The story behind a new seasonal quartet
For the past few months, I’ve been preoccupied by the Earth’s solstices and equinoxes.
It all started with a challenge to write a Christmas ghost story. Admittedly, this was nearly 20 years ago, but good ideas have no sell-by date.
Last winter, I was dog-walking and it was so unusually cold that lakes, ponds and even rivers had frozen over. It was fascinating to see how my usual haunts were transformed. So, instead of a Yuletide them, I decided to set a tale during the winter solstice – and indulge my inner druid.
A Walk in the Park is an Edwardian tale, featuring a ghostly encounter resulting from a fissure in time and place. The setting is real
Spring came around and it was time for a sequel. The second story was inspired by a trip in early March when my husband took a day off and whisked me out to Hampton Lucy, a charming Warwickshire village dominated by a magnificent piece of ecclesiastical architecture …
Summer solstice is a well-honoured tradition in many cultures, but the quintessential image for most is Stone Henge. However, last summer I had the good fortune to take a trip to see the ancient stones and monuments of Kilmartin Glen with my daughter, a History of Art student who has developed an
The main character is a tribute to my late father, who really did work as a hedge-cutter one vacation in Dumfriesshire. He studied geography, rather than geology, and lost a brother when he was very young. Some of the classical references in the story are also
The only clue I can offer at present is that a parallel theme of the four elements runs through the stories. I’ve covered water, air and earth in that order in the first three. So, all that’s left is … fire.
Born in Edinburgh, I have two degrees in Spanish (Manchester and Oxford), specialising in 17th-century comic drama. I trained in journalism, including stints on provincial newspapers in Bath, Bristol, Cambridge and Lancashire as well as Western Australia. I moved into educational publishing and online editing including international publishers and Government agencies. I currently live in Warwickshire where I started to write full-time to avoid the ‘empty nest’ syndrome. My next big adventure is a move north to the Scottish borders.
Books:
Tomorrow’s Anecdote Newsroom mystery
Half Life 1930s ‘film noir’-style thriller
Dark Interlude Post-WW1 adventure
The Lost Orchid Gothic-inspired adventure
Ice Trekker Teen fantasy
The Cloud Pearl Teen adventure
True Haven Regency fantasy adventure
Free stories:
The Deed Box Macabre tale
A Walk in the Park Supernatural romance
Last Spring Supernatural mystery
Midsummer Glen Supernatural adventure
Links:
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Find out all the latest on my author website and blog. Send emails to pamkelt@gmail.com
Author pages on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Goodreads and Smashwords.