Intense, gripping, psychological thriller.
As a child, Kitty Harmer had her world
turned upside down when her twin sister, Sarah, was taken into care. Now aged
26 and struggling, she is contacted about the inheritance of a property she has
never heard of miles away. Kitty seizes the opportunity and moves into Belford
Hall, set on acres of land in Norfolk.
Kitty is soon drawn to the charms of the
Norfolk countryside, and a local farmer. As she settles into the primitive
manor house, she discovers a book titled Hartford Place locked in a library
drawer. Kitty soon learns of the stories surrounding the Hall, a curse made in
the 1800s and a past she knew nothing about. Her Hartford ancestors mirror
Kitty with their raven hair and emerald eyes and have all suffered tragedy,
with veiled secrets buried deep.
When the twins reunite, Sarah reveals a
hardship that unsettles Kitty’s memories of her own childhood. Is there a curse
on the Hartford family? Is there a ghostly presence at the Hall? This thriller
takes Kitty on a journey through a past that emulates her future. With twists
and turns through history and the present, you will be swept into the Hartford
Inheritance and the passionate jealousy that shadows the identical twins
through the generations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since I was a child, I have enjoyed
literature and would spend countless hours after school tucked away in my bedroom
reading and composing stories. My
daughter, who is 11 years old, does exactly the same. She adores the process of
story-telling and when we discussed what she wanted to be, she said without any
hesitation an Author. It melted my heart. It’s where my passion has always
been. It’ hard to believe that after
starting the process of writing my debut novel in 2011, I have finally published. I hope very much that you
enjoy my writing and I intend to follow The Hartford Inheritance with a prequel
and a sequel.
I live in the South East Coast of England,
where I have always lived and which I
adore. I’ve been married for 12 years now to a man who inspires me and with
whom I am still very much in love. We have two children together, Harriet, now
aged 11 years, and Toby, aged 6 years. My parents are my rocks and have taught
me all my best qualities – to be fair and kind to everyone. They have always
been there for me and they are very proud of me for achieving my goal of
publishing my first book.
This book is dedicated to all of my family,
whom I love so very much.
EXCERPT
Despite my confusion at the name, the
anxiety that had been in my stomach all day spun out of control and as I stood
to greet her, I felt as though I may faint. I quickly sat back down. I looked
to the door and seconds later my identical twin walked through it. Her hair was
no longer jet black but was dyed a very dubious shade of blonde and heavy black
roots. Her hair was straggly down her back and looked like it hadn’t seen a
comb in days. Though she was 26, her piercing green eyes looked much older than
her years. She was heavily made-up, with black kohl thickly applied around her
eyes and bright red lipstick. Despite her trampy appearance, around her neck
she wore the heart-shaped silver locket that our grandma had given us when we
were four, just before she died. We had treasured those necklaces after the car
accident but I had lost mine when I was about 16. It was touching that Sarah
was wearing hers because of the emotions attached to it.
As she walked through the door, Sarah
looked over to me with a severity that made me flinch. I attempted to smile and
meet her gaze until she sat down but she was staring straight at Mrs Standing.
Even Mrs Standing seemed a little lost for words and a pause sat heavy in the
room. Finally Mrs Standing broke the silence. 'Kitty, Sarah, I think it’s been
a long time since you’ve seen each other. Would it be better to get on with the
legal aspect of things and then you can decide where you go from here?’
I didn't know what to say or how to respond
and so I sat in silence. I looked to Sarah for some emotion but she did not
look to me.
GIVEAWAY
The author is giving away one paperback
copy of THE HARTFORD INHERITANCE to a winner of the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
How do you feel about your
family, now that you’re an adult?
I’m a real family girl. I have always lived in the town in which
I grew up, Hastings, which is on the south east coast of England. My parents
live about a 5 minute drive away and my brother and his family are also
local. I’m very like my mother in the
way I treat family life. My childhood
was very happy and my parents were always there for me and my brother. I am the same with my children who also adore
their grandparents.
What do you want from life?
To be happy and content.
In 2013 I was hospitalised with Strep A which is like a superbug that
gets into your joints and inflicts a toxic shock effect on your body. I was very ill and had to have two operations
on my hand and one on my foot to wash out the infection. The consultant told me it could have been
fatal. When I left hospital I had to
have intense physiotherapy to get the use of my hand back. It really shook all of us as a family
particularly the children. We’ve learnt
from it to make time for the little things and to enjoy each day.
If you were granted three
wishes, what would you ask for?
For there to be a cure found for Type 1 Diabetes (childhood
diabetes) which I’ve had since I was 11 years old, to never have to slim to
lose weight and to be the proud owner of a refillable bottle of Shiraz,
What three things would you
take to a Desert Island?
My kindle, a giant Toblerone and a laptop.
What, in the outside world,
is preventing you from getting it?
Others
views. I’m always so aware of other
people’s opinions and always tow the line!!
What, in yourself, is
preventing you from getting it?
My confidence – I really struggle with it!!
What must happen before you
overcome this?
This is hopefully the first step to it. By establishing myself as an author I’m
hoping that my confidence in my abilities begins to grow.
