Norfolk

<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-raffaella-barker"><a href="https://raffaellabarker.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RAFFAELLA BARKER</a> </h3>



Author of nine novels, including&nbsp;the&nbsp;bestselling From&nbsp;a&nbsp;Distance, Raffaella Barker has been writing novels since she was 26 and has been a promiscuous reader all her life. Daughter of poet George Barker and award-winning novelist and journalist Elspeth Barker, Raffaella lives in Norfolk and lectures on the Creative Writing programme at the UEA. Recently published Notes From the Henhouse is a collection of short stories by Elspeth Barker, with an introduction by Raffaella.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/raffaella-barker-norfolk-author-credit-sam-barker-photo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48002" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/raffaella-barker-norfolk-author-credit-sam-barker-photo.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/raffaella-barker-norfolk-author-credit-sam-barker-photo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/raffaella-barker-norfolk-author-credit-sam-barker-photo-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sambarkerphoto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sam Barker Photo</a></figcaption></figure>



&#8216;We had bookshelves everywhere when I was growing up and I would stare at them and imagine the realms and experiences that lay within them. Books that I have never forgotten from childhood are Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder &#8211; the life of a pioneering family building a home, keeping a pig, making life cosy and ordinary while outside bears roamed, snow fell in great curtains and the next door neighbours lived at least a distance of two days drive in a pony and cart. Also, The Go Between by LP Hartley &#8211; I was in the film when I was five (it was shot in Heydon), read the book when I was 11. The opening phrase ‘The past is foreign country: they do things differently there’ landed me as an idea so deeply. I still love to think of all the pasts existing in parallel to our lives.&#8217;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-emma-healey"><a href="https://www.emmahealey.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EMMA HEALEY</a></h3>



Emma Healey is the author of the million-copy bestseller&nbsp;Elizabeth is Missing. She lives in Norwich with her husband, daughter, and cat, and writes literary mystery and suspense, often focusing on the aftermath of big life events. Her third novel&nbsp;Sweat&nbsp;will be published in January 2025. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/emma-healey-norfolk-author.jpg" alt="Emma Healey, author based in Norwich, Norfolk" class="wp-image-47821" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/emma-healey-norfolk-author.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/emma-healey-norfolk-author-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/emma-healey-norfolk-author-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Charlotte Gray Photography</figcaption></figure>



“I basically failed most of my GCSEs because I was too busy reading Ann Radcliffe’s 18th century gothic novels. I loved the heightened atmosphere, the sublime description, and the intricate plots.&nbsp;The Mysteries of Udolpho &#8211; about an isolated young woman trying to untangle herself from a sinister family connection &#8211; hit all my secret-solving and sentimental sweet-spots. Radcliffe effectively invented the device of frightening the reader with a seemingly supernatural incident before revealing a totally terrestrial explanation, and the cleverness of that, the way the ordinary was made extraordinary and then dismantled again, inspired my own early stories. I still want to take my readers on a similar journey &#8211; hinting at darkness and yet staying grounded in reality &#8211; and Ann Radcliffe’s balance of ambition and restraint is still a guiding principle.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rachel-hore"><a href="https://rachelhore.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RACHEL HORE</a></h3>



Rachel Hore is a Sunday Times bestselling author of 13 novels, some historical, some dual-timeline.&nbsp;The latest, The Hidden Years, has a Cornish setting and is now out in paperback.&nbsp; She lives in Norwich with her husband, the writer D.J. Taylor, and they have three grown-up sons.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/rachel.hore-norfolk-author.jpg" alt="Rachel Hore, Norfolk author - credit: Charlotte Murphy" class="wp-image-48251" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/rachel.hore-norfolk-author.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/rachel.hore-norfolk-author-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/rachel.hore-norfolk-author-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Charlotte Murphy</figcaption></figure>



&#8220;Barbara Erskine&#8217;s Lady of Hay (1986) was an inspiring influence on my work because it demonstrated new possibilities for historical writers by using the technique of two intertwining narratives, the present one interrogating the past.&nbsp; It&#8217;s the story of Jo, a female journalist, who under hypnotism finds herself reliving the experiences of Matilda, Lady of Hay, a noblewoman in the time of King John. The author&#8217;s research is impeccable, which impressed me, and she tells an enviably page-turning story full of atmosphere and suspense.&nbsp; There&#8217;s a strong underpinning feminist theme, too, that gives the reader plenty to think about,&nbsp;and I like to provide that also. Barbara&#8217;s many novels usually involve a supernatural element, but I&#8217;m more interested, as a writer, in the psychological aspects of our fascination with family origins and unpicking family myths and legends.&nbsp;Lady of Hay, however, is an inspiration impossible to beat.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heidi-swain"><a href="https://heidiswain.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HEIDI SWAIN</a></h3>



Heidi Swain is an award-winning author of commercial romantic friction who recently surpassed one million sales. She lives in west Norfolk and is currently writing her 19th novel.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/heidi-swain-norfolk-author-1.jpg" alt="Heidi Swain, Norfolk author" class="wp-image-48229" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/heidi-swain-norfolk-author-1.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/heidi-swain-norfolk-author-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/heidi-swain-norfolk-author-1-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



