About my imminent new series of novels set in a girls’ boarding school
For some time I’ve been planning to write a series of novels set in a traditional girls’ boarding school, and today’s cover reveal is a hint that I’m going to be launching the first of these, Flat Chance, very soon.
As a child, like many of my generation, I loved books set in schools. Mavourite was Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings – what was yours?
But my series will be for adults, and the focal point will be the staffroom rather than the classroom or dormitory.
Led by a charismatic maverick headmistress, each of the eccentric staff is hiding a different secret, including new recruit Gemma Lamb. Gemma’s other potential career choices included lighthouse keeper and nun – any job, in fact, that provided a roof over her head.
About the Staffroom at St Bride’s
The Staffroom at St Bride’s series will be lighthearted and gentle, with a touch of romance and a lot of comedy. But I’m not planning any murders, not only on the grounds of good taste but also for credibility.
Would you send your child to a school in which the school roll keeps reducing due to assassinations? I certainly wouldn’t.
Besides which, I don’t really like killing people – which will reassure my family and friends!
But there will be crimes and misdemeanours in which the culprit will live to tell the tale…
Another Rachel Lawston Design
I’ve commissioned the wonderful Rachel Lawston of www.lawstondesign.com for the series’ cover designs, because I am so pleased with her treatment for my Sophie Sayers Village Mystery series.
She has cleverly come up with something that echoes the branding of the Sophie books, making it clear that these come from the same stable, while establishing a new and different setting – just a bike ride away from Wendlebury Barrow, home to Sophie. And yes, Gemma and Sophie will have the chance to meet!
On the Flat Chance cover, you’ll spot the details of the black cat and the bicycle. These are pivotal features in the plot. We’ll be playing with different details against a similar backdrop in each of the future books in the series, which currently have the working titles of Past Master and Near Miss. (I almost always know the title before I start writing a book, which helps me believe in it as a project and set myself deadlines!)
And speaking of deadlines, I’d better get back to inputting my edits to the final manuscript!
More news on Gemma Lamb and friends soon…