Sidmouth-based author Lucy Hounsom is celebrating having released her latest book, Sistersong.
Lucy, 34, has been writing since she was a teenager and Sistersong is the fourth book which she has penned.
Set in in the Sidmouth area during the early medieval period, Sistersong reimagines an old English folk ballad called “The Twa Sisters,” a story of sibling rivalry, murder and transformation. The period is post-Roman Britain when the Westcountry was under threat of invasion by Saxon Wessex, and deals with themes surrounding the search for identity, and our lost connection with nature.
Lucy, who writes under the pen name Lucy Holland, said: “The siblings' home is inspired by the sub-Roman remains found at High Peak in Sidmouth. Set in 535 AD, the novel brings this formative but little-known historical period to life. The three main characters, Riva, Keyne and Sinne, become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths. Their story will shape the destiny of Britain.”
Lucy, who grew up in the Thames Valley, but moved with her parents to Sidmouth in 2009, has for the past ten years worked part time as a bookseller at Waterstones in Exeter, a perfect job for a writer. Her sister, Laura Madeleine, based in Bristol, is also a published author.
Lucy has written three other books – the Worldmaker Trilogy – which are available in stores and online.
Sistersong was published by Pan Macmillan on Thursday, April 1 in the UK in hardback, eBook and audio formats, and is due to be published in the US in October. There will be signed hardbacks of Sistersong available to purchase in Winstone’s, Sidmouth and Waterstones, Exeter. The book is also available from all the major online bookshops. Lucy’s next book, exploring the folklore of the Wild Hunt, will follow in Summer 2022.
To find out more visit: http://lucyhounsom.co.uk, follow her on Facebook at ‘Lucy Hounsom’ or on Twitter and Instagram @silvanhistorian. Lucy also co-hosts the award-winning literary and pop culture podcast, “Breaking the Glass Slipper” – available on all the main podcasting platforms.
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