In my third blog about my writing journey, I tell the story behind 'What the Monk Didn’t See'. I had been fascinated by the events surrounding the 1287 storm for a long time. But how could I learn enough about Medieval New Romney to make a book feasible? The challenge seemed too great.
 In the summer of 2016, I was asked to write a fictional series for a local magazine. It was to be in four parts of 800 words. I am not keen on writing short stories but wondered if this could be my opportunity to put the great storm into fiction. So I set about putting my ideas into words. By the time the series had finished, I was sure there was more to tell – I started making each 800 word section into a 3000 word chapter.
My inspiration was the reports by a travelling monk (Matthew Paris) who wrote about the 1250 storm and the destruction of Old Winchelsea. His words describing a golden moon and a tide which flowed twice without ebbing, caught my imagination. I put my fictional monk in New Romney and as the storm breaks out, he goes to watch it from the top of the church tower. All he can think of is how he has the best vantage point and how beautiful his descriptive words will look. However, he cannot see what goes on behind closed doors and proceeds to make a terrible mistake when he tells the story of New Romney on the night of the storm.
While the monk moves into the background for a while, readers learn about the lives of fictional characters and the effect the storm has on them. It was in the 13th century that the fortunes of New Romney were lost forever when the river Rother changed course. Today we can still see the results of the storm, mainly around the church where the ground level is much higher outside. Also, at St Nicholas Church there is a tiny window to one side of the altar. This may have once been part of an anchorhold and I was excited to feature it in the novel. If you don’t know what an anchorhold is, you will have to read the book! Or use Google?
I mentioned my concerns about finding enough information to make the story of New Romney accurate. But luck was with me in the form of Sainsbury’s! Well, not Sainsbury’s but all the investigations which were done before the store was built and the fantastic publication on the findings:  ‘The Sea and the Marsh, The Medieval Cinque Port of New Romney’ by Gillian Draper and Frank Meddens.
'What the Monk Didn’t See' was again printed through Lulu in the summer of 2017. Although exciting to have three books I still had no expectation of selling many. I had tried a few craft fairs, but found them very quiet. There was still a joy to be found in having my three books on a shelf at home and that was enough, or so I thought!
In November 2017, two things happened. The first was a friend suggested that I change to a traditional printer as this would be cheaper per book. However, to bring the price down I needed to order 100 books. I decided to have 100 of 'What the Monk Didn’t See' printed. A week later I did a book signing at Jempsons and a few days after that, I went to the New Romney Historical Society to tell them about the book. Within a week of buying 100 books, I had sold half of them!
The other huge shift in my author fortunes was that I joined Facebook! It was here that I got to know the local people who would give me such support over the following years, enabling me to continue writing and producing novels. I was beginning to think that perhaps I could sell a few books!

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Last week I wrote about A Place Called Hope – the novel I wrote two decades ago, but not the first published. This time I am telling the story behind Secrets of the Shingle – my bestseller!
In 2015, I read Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier. The tale of the heroine trapped in a hostile place appealed to me and I was inspired to put my own naïve character in a harsh landscape from which there would be no escape. The novel begins with Alice Tibbs, vicar’s daughter and teacher, on the train to Dungeness. No sooner has the poor young woman arrived, than she trips over a body. And so, begins the mystery of the woman on the shingle, as well as the story of Alice’s growing maturity while she learns to cope in the remote settlement.
Not long after starting this novel, I found myself running Marsh Ink – the writers’ group I had joined about three years before. “I must be a good example,” I thought to myself. So I diligently wrote every day. Unlike ‘Hope’ I began at the beginning and finished at the end – no skipping about.
The novel was unplanned. In fact, no more than: young teacher – trips over body – dead or alive? – trapped – can’t trust anyone. I started writing and came up with ideas as I progressed. It’s a method which a lot of authors use but must horrify those who plan everything!
As before, I had no intention of selling Secrets of the Shingle,  but did share it with a good friend from the writers’ group. She wanted to buy some copies and suggested I print a few. I asked some people with good English skills to read through the book, and in 2016 tentatively printed a few through Lulu (more about Lulu in my last blog). By chance I visited our local Kent Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre and saw the lovely displays of gifts.  I asked the manager if she would be interested in stocking the book – she said YES! I also approached a local magazine and asked if they were interested in writing an article. Then the RH&DR allowed some copies to go in their shops. I had printed 50 copies and never expected to sell more than that. In fact to sell 50 would be marvellous and beyond my wildest dreams.
