Month: November 2019

Willow Published Today!

intheplottingshed1 Comment

I\’m proud (and nervous) to announce that Willow, the fourth book in The Katherine Wheel Series has been published today.
Here is the link to the product page: Willow


The stifling heat of a summer’s day lures four children to the cool green waters of the river running between Cheadle Manor and The Katherine Wheel Garage.

Al captains the little band of pirates as they blithely board the wooden dinghy. Headstrong Lottie vies with him to be in charge while Isobel tries to keep the peace and look after little Lily.

But it is the river that is really in control.

Lost and alone, the four children must face many dangers, but it is the unforeseen consequences of their innocent adventure that will shape their futures for years to come.


Book Four of The Katherine Wheel Series may be small in size but it packs in many surprises for the children of Katy and Jem and Douglas and Cassandra. Willow bridges the generation gap between the last three books, Daffodils, Peace Lily and Speedwell, and Book Five, Woodbine, when the four children are on the brink of both adulthood and the outbreak of the Second World War. The series will conclude with the sixth book, Ivy, in the most surprising way, as the war draws to its agonising conclusion.
For fans of historical fiction and Alex Martin\’s work in particular, Willow makes the most perfect stocking filler!

Willow is novella sized and is a story about children so it could be read by any age group but it sets up the group dynamic for Woodbine despite its simplicity and length. Woodbine will be published early in the new year but I\’ve yet to complete Ivy, which is as complex as Willow is simple, due to the immense amount of research involved. By contrast, Willow was a joy and delight to write this summer in the same hot, sunny weather as Al, Lottie, Isobel and Lily enjoy on the river Cheadle. I hope readers will enjoy the innocent adventure in the long-forgotten era of the 1930s in the English countryside.