Guest Blogger - Nicola Pryce

A warm welcome to todays guest. Here is a bit about Nicola and her writing! Nicola Pryce is published by Atlantic Books and is represented by Teresa Chris. She trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, loves literature and history, and has an Open University degree in Humanities. She is a qualified adult literacy support volunteer and lives with her husband in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset. She and her husband love sailing and together they sail the south coast of Cornwall in search of adventure. It is there where she sets her books.

Her latest book is The Cornish Rebel set in Cornawall in 1801

In the wake of her mother’s death, Pandora Woodville has finally escaped her domineering father and returned to Falmouth. Bright with the dream of working at her Aunt Harriet’s school for young women, Pandora is shocked to learn the school is facing imminent closure after a series of sinister events has threatened its reputation. Acclaimed chemist Benedict Aubyn has also recently returned to Cornwall, to take up a new role as Turnpike Trust Surveyor. Pandora’s arrival has been a strange one, so she is grateful when he shows her kindness. As news of the school’s ruin spreads around town, everyone seems to be after her aunt’s estate. Now, Pandora and Aunt Harriet must do everything in their power to save the school, or risk losing everything. However, Pandora has another problem. She’s falling for Benedict. But can she trust him, or is he simply looking after his own interests? Sounds fabulous! you can get your copy of The Cornish Rebel and others in the series from HERE HERE or for UK readers who like paperbacks HERE I asked Nicola to tell us a bit about how this book came together. Sometimes, my stories seem to weave themselves together. In The Cornish Rebel,six threads were hanging tantalisingly in the air: John Loudon McAdam was in Falmouth in 1801, a renowned chemist was seeking to capture arsenic in soluble form, the Truro to Falmouth Turnpike trust had drawn a map of their proposed new route, a headmistress of a girls’ boarding school was seeking to keep her school viable, and Her land Mine in Gwinear yielded 115 tons of silver ore which, partly smelted on site, realized £5469. The sixth thread was the Old Well at St Feock with its superstitious tale of divining the man you were going to marry by visiting it at full moon. Almost by itself, the threads wove themselves together and the story began to take shape. I moved Miss Mitchell’s School for young ladies from the outskirts of Truro to the shores of Restronguet Creek and the book seemed to write itself. Well, almost. Best wishes and happy reading, Nicola