A Season of Secrets
As I've often said, every book answers a question, and each of mine has been a wonderful excuse to deep dive into a passion - in this case, jewellery. Seeing a brief segment on The Antiques Roadshow about a convertible tiara sent me off into months of research into jewellery making and the lore of lapidary. I was lucky enough to get help from everyone's favourite jewellery expert, Geoffrey Munn, and spent hours in the V&A's jewellery galleries sketching and coming up with a design for the Stratton Tiara. I also spent an incredible week hunting through the gem dealers of Bangkok to find my own asteria sapphire. These beautiful stones look perfectly normal until the light catches them just right and the star is released. Throughout the ages they have been prized for magical and protective qualities, and a priceless one is at the heart of the story. Mine is considerably smaller than Fraser's, but I love it and it always reminds me of this book.
And hold a thousand secrets...
When Grace Manners moves to a little cottage on the Wittering Manor estate, she hopes it will be the perfect new beginning after her life was torn apart seven months ago.
Ever since her husband disappeared, along with most of their money, Grace has struggled to make ends meet - but now, working for the eccentric Fraser Stratton, she has her own space to make her delicate jewellery once again.
Yet as Grace begins to uncover the story behind a beautiful diamond brooch, she becomes drawn into a mysterious family secret that threatens to destroy what little she has left...
To celebrate publication day, I'm giving away a signed copy of the book and this vintage 1970s Scandinavian silver bracelet I found during my research. Just follow and RT my post on Twitter to enter and I'll pick a winner at 5pm on Monday 22nd February.
Good luck!
