The Promise Tree

Romance and mythology meet in Edwardian Cheshire

After writing about selfies in Daughter of the Sea I got thinking about which other folklore creatures might live alongside us. I wanted something that wouldn’t necessarily spring to mind and thanks to lots of dog walks, I thought that if olive trees in Greece could have dryads, why couldn’t British species? For a while Drusilla was going to live in an oak tree but we have a lot of sycamores near us and the spinning helicopters that fill the park each autumn seemed perfect for my flighty, unpredictable not-quite woman.

Order here getmybook.to/ThePromiseTree

When does a story begin?

For Edwin Hope, it begins with a childhood dare and a forbidden tree. It begins with him falling … in more ways than one.

Called home from his studies by the grandfather who has always hated him, eighteen-year-old Edwin is once again trapped in a house that is colder than the winds whipping across the fields. Seeking sanctuary, he escapes into the untamed beauty of the Peaks and meets a woman who sparks an old memory. A memory of the sycamore that broke him, and the little girl who saved him.

Drusilla has had many acolytes over the centuries but none like Edwin. With the Great War looming and Edwin’s future uncertain, she knows the right thing to do is to set him free from her spell, but can she do so if it means breaking her own heart?

Early readers have fallen for The Promise Tree:

‘A very beautiful historical fantasy that I read in just one sitting. The characters were all well drawn and very beautiful. The ethereal beauty stretched beyond the book to envelop the reader’

‘A must read! Watch out, you may find yourself looking up into the branches of a tree to see if someone is looking back’

‘I really like the authors style and how she wove the characters together and created such a vibrant image of them. The descriptions of the seasons made me feel like I was the one experiencing them‘

‘Evocative and at times ethereal’

‘Compelling and entertaining’