In my new Saxon novel, my characters are currently standing on top of Aldington Knoll. Last summer, as I started writing, my research took me to the knoll for the first time in a decade. Last time I ventured there because it is said to have the best views over Romney Marsh, and hate to admit that I was disappointed. The views were fair, but trees surrounding the area meant that it did not live up to its reputation. This time, I set off full of anticipation and enthusiasm having read that Aldington Knoll is more than just a hill – it is a Roman barrow, or burial ground!
 
Walking towards the mound, it became obvious the knoll was so much more than a hilltop – much higher than the surrounding hillside and quite irregular. Scrambling up, I noted the ground was very chalky and full of burrows, and not a dome shaped mound, but more of a boomerang. Once on the top, the views previously sneered at for not encompassing the Marsh, seemed quite beautiful on the summer’s evening. My memories of a limited view were correct but the scene of towards West Hythe and Dymchurch was beautiful.
 
After walking up the knoll and fully appreciating the view, I was eager to include it in my new novel set in Saxon times and I used my own experiences as I wrote:
 
​Here, Cym, who worked as hard as any man, but still remembered the fun to be had as a boy, looked at his brother with an unspoken challenge. Alfrid gave a broad smile and began to race up the mound, with Cym just a stride behind him. They slipped on flints, in shapely white and grey, reminding them of childish fun when they declared these were the bones of departed Romans coming to the surface. Sliding on the fine gravelly earth at the edge of burrows, the brothers recalled the times they longed to be a rabbit or a fox and explore the depths of the burial mound. Side by side, the summit was reached and, as young men, they were the first to survey Romney Marsh on this new day. (written in July 2020)
 
My writing led me to wonder how much Aldington Knoll appeared in the Dr Syn novels by Russell Thorndike, as I was sure this was how I had first learned about it. I found a few references but sadly only fleeting. The description in the books is more of the smugglers and their antics than the knoll itself. Here is one reference:
 
On the first night it will be necessary for you and me to command the beach, and when the pack ponies leave the hills, the Upton brothers will fire the great beacon from Aldington Knoll, which will bring the luggers inshore. But on the second night, I shall leave you in command of the beach, and no one but the Scarecrow himself must fire the beacon.
 
Not to be defeated, I wondered if the location featured in any other novels. Internet searches took me to a short story: Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland, by HG Wells, written in 1901. Here the main character falls asleep on Aldington Knoll and dreams he has been transported to Fairyland. Sadly there was little description of the actual mound, but I like that it has been endowed with magical qualities:
 
The story was clear that he had stayed out late one night on the Knoll and vanished for three weeks from the sight of men, and had returned with "his cuffs as clean as when he started," and his pockets full of dust and ashes. He returned in a state of moody wretchedness that only slowly passed away, and for many days he would give no account of where it was he had been. 
 
My final piece of literature inspired by the knoll is a poem by Ford Maddox Hueffer (date unknown) and named Aldington Knoll. It begins with the lines:
 
A L'INGTON Knoll it stands up high,
Guidin' the sailors sailin' by,
Stands up high fer all to see
Cater the marsh and crost the sea.
 
This poem was inspired by the local legend which says the knoll is said to be the burial site of a giant and his sword; they are protected by murderous ghouls who will kill anyone attempting to flatten the area. 
 
Historic England website has information on the barrow and suggests that the present shape represents additional earth being put on top of the original barrow. Roman barrows are rare, the report says, with less than 150 recorded examples in the UK.  Further additions and landslips have led to the shape changing again. I am not clear if the add-ons were as burial places after the Romans time here, or to raise it further to enable its use as a beacon.  In contradiction to the report saying the mound had been increased in height, it later says that it now stands at 3m above the natural lie of the land, but would have been higher if it were not for military activity and excavation during the Second World War.  The most recent use was as an anti-aircraft emplacement. The report states that the use of the knoll as a beacon relies on oral telling, not evidence. It is interesting to note that a nearby road is named Roman Road, giving further credence to the mound being of Roman origin. Further investigation led to me finding that this is the Lympne to Pevensey road.

Time to return to my novel and take my characters back to Aldington. They have important matters to deal with…
 

It is almost September and I am planning to publish my next Dungeness based novel at the beginning of November. It is time to work on the final details.
 
