November has been a whirlwind and in amongst that whirlwind Rhiannon’s Last Look is out in the wild! It’s so exciting to read reviews, wrap signed books and see photos of my book baby in hairdressing salons and on planes. One reader gave me a blow by blow update as she arranged her busy life as a farmer’s wife during harvest around reading it. This is why I write!
Last weekend I got a very special order for signed copies of all my books from a Dad for his daughter. It is such a Dad thing to do, not just buy one book for their daughter, but buy all the books (all seven of them, Write About Me, Found, Find Me, When You Find Me, You’ll Never Find Me and Search for Sky, Rhiannon’s Last Look!).
Apologies in advance for a book spoiler alert, but when I wrote Find Me in 2014, there was a devastating and heartbreaking ending for Rhiannon when she lost her Dad. The scene wasn’t plotted out or planned, it was just one of those chapters which came to me when I sat down to write.
I sobbed my heart out because at the time I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose my Dad suddenly and with no warning. My Dad, John Waters Hosking, was my biggest fan, always reading my books in one sitting in his special chair by the fire. He carried many boxes of books to events and was there every step as the way as I travelled a crazy road of writing a book a year while desperately pursuing the truth about my cousin and his niece Ursula who went missing aged 17 in 1987.
As a crime writer, there is no shortage of devastation and heartbreak for my characters, but Rhiannon losing her Dad Bill resonated strongly with a large number of my readers and I still get messages today from daughters who have lost their Dads.
Fast forward to 2024 and I lost Dad in the most shocking of circumstances. He was two minutes from home, driving across the railway crossing he crossed every day multiple times, and was hit by a passenger train. I can’t tell you how difficult it has been to pick myself up and move forward and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to finish Rhiannon’s Last Look.
For six whole months I didn’t write a word, and I wondered if I’d ever write another book. I kept trying to tell myself Dad would want me to keep doing what I loved – also that I needed to treasure every moment and not waste a minute of my life. But I just couldn’t lift myself out of the sludge.
The fog lifted gradually, one sentence at a time, then one chapter at a time and ta-da!! I made a book!
A big thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Rhiannon’s Last Look – and an extra special shoutout to all the dads and daughters.