Draining Stuff

I���m finishing Polwenna Bay 4: Treasure of the Heart this week. It���s been a fun book to write because it���s about a treasure hunt and I���ve had to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out the clues and where they could be found within the village. I don���t want to give the story away but St Wenn���s Well, the constant flow of water through Polwenna Bay and the village���s dark smuggling past are all a big part of the plot. Later on I���ll share some myths and local legends too but not yet. I don���t want any spoilers.

The story begins with a big storm on New Year���s Day and as I write this morning, Polperro is being battered by storm force winds and rains as the tail end of Hurricane Jonas batters the Cornish coast. The water is running off the hillside outside my writing room and I���m watching it trickle into the gullies and drains that craftsmen from a hundred years ago built. The walls outside are green and damp and if I open the windows I can hear the water running.











My house is about 100 years old and one of the newer buildings in the village. It still has an old out door privy and the water is channelled to flow beneath it - in the old days to carry the unmentionables away. This got me thinking about the gullies and secret streams that flow beneath the village and suddenly a key part of the plot has fallen into place. To find out how and why you���ll have to read the book. I love it when ���plot jigsaws��� fall into place like this. It���s part of the magic of writing.

And so, back to work!