Shaped by Memory

by Paul Westmoreland

“I see the girl running towards me now just as she did that day when I reached Drew Stainer’s land.”

Such is the shape of one memory Guy Tynan retains of his adventures in Canada when he travels there to find his distant relatives and so fulfils a plan which his grandfather David never managed. Memories of his family and their close friends the Hursts will also be important to him.

Guy’s meeting with Nicola Stainer will lead him to unlock some of her life’s mysteries with a key she is only too eager to protect while sharing her story with him. As he tries to understand her, she in turn will ask him to talk of his childhood sweetheart, Julia Hurst, and will wonder, as his family has, what can have happened to create a gulf between them. Years of exile cannot protect Guy from “the possibility of a horrific and irreversible mistake” as he remains haunted by memories of an encounter in Hareton Woods, and an earlier adventure shared with his cousin Mel.

Shaped by Memory is not simply about the power of “what would be so much better forgotten”, whether this involves a missing watch, dreadful war-time experiences or the hurt inflicted by damaged relationships; it is also about how much more can be lost in the course of time by a failure to see clearly, for “what you think you see might not be what you’re looking at.”

Guy Tynan will not be alone in having to “think of how not seeing the true picture has the potential for limitless damage.”

340 pages, Paperback

Published December 8, 2023

About the author

My name is Paul Oliver Westmoreland and I love writing children’s novels.

Right now I’m 34, live in North London, and work for a digital advertising agency on Baker Street. I got married in March and now we’re getting ready for the arrival of our first child. In my spare time I’m working hard on the next Vincent Ward adventure.

My novels introduce young readers to real subjects through exciting, fast-paced adventures. In Cardsharp, Vincent Ward explores the murky art underworld and the life and paintings of Caravaggio, while battling a gang of international thieves and smugglers. My aim is to leaves readers wanting to know more about Caravaggio and art – maybe even go to the National Gallery and see a couple of his paintings. The Find Out More page on this site offers a few places to get started.


This site is a new venture for me and Cardsharp is the first book I’ve posted online. More Vincent Ward adventures will follow, as well as other novels with new characters, as soon as they’re ready.

If you’d like to know more about me or have any feedback, please drop me a line in the box below.

Thanks for reading,
POW