In your relationship with
others, how are you different with family than you are with friends? Why?
With my family I’m very relaxed and chilled out and there is
nothing that I wouldn’t say or do.
How do you fall in love? At
first sight? Over a long period?
Most definitely over time.
I have been lucky enough to fall in love 16 years ago and we are still
very much in love. Some of my dearest
friends have not managed to meet their soulmate and that makes me appreciate it
all the more.
What parts of loving come
easy for you? Hard?
Saying something heartfelt to my husband. I feel like I need to make a joke as I say
it. I do it much better in writing my
emotions than saying them.
How do you decide if you can
trust someone? Experience with others? with this person? First impressions?
Intuition? Do you test the person somehow? Or are you just generally disposed
to trust or not to trust?
I am very trusting.
Unless someone has given me a reason not to trust them, I do
completely. I try not to make a decision
on someone on a first impression but I know that I do.
When you walk into a room,
what do you notice first? Second?
First would be the people in the room, the second would be if there
is any mess!! I’m a bit of a tidy freak.
When you walk into a room,
what do you expect people to notice about you?
I’m very shy and hope that I don’t stand out too obviously!
Describe yourself to me.
I’m in my late 30s, I’m 5 foot 9 with brown mid-length hair. I
have high cheekbones and green eyes. I
try to keep myself fit but I am always on a diet and am never happy with my
weight!
Is one sense more highly
developed than another? (Are you more visual, or audial, etc, or do you rely on
the famous sixth sense?)
I’ve never really thought about that. I guess it would have to
be visually because the characters I’ve created for my book and the prequel
book are very much real in my mind’s eye.
Did you turn out the way you
expected? The way your parents predicted?
I hope I’ve made them proud and they say that they always knew I
would do something literally creative because as a child I was always in my
bedroom writing and acting. Both parents
were really proud when I published my first book and my mum made sure she was
the first person to download it and read it.
What really moves you, or
touches you to the soul?
Musicals and concerts. I
absolutely adore going to a good musical or a pop concert. I love the O2 and get a real buzz from the size
and magnitude of it. I took my daughter
to see Wicked at the weekend just gone and I get really emotional from the
storytelling with the music.
What's the one thing you
have always wanted to do but didn't/couldn't/wouldn't? What would happen if you
did do it?
I’m always a little envious when people say that they’ve
travelled to Australia/Indonesia/South America when they were younger. That didn’t entertain my mind when I was a
teenager/early 20s and the friends who have done it say it was the best experience
of their lives. I would never dream of doing it now.
What do you consider are
your strengths?
I’m very loyal and would do anything for my nearest and dearest
and my friends.
What do you consider are
your weaknesses?
I hate confrontation and never stand up for myself.
What is one physical
attribute you are proud of?
My eyes.
What one physical attribute
would you change?
My hair – I would love to be blonde.
What do you consider your
special talent?
It’s got to be my imagination – with every little thing in my
life I can think of a new plot for a book.
What do you wish your special talent was?
I wish I was an energetic sportsman. I absolutely hate all sports.
What are you most proud of
about your life?
I’m most proud of my children.
Is there anything you've
always wanted to do but haven't done? What would happen if you did it?
The
only thing I ever wanted to do was publish my own novel and now I’ve done
it!!!!
What's the worst thing
you've ever done? Why?
I was quite a hormonal teenager and wanted to be treated like an
adult before I was one. My parents and
brother say I was a horror.
Describe your ideal mate.
My husband.
What are you most afraid of?
Looking like a fool.
What's the most important thing
in your life? What do you value most?
My family.
How do you feel about your
life right now? What, if anything, would you like to change?
My life is pretty perfect.
I work from home and so I’m always around to take/collect the children
from school. My heart flips whenever I
see the cover of my book and finally being able to call myself an author.
If you could be an animal,
what would it be? (You can adapt this
question to fit the character ie/make it what kind of car, plant, whatever.)
A cat because they have such an easy life!
Intense, gripping, psychological thriller. As a child, Kitty Harmer had her world turned upside down when her twin sister, Sarah, was taken into care. Now aged 26 and struggling, she is contacted about the inheritance of a property she has never heard of miles away. Kitty seizes the opportunity and moves into Belford Hall, set on acres of land in Norfolk. Kitty is soon drawn to the charms of the Norfolk countryside, and a local farmer. As she settles into the primitive manor house, she discovers a book titled Hartford Place locked in a library drawer. Kitty soon learns of the stories surrounding the Hall, a curse made in the 1800s and a past she knew nothing about. Her Hartford ancestors mirror Kitty with their raven hair and emerald eyes and have all suffered tragedy, with veiled secrets buried deep. When the twins reunite, Sarah reveals a hardship that unsettles Kitty’s memories of her own childhood. Is there a curse on the Hartford family? Is there a ghostly presence at the Hall? This thriller takes Kitty on a journey through a past that emulates her future. With twists and turns through history and the present, you will be swept into the Hartford Inheritance and the passionate jealousy that shadows the identical twins through the generations. 
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