What needs doing two months prior to book launch?
 
Still Shining Bright was completed last April and put aside so I could look at it with fresh eyes later. I came back to it in June and tried to read through it slowly and iron out any concerns I had about the details. With a new Word program on my laptop, I was able to make use of the Read Aloud feature. This reads my words in a monotone voice, often misreading the name places. It’s brilliant! The quirks keep me focused and mistakes are suddenly highlighted when read out to me. Next it went to Michael from Dungeness who has been persuaded to read the novel and pick up any mistakes in the details about the area. He has been fantastic, doing so much more than I asked him to do and giving the novel a thorough edit. After I have worked on Michael’s suggestions, the book then goes to the proof-reader.
 
At the moment, part of the book is still being checked by Michael and half of it has been proofread. After proofreading, I’ll ask a few people to read it and look for any mistakes which have slipped though.
 
I have decided to have all my Dungeness books with covers to match The Artist’s Gift. Zoe Beardsley, from Greatstone, has already changed Secrets of the Shingle and next it will be Stranger on the Point. The lighthouse features in the new book and I wanted this on the cover with a blast of yellow light. I sent Zoe photos of the old lighthouse and made some suggestions. She then came back with some sketches, and I chose the lighthouse from one, the plant from another, removed a small boat and asked for changes to another boat. In mid-August, the painting was complete and next it will go to the graphic designer (Bluebirch Creative from Hawkinge). The reason I haven’t sent it yet is because I am still working on the blurb (words on the back cover).

Now I am thinking about the information I need to put at the front of the book. It starts with a real historical event and I need to write a little about that, as well as noting the books and websites I have used, and thanking people. I have some notes on all these things and it is important to get this part right.
I’m not spending many hours a week on this at the moment; it is just a case of keeping an eye on the book and ensuring that everything is ready for November. I hope to have a proof copy by early October. About three weeks before the books are printed, I need to think about if it will be possible to do any ‘meet the author’ or book signings. It will also be time to start promoting it on social media.

Still Shining Bright is a prequel to Secrets of the Shingle, and there will be a second prequel coming after this one. That will make five in the series, with Secrets of the Shingle becoming the third book. It starts in 1873, and so brings a new cast of characters, but will also link in with the fictional families known from the other novels – including some surprise appearances! Mainly set at Dungeness, this book also has more Ashford chapters than the previous novels in the series.
With Still Shining Bright very much on my mind, I am also thinking of the next novel and have been busy writing a sequel to the Pendant Cross. Switching from one era to the other can be a bit unsettling, and sometimes I have to get on with real life and live in the 21st century! Hopefully, there will be a cover to show you soon and more to tell about both books. Thank you to everyone for your on-going support, especially during these strange times when so many businesses are struggling. Every sale really does make a difference.

​In July 2019 I did my first proper book launch, and what a fantastic day it was – selling my book and chatting to readers in Lydd Church where the opening scenes of the novel were set. By April 2020 it was a very different story when it came to book launch…
 
As the moment came when my novel, The Pendant Cross, was ready to be printed, the UK went into lock-down. My son was being educated at home and most of my work stopped. In other countries, people were not allowed to leave their homes without ID, and we saw horrifying scenes on television of life in Italy and Spain. People were panic buying and the shelves in supermarkets were stripped of essential foods and cleaning products. The future of my book hardly mattered compared to the lack of protective equipment in hospitals, or the risk of serious illness and death to millions of people. Yet I still wondered what impact the virus would have on my new novel.
With the rules being changed by the week, I didn’t know if I could have the books printed or whether they could be delivered to me and, finally, would I be able to deliver them. . . and would my customers want them? The books came and even before they had arrived most of my regular customers had committed to having one. I bought plenty of strong envelopes and put every book in one.
There could be no book launch or signings in shops or at a craft fair, so I decided to do a Facebook live signing. This isn’t something I hadn’t tried before but it went well. The laptop refused to be a part of it, so I used my phone to record me signing books for regular customers. It was fun because I could see who was watching me and their comments popped up on the screen.
Usually I hand the books to customers at the door if I am delivering. This time I went out over a couple of days and put books through letter boxes or left them in safe places, while feeling unsure if a book delivery was ‘essential’. It was a shame to miss out on chatting to people as I delivered, as this is something I enjoy, but I’m grateful to my customers who have shown such loyalty at this time.
 