&#8220;I discovered the Larkin family via The Darling Buds of May by HE Bates in my late teens and felt an instant fondness for their generosity of spirit, endless desire to entertain and, in the case of Ma Larkin, feed, anyone and everyone who crossed the Home Farm threshold. Having spent my own childhood growing up in the Fenland countryside and summer holidays picking fruit for my grandad, I felt an affinity to the clan who had many similar experiences to my own, both on and off the strawberry fields.&nbsp;I had dreamt of becoming an author practically from the moment I could read and when I finally set the wheels in motion, I was determined to fill my stories with the same warmth, kindness and sense of community spirit which Bates has so beautifully captured in the Larking series. I hope that anyone who has read my books will agree that I have succeeded.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-polly-crosby"><a href="https://www.pollycrosby.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">POLLY CROSBY</a></h3>



Polly Crosby lives in the heart of Norfolk with her husband and son, their ancient rescue cat and a scatty, scruffy lurcher. Polly writes historical mysteries for adults. Her debut young adult novel, This Tale is Forbidden, came out in January.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/polly-crosby-norfolk-author.jpg" alt="Polly Crosby, Norfolk author" class="wp-image-48159" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/polly-crosby-norfolk-author.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/polly-crosby-norfolk-author-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/polly-crosby-norfolk-author-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



&#8220;So many books ignited my love of writing, but one that stays with me even now is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. My novels are inspired by nature and the local landscape, and there is something so evocative in the way she writes about the garden and how it comes to life. At this time of year, as spring begins to unfurl all around us, I find myself returning again and again to her words, and there is always something new and surprising within them.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cressida-mclaughlin"><a href="https://www.cressidamclaughlin.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLIN</a></h3>



Cressy is the bestselling author of uplifting, romantic books including The Cornish Cream Tea series and The Staycation. She grew up in London surrounded by books and with a cat named after Lawrence of Arabia. She studied English at the University of East Anglia and now lives in Norwich with her husband David.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/cressida-mclaughlin-norfolk-author.jpg" alt="Cressida McLaughlin, Norfolk author" class="wp-image-48228" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/cressida-mclaughlin-norfolk-author.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/cressida-mclaughlin-norfolk-author-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/cressida-mclaughlin-norfolk-author-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



&#8220;I have loved reading ever since I can remember and had to do a whole lot of it for my English Literature degree. When I’d finished that, my book choices veered towards crime and thrillers until one day, looking for something different, I borrowed a book from the Norwich Millennium library called A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. The title was so appealing, as well as the fact that in the blurb the heroine, Laura, is from London, but goes to Norfolk on a family holiday. I lived in London until I was 18, we used to go to Happisburgh on family holidays, and then I moved to Norwich for university and never left.&nbsp;



&#8220;In the book, Laura meets Nick while visiting this huge country estate, and it’s the only bright part of a day spent looking at a dusty old house with her relatives. I was completely swept up in the story, it made me grin and laugh, swoon and sigh happily, cry when it looked like everything was going wrong. At the time I had just started a creative writing class, was exploring short stories and poetry, but A Hopeless Romantic made me feel something I never had before: I wanted to write something that gave readers all those feelings, something they would care about as much as I cared about Laura and Nick. It was the first spurt of ambition I had to write a whole book, and I knew it had to be a romance. Now I write my own romance books –&nbsp;I’ve just started number 16 – and I read as many as I can get my hands on. I don’t think I’d be as happy doing anything else.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clare-marchant"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/claremarchantauthor/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLARE MARCHANT</a></h3>



Clare Marchant is a USA Today bestseller author of 16th&nbsp;century/present day dual timeline fiction. Her books have been translated into eight languages and her latest book The House of the Witch will be published August 2024.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="833" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/clare-marchant-norfolk-author-833x1000.jpg" alt="Clare Marchant, Norfolk author" class="wp-image-48084" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/clare-marchant-norfolk-author-833x1000.jpg 833w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/clare-marchant-norfolk-author-667x800.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/clare-marchant-norfolk-author-768x922.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/norfolk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2024/02/clare-marchant-norfolk-author.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 833px) 100vw, 833px" /></figure>



&#8220;When I was a teenager, and already an avid reader, my mother introduced me to a variety of classic novelists – HE Bates, Elizabeth Gaskell, Dickens (no thanks, Mum!) and Daphne du Maurier. Since that moment I’ve been passionate about du Maurier. I started with Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and then steadily read my way through her backlist. And from those the book which totally captivated and inspired me to write historical fiction was The King’s General. Although it is one of du Maurier’s lesser known books, it is, in my opinion, her best. The historical detail of the English civil war is perfect and enough to satisfy a history buff, without it reading like a textbook. And against that background it has a tragic love story which not only was I enthralled by as a teenager, but I still enjoy today! Reading it made me want to write books which transported the reader not only back to another era, but into characters who are alive and step off the page. Thank you Daphne du Maurier for the inspiration that has brought me to where I am today!&#8221;

7 Norfolk authors share the novels that inspired them to write

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