Many thanks, Rachel, for inviting me to your SAGA SATURDAY
blog spot.
The Light within Us, the first story in the Spindrift trilogy, came about
because I wanted to write something slightly different from my previous novels
based upon a particular historical event. I always build my plots around a love
story but, this time, my intention was to explore the relationships between several
characters over a longer period of time.
Years ago, I trained to be a designer
and I’ve never forgotten the wonderful atmosphere of enthusiasm, encouragement
and creativity amongst my fellow art students. Inspired by the artists’
colonies at St Ives and Newlyn, I decided to write about how, and why, a group
of young artists from London founded their own Cornish community. And what, I
wondered, would happen if one of the relationships went sour and how would it
affect the rest of the community?
The
story follows three young women who met in the 1890s as students at the Slade
School of Art. Edith is a talented painter and a new bride when the group
arrive in Cornwall but her marriage to Benedict is doomed almost from the
beginning. Dora feels disadvantaged by her working class background and
Clarissa’s sharp tongue and self-destructive behavior is born out of her
troubled past. Women’s lives were far more constrained in the 1890s than they
are today. Edith, Dora, Clarissa and their friends have to dig deep into their emotional
reserves to overcome the difficulties they encounter but their mutual support
forges an unbreakable friendship.
The
rugged coast of north Cornwall has long been one of my favourite places,
bringing back happy memories of childhood and, more recent, seaside holidays.
Port Isaac, well-known to Doc Martin fans, is the perfect place to locate the
community, although Spindrift House and its cove are figments of my
imagination.
The Light Within Us from award-winning author Charlotte Betts is the first book of
the Spindrift Trilogy, set in an artists’ community in Cornwall at the
turn of the twentieth century.
Talented
artist Edith Fairchild is looking forward to a life of newlywed bliss with her
charismatic husband Benedict. He has recently inherited Spindrift House near
Port Isaac and Edith is inspired by the glorious Cornish light and the
wonderful setting overlooking the sea. But then happiness turns to heartbreak.
In great distress, Edith turns to an artist friend for comfort. After a
bitterly-regretted moment of madness she finds herself pregnant with his child.
Too
ashamed to reveal her secret, Edith devotes herself to her painting. Joined at
Spindrift House by her friends, Clarissa, Dora and Pascal, together they turn
the house into a thriving artists’ community. But despite their dreams of an
idyllic way of life by the sea, it becomes clear that all is not perfect within
their tight-knit community. The weight of their secrets could threaten to tear
apart their paradise forever . . .
Bio
Charlotte
Betts is
a multi-award-winning author of romantic historical novels. Her careful historical
research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place.
Charlotte lives on the
Hampshire/Berkshire borders in a C17th cottage in the woods. A daydreamer and a
bookworm, she has enjoyed careers in fashion, interior design and property. She
is a member of The Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Society of Authors and
The Historical Novels Society.
Website: www.charlottebetts.co.uk
Twitter: @CharlotteBetts1
Facebook: Charlotte Betts – Author
Instagram: charlottebetts.author
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