It will soon be the one year anniversary of my Regency romance mystery, Lord Winterton’s Secret, published by DC Thomson/The People’s Friend on the 20th of January 2022.
Other versions include a large print edition published by Ulverscroft and a self-published digital edition with the title Curious Governess, Dangerous Lord (which was the original title when the manuscript was first submitted to The People’s Friend!). The kindle version is the author’s original version, without any changes to fit the publisher’s inhouse style or wordcount.
Lord Winterton’s Secret was my first pocket novel. Pocket novels are a series of quick holiday reads, just under 200 pages, with a limited print run. To celebrate the book’s anniversary, I thought I’d write about what inspired me as well as any major changes the story went through during the first draft stage.
None
dare approach the dilapidated manor house on the dunes. Widower Lord Winterton
is beset with rumours of being a foul sea spirit who ferries off unattached
women to his secret tunnels.
Headstrong
Virtue Browne has little time for gossip. To her, Lord Winterton is sweet and
gentle August, who she used to play with on the sands, and who has now employed
her to teach his daughter.
However,
it has been years since they last saw one another. Local innkeeper Jeb
Strawhouse has pledged to ruin the other man for some past injustice while
August would happily see him hang.
Who
can Virtue trust? Will the governess’s curiosity be satisfied or will her voice
become another mournful cry that causes men to shudder at night?
The idea for Curious Governess, Dangerous Lord appeared
back in 2019 after I moved from Norwich to the Great Yarmouth coastal area. I
had been researching the local history alongside enjoying beach walks with my
dog Bramble.
What inspired me most was the landscape of Winterton-on-Sea,
an almost endless panorama of dunes with a hint of sea beyond. On particularly
stormy nights, it seems as if you’re far from civilisation.
Winterton’s dunes have featured several times in my stories,
particularly The Bride Who Rode in With the Storm (published by Satin
Romance). It’s such an evocative place for a story starter, but that isn’t the
village’s only areas of interest. There is also Winterton lighthouse, the
current building is from the 1860s, and the Holy Trinity and All Saints Church,
whose 132ft tower means you can see Happisburgh lighthouse from about 13 miles
away!
It
was a mile to the inn. Virtue hurried over the darker, water drenched sands.
They slurped at her shoes, forming tiny pools in the shape of her boots.
Miniscule
grains flew into her face, like rat claws scoring over her cheeks. Her breath
spluttered from the sand she had swallowed. She flinched as the wind roared, a
high-pitched screeching noise piercing her eardrums.
So
much effort did it take, it seemed she made no progress. The only way she could
tell it was not hopeless was the dunes’ roiling hills. Some were eroded, others
peppered white by nesting terns disinterestedly watching her.
The style is very much written like an old romance novel, with the point of view switching between the heroine and hero. My main influences were Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn – for its drama and adventure – and the gothic aesthetic of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera.
Most of my research went into the role of governesses, smuggling and Winterton-on-Sea. You can find the books I referenced on my Goodread’s author page, under the shelf “Curious Governess Research Books”.
For my heroine, I wanted someone headstrong but curious,
that classic detective who constantly probes into other people’s business to
sate her curiosity and solve the mystery. I enjoyed writing the most the scenes
between Virtue and the main ‘antagonist’ as I worked out how she could gain the
upper hand against him.
Lord Winterton (and there is no relation to anyone with that
name, living or dead, I just liked how it sounded!) is your typical brooding
hero. While I certainly enjoyed the dramatic flair August showed as I wrote his
scenes, I think it was the tender moments shared between him and his daughter where
I really got his character across.
A
shadow moved by one of the snarling wyvern statues. Virtue stilled, heart
thudding in her ears.
“You
have a habit of wandering about at night, Virtue,” Lord Winterton announced.
“You must take care, else you’ll encounter something unpleasant.”
The
only thing she could discern was his voice. He was too enmeshed in the
darkness, whereas she was caught in a rare shard of moonlight. She only hoped
he would not mistake her shiver for trembling.
“I
went to the village,” she told him, not quite a lie. “There was some business
with my father which needed dealing with. I’m sorry.”
“I
was worried for you, especially after last night.” Steps sounded as he came
closer. A gleam shone where his eyes must be. “I thought it best to give my
response to your letter in person.”
“And
your answer…?” Her voice was too quiet, and he drew even nearer to hear better.
“You
will do whatever I command?”
When I finally finished the first draft, the total combined
word count was 60k… People’s Friend pocket novels are 39k, so a lot of changes
were called for.
In the chop, the most notable changes included throwing out an encounter between Virtue and the antagonist on top of the church tower (as, while dramatic, was too similar to an earlier scene); the loss of two characters, a priest and French smuggler; the ending was also vastly different. In the first draft, Lord Winterton’s daughter is carried off and held at gunpoint in a certain underground tunnel as it starts to fall apart. However, after the changes I ended up with a sharper, faster paced story with a much better conclusion.
Throughout the story, there are mentions of underground
tunnels used for smuggling. For now, no such tunnels have been discovered in
Winterton dunes. However, as you gaze upon those hills, it’s not so hard to
imagine there might be something under there…
Unfortunately, the dunes are under threat from erosion. Over the last few years, Winterton has seen a dramatic loss to its landscape, as documented by the loss of a local café which was built on the dunes.
Below is a preview of a scene that isn’t too spoilery. My absolute favourite is one later on involving The Reckless Mermaid, Virtue and a vine, but you’ll have to read the book to find out more 😉
In
that same moment, Virtue’s footing went, earth crumbling into nothingness.
She
wheeled desperately to regain her balance, her cry for help knotted in her
throat. No-one would know she had vanished. She would fall to be swallowed by
the sea and forgotten.
She
teetered, her heel stamping behind, her blood racing. She’d stopped herself
from falling. She was safe.
Warmth
encircled her waist. Someone had helped her. A man.
“Lord
Winterton?” she said, breathless. There was no response. “August?”
She
made to face her saviour, but his hold tightened, forcing her to stare at the
abyss below. The waves had paled to a crystalline colour, strangely bright as
though the night could not touch them. Foam white as bone powerfully swept
across as effortlessly as a hand gesture.
Barely
any of the beach remained, the pale sands glowing harshly. Another statue lay
shattered into pieces and it was claimed by the sea.
Virtue
wavered on the edge, her survival relying on another’s benevolence. Sea spray
flicked with every crash, a faint mist coating her cheeks. She shook. Beating
down her neck was the man’s hot breath, tinged sweet with whisky.
“Let
me go,” Virtue demanded.
After
too long a pause, which caused her heart to go still with terror, she was
turned to face him.
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