Blackthorn Wood
From the author of Seaview House: What happens when bullying becomes lethal?
Every workplace has its dark corners, places where the power-hungry lurk, where resentment and grudges fester. Former deputy head teacher Cassie Clifton knows this. It’s why she’s no longer working. And it’s why she hasn’t left her home for more than two years.
Cassie’s husband has encouraged her to work with a therapist to recover from the damage she’s suffered after workplace bullying and a drunken staff party that took a violent turn. Freddy’s counseling and support helps Cassie take her first tentative steps back into the world. But the threat hasn’t disappeared—and once she understands the malevolent machinations going on around her, she will have to confront her fears head-on . . .
Paula Hillman
I live in Cumbria, in a large industrial town called Barrow-in-Furness. Ship building is at its heart, and because of its location on the coast as well as on the foothills of The Lakes, I am heavily invested in the natural history of the place. I studied science at college and specialised in it for my Batchelors teaching degree, but my heart has always been tied up with books and reading. I walked away from a long teaching career because I wanted to write. I wrote many texts and play scripts as part of my job as a teacher, and I wanted to do more. Writing is a therapy, as much as walking in nature is, to me. I am married to a photographer and have two children- a thirty-five-year-old daughter, and an eighteen-year-old son, who is still at home with us. I am a passionate advocate for local communities- Barrow has a deep Victorian heritage and a Cistercian Abbey- and I have studied these in depth for my own interest and within my teaching career. Barrow people are community driven and welcoming, and their character is unique in so many ways. I want to capture all of this in the books I write. I am just about to submit my dissertation for a master’s degree in Creative Writing and have been completely sucked in by the challenge!
