A cross over novel for teens and adults this fantasy adventure follows a young girl called Kate Winters who discovers she is the last of a rare breed called The Skilled. There are those who would see her destroyed for the powers she possesses and those who would fight to the death to protect her. A great adventure story with believable heroes and villains alike.
Ten years ago Kate Winters' parents were taken by the High Council's wardens to help with the country's war effort. Now the wardens are back...and prisoners, including Kate's uncle Artemis, are taken south on the terrifying Night Train. Kate and her friend Edgar are hunted by a far more dangerous enemy. Silas Dane -- the High Council's most feared man -- recognises Kate as one of the Skilled; a rare group of people able to see through the veil between the living and the dead. His spirit was damaged by the High Council's experiments into the veil, and he's convinced that Kate can undo the damage and allow him to find peace. The knowledge Kate needs lies within Wintercraft -- a book thought to be hidden deep beneath the graveyard city of Fume. But the Night of Souls, when the veil between life and death is at its thinnest, is just days away and the High Council have their own sinister plans for Kate and Wintercraft.
'I was born on the 4th of July 1980 and given my first taste of stardom that very same day. I was presented with the dubious honour of being the biggest baby in the hospital and carried around on a tour of the building as apparently befits a child of overly-large stature. Five years later, my brother Adam would be given the same tour. His title? The most beautiful baby in the hospital. Typical.
At primary school I was often found lurking in the library reading books that were far too old for me. I loved reading and couldn't get enough of it. In my teens I played the flute in my school orchestra. I enjoyed studying Shakespeare - Hamlet in particular - and completely memorised Ophelia's role just in case I ever had the chance to audition for the part.
After school, I had different part-time jobs while studying for my A levels and also ran a rescue for ill and unwanted guinea pigs which had more than fifty residents at one time. I am a vegetarian and animal welfare is very important to me.
I planned to eventually become an English teacher, but fate had other ideas. While I was at college my mum became seriously ill and I was unable to take my place at university. I had always had an interest in writing so whilst caring for my mum I began to work on short stories and poems and a new path was placed before me. I loved the challenge of writing and creating new worlds so I made the decision to write full time and began working on full length novels, leaving my old plans behind.
Now, I divide my time between writing, my three dogs and two rescue rabbits. I collect musical instruments and try to learn them whenever I have time. I spend far too much time online, I am notoriously disorganised and I am definitely not a morning person. My writing space is a cluttered desk with barely enough space for a coffee cup and I always write with music in the background. There's nothing like a bit of chaos to get the creative wheels turning! My family are the most precious thing in the world to me. Without my mum, dad and brother, none of this would have been possible.'
