Welcome.
The Wounded Snake, sequel to The Wounded Thorn, will be published in February 2019.
On the family history side:
We are hungry for details of our long-ago ancestors. I struck gold with Richard Tomlin of Deal. A stash of documents in the National Archives from the late 1600s revealed that he was the master of the hooker Friends Adventure, that he was regularly commissioned by the Admiralty agent in Deal to carry documents about the ships at anchor there to the Fleet headquarters at the mouth of the Thames. He also carried cargo to and from ports around the coast of Kent. I can now begin to imagine his life.
I am the author of over 50 books: novels for children and adults, and non-fiction. They cover a wide range, with a particular love of fantasy and Celtic history. Even my contemporary crime novels have links to history and sacred places. I have been three times shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and have won the Barco de Vapor Award and the CRT Fiction Book of the Year. 50th Book Party
I am also a keen family historian. I am researching my own family history, mostly in Devon and Kent, and my husband Jack Priestley’s ancestors, mainly in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Some lines go back more than 30 generations, from paupers to lords of the manor. I even know the village in Normandy one of my ancestors came from.
WRITINGS
I am currently working on a book about the first English saints.