It’s been years since And Then There Were Four was published and years since I finished writing book two. And it might never have seen the light of day…

Then I found a box of ATTW4 in my garage and offered them to friends who didn’t know me back then – many of them from choir. Genuinely I just wanted to declutter them! But I shifted more than a few books. Their response changed everything. Someone asked how many copies I had sold, and when I checked the figures, it was over 1,400 copies. WOW! Really?

Vicky then said: “I’ve just finished your book Emma and absolutely loved it! Book 2 please! X”

I dusted off the version I hadn’t read in years, when I decided that if I didn’t want to read it, then neither would anyone else. And whilst there was a lot that needed changing, I reconnected to the journey within. Reminded myself of the rollercoaster. And even smiled a few times.

I mapped out the chapter, fiddled with the order and flow, let Vicky read chapter one, to see if it grabbed her and made her want to read on. Then I jumped headfirst into the writing rabbit hole, where I spent every spare moment writing, editing, deleting. Getting up at 6am because there is a chapter that has to be put on paper.

[And I found 70,000 words of Book Three that I’d forgotten even writing… Covering some of lockdown. So then I started updating that, filling in the blanks, ranting about the stuff that was driving me crazy right now….]

This week, I mocked up a cover design, worked on the back copy and had copies of the very first rough draft printed.

And Trauma Made Five charts the move to Junior School for my daughter, when trauma bit deep and we struggled to find our way and convince school of her needs.

Are you looking forward to getting your hands on it? Would you like the back copy to whet your appetite? Let me know below…