Incredibly, the books sold and I got some great feedback! I ordered more… and then a few more. I also learned how to put the book on kindle. In 2017, Secrets of the Shingle had a good edit and I moved away from Lulu to a traditional printer. By 2018, I had three other novels but ‘Shingle’ was the favourite for most readers. Rather than continue with stand-alone stories, I wrote a sequel… then another, and in 2020 I wrote a prequel! These Dungeness novels have gained the most attention and with Secrets of the Shingle being the first in the series (until 2020) it became my bestseller.
In 2020, I decided that the whole series should have covers by local artist, Zoe Beardsley. I worried that ‘Shingle’ was shorter than the other books and decided to rewrite it, adding in extra scenes. As I did this, Michael Golding from Dungeness, read the new version. His remit was to check Dungeness details, but he turned out to be an amazing editor. The new version was available in the summer of 2020.
I’ve learned a huge amount since first publishing Secrets of the Shingle. The most important thing has been to learn different editing techniques and to use professional proof reading. It is important to keep learning, and with every novel I am coming up with new ways to improve the editing process. I would like to thank all my wonderful readers who have supported me through this journey with such enthusiasm for my writing.
The book covers shown here are the second cover (homemade and really difficult to work with the shades in the stones), the second cover by a graphic designer and the 2020 cover with local art. I don’t have an original Lulu book.
Next time I will tell you about my third novel (and one of my favourites) – What the Monk Didn’t See.

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The story of my first novel starts way back in the year 2000. I was new to living on Romney Marsh and fascinated by the evolution of the area. I bought and borrowed books, studied maps and explored country lanes. It was the ‘lost’ villages which interested me the most. Who lived in them? What was it like to be the last of the families there? As an avid reader of historical novels, I decided to have a go at writing my own story about the fictional families who lived in the settlement named Hope outside New Romney. In 1589, the church was in ruins and there were only three families left in the village. I decided to write about the years leading up to this event.
I wrote in the first person - the style I was familiar with. However, to make my novel a bit different I decided that it would tell the tale of three women in three parts, each told in their voice. I started with the second part – now I would always begin at the beginning! Writing on an ancient Apple Mac computer, the novel was saved on a hard disk. The internet was limited, and the majority of my research was done by using library books. I was totally absorbed in the story, spending as much time as possible on it. After about a year I could no longer use this computer and stopped writing.
In 2005 I decided to do a creative writing course. The unfinished novel was still on my mind and the disks were precious, but now I had a PC with Word and it was not compatible. The novel was put onto a disk so I could use it, but sadly it was all mixed up. I had a printed copy and I set about rewriting it, and adding in more while doing the course. A Place Called Hope was finished in about 2006 and remained on the computer.
A few years later and I came back to the novel again. Curious to know how much it would cost to print one copy, I looked on the internet and was astounded. A company called Lulu would print the book for about £7! Of course, it would not be proofread and I was fully responsible for setting it up, but I could have one copy of this precious novel. I put the files into A5 size, took a photo for the front cover and had a book printed. What a wonderful thing to have – a copy of A Place Called Hope.
Fast forward to 2016 and I had published Secrets of the Shingle (more about that next time). I wondered if ‘Hope’ was good enough compared to my Dungeness novel and asked a couple of people to read it. The response was good and so the book was rewritten again. I printed some copies through Lulu (a traditional printer came later) and began to sell it alongside Secrets of the Shingle.
But this book, rewritten so many times, worried me. I was no longer happy with one of the characters – Christen. Also, I was concerned that the style was not fitting with my later novels. In 2018, the novel had its greatest rewrite, removing a third of it and increasing other parts. It was proofread and relaunched with a cover featuring local art by Phillippa Goddard.
The novel now follows the lives of Anna and Jessica, with each part told in their own voice. It remains my only story told in the first person, so despite the reworks, it stays true to my style back in the year 2000. Readers can expect, as always, to be immersed in a recognisable Romney Marsh and will recognise the amount of research done into local history. A Place Called Hope has been reworked for the final time and will remain as a stand-alone book. However, my interest in the ‘lost’ villages has encouraged me to learn more about Midley and Eastbridge, and I have a creative writing workshop based on Midley.
From my first novel written, next time I will tell you about Secrets of the Shingle – my bestseller and first published novel!