And so, the Pendant Cross was launched to the people of Romney Marsh and beyond.
 
“What sort of place is Romney Marsh?” asks a monk in the opening line. The year is 680 AD and four monks are moving the body of Abbott Botolph from Middle England to Romney Marsh.
They first see the area from the top of Lympne Hill: one of the best viewpoints. There is a tidal lagoon beyond the shingle spit where the Hythe ranges now join the Dymchurch Seawall, and the water flows in from the direction of Hythe. Further inland, there are tidal marshes and areas of land which are gradually drying out. Man has not yet settled in any of the villages we know today but is using the land for salt production and as an area to fish from. In the place now called West Hythe, there is an area of dry land where people can come and camp during the summer months. The Sandtun, as the area is called, is a beach area alongside the sheltered lagoon. It is reached by the Shipway Track, today known as Lympne Hill. The Saxons travel from local villages – perhaps Lyminge, Aldington and Sellindge – and trade their wares with people who have travelled across the sea from France.
The two stories – that of the monks and the traders – run side-by-side, linked by the pendant cross.
 
Would my readers mind being taken back to Saxon times? I worried a lot about this as the writing came to an end. Perhaps it was too far back in time. The feedback has been amazing though and, in these uncertain times, sales have been great. With there being no objections to the Saxon era, I’m planning a sequel which will include the ruined Roman Fort on the nearby hillside. More about that another time. . .

 “What do I want to see in your next novel, Emma?” My good friend, Maud, asked as we discussed plans for my next creation. “I want something symbolic, like the hagstones. And plenty of description about Romney Marsh.”
“I want a Gundred,” I said, thinking of the old hag in What the Monk Didn’t See. “And I’m going far back in time, probably to Medieval times.” At the time I had just completed my WW2 novel.
In the end I went further and took my characters to Saxon times. But Maud’s request for something ‘like the hagstones’ stayed in my mind and I created a golden cross, worn by an abbot, and dropped on Romney Marsh where it moves into different hands. It’s been a wonderful tool, linking different characters together and moving from place to place through the story.
I wondered how many different ways the Marsh could be described, and going back to 680AD takes my reader to a very different place, one where the land is just beginning to dry out and islands are forming, but the sea still comes in at high tide, filling the creeks.
Here my visiting monk is gazing down from the top of the Shipway (Lympne Hill) on a moonlit Romney Marsh: The sea was on the rise and a million silver sparkles flowed with the tide, filling creeks and flooding low-lying land.
Here he is following a causeway across the marshy land: The track was narrow and every footstep needed to be taken with care, lest they should slip and their precious cargo launch into the gurgling marshland… The very thought of it caused Brother Edwen's stomach to lurch. Reeds brushed against his ankles and there was an occasional rustle as if a water-rat or wading bird had been disturbed by the nocturnal humans. In the half-light of a cloud-covered moon, Romney Marsh gave away none of its secrets.


And here my female character, Eadlyn, is looking over Romney Marsh from Lympne: But the Marsh still beckoned her: those flat lands with great pools of water and tidal creeks winding this way and that. The view was clear at that moment, but Romney Marsh changed with the weather and when the mists hung about at dawn it was the place of mysteries and mythical beings. Eadlyn could believe that the pagan gods still lurked in this place which was half-land and half-sea.


I’ve covered Maud’s requirements. But how to create another Gundred – the same but different? Meet Hlappa:
“There's curious things happening on the Marsh tonight, and I don't know that I understand it.” These words came from an old woman; a newcomer to the Sandtun. Her name was Hlappa and she wore her old age for all to see in her skin that was wrinkled like a dried apple, and her wisp of dull brown hair. Her voice was hoarse; she coughed a little, then reached for her mug of weak ale, before closing her eyes.
Her son, the clay-worker, gave a sigh. “She's always worrying over one thing or the other. Stirring up trouble.”
“That's how it is with the elders,” Eadlyn gave him a smile.
“I get these feelings and they play in my head,” Hlappa opened her eyes again and looked at those gathered nearby. “We are not the only ones on the Marsh tonight.”
“Perchance there's a farmer out with the cattle?” The clay-worker’s tone was irritable. “That’s enough of your talk.”
“A farmer is an innocent man, or so we would hope,” she raised her voice a little, disturbing the children, causing the mothers to draw them closer. “The folk on the Marsh tonight move in secret. Why else do they travel by dark?”


As I come to the end of my novel set in the year 680, I wonder if my readers will mind being taken back so far and will they like my interpretation of Romney Marsh in those times? I am reflecting on the plots of previous novels and debating what to include in the next one. Do I continue with my Saxon saga or return to the Dungeness series? Or perhaps I should stick with the job in hand – editing, re-reading, checks and more checks…?

As I take my characters down the Shipway (Lympne Hill) to the Sandtun (West Hythe), I reflect on the use of language in my novels.
Having just written a book set in the 1920s and another in the 1940s, I became well used to my female characters saying: ‘Gosh’ and ‘Golly’ and ‘Crumbs’ and there was even an ‘Old Bean’! They called their parents ‘Ma’ and ‘Pa’ or ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ depending on their upbringing.
But my favourite era so far was Medieval times and when the great storm was battering Romney, they were hardly going to say ‘Gosh’ or ‘Cripes, jolly bad luck old chap’. They said ‘God’s teeth’, ‘Christ’s bones’ or ‘By the blood of Christ’. These were pretty strong and quite appropriate for if your boat or home were being smashed up by the storm.
Now I step back to Saxon times and although I write in modern day English (I wouldn’t sell many books otherwise), I want to know how my characters are going to curse if they find themselves in trouble. Well… it turns out the religious swear words are not going to happen. The best I can find is … ‘Death’s head on a mop-stick’. Hmmm, there’s only so many times I can use that in one book! I’m going to have to give up on that search.
I move onto terms of endearment and find ‘Dearling’ and ‘Sweeting’, which I like. That reminds me that I tried to use ‘Honey’ in my medieval book. It was correct for the era, but sadly sounds too American so had to go…
What else? What will the children call their parents? ‘Modor’ and ‘Faeder’ – I like that! I also have a grandmother and she is called ‘Elder-Modor’.
Now I have to consider how far will I take this, without it becoming irritating for the reader? I decide to use ‘I thank you’ and I like a ‘Mayhap’ and a ‘Perchance’. Oh and I use ‘Aye’ and ‘Nay’.
If there are any rules about how far to take this in a historical novel, then I know nothing of them. I go with what feels right for me and my characters and I hope my readers agree. I have to be careful not to slip these words into a descriptive passage, as these parts are my words written in my 21st century style.
I do frequently check words to find out when they were first used. As I write this I have just searched twine, to see if my character can tie a goat up with it, or should it be rope? But words do slip through - a character was recently well ahead of her time when she used meters as a measurement in Victorian times! I do get it wrong and that’s when I rely on my readers to let me know. The kindle edition or the next print run of books can easily be changed.
​As I pass my halfway stage in the novel, I still need to use ‘Death’s head on a mop-stick’ and I’ve got ‘milk-soft’ on my list, which I think is rather nice! 

It's been two weeks since I launched The Artist's Gift. Usually the book is available whenever I get the copies and usually comes out on Kindle a few days beforehand. This time was different as I had the opportunity to have a stall in Lydd Church on the day of the Summer Fayre and Teddy Bear Jump. What an amazing opportunity - to launch the book in the very place the first scenes are set!
The people of Lydd have always been great supporters but imagine my surprise when I saw I had my very own special place - a table under the painting of the bombed church. The church wardens were so busy and it was wonderful for them to think of putting me there for the launch.
It was an amazing day and I'm so grateful to people who came on that day especially to support me. One of my friends arranged for my book to be launched off the church tower under its own parachute! Hence the reason why it was launched twice in one day!
Since that day, I have been delivering to local customers, something I always enjoy doing. Then I had a successful book signing at the Romney Marsh Visitor Centre, always a nice place to spend a few hours. I also went to meet a book club who had read Secrets of the Shingle and very much enjoyed the discussion about the book.
Coming up... I've got three more book signing events in Greatstone, Dymchurch and Hythe. 
Yes, I am writing the new novel and I just need to take a couple of photos and I'll be ready to tell you about it.
Huge thanks to everyone who supports me - the regular customers, the people who buy the books as presents, the people who put lovely comments on facebook and send me messages. I really couldn't do it without your support. xx