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Where the Light Stays
Every window holds a different version of home.
Elena Vale
When a travelling photographer arrives in Rowan Bay, a borrowed room becomes the beginning of an unlikely friendship.
THE STORY
Step into the story.
Kit photographs places that people are about to leave. Rowan Bay should be another brief assignment: a coastal hotel, its last winter guests and the rooms that will soon stand empty.
But the owner has one condition. Before Kit takes a single photograph, she must spend an evening with each guest. Their stories lead her beyond the hotel and into a town negotiating what it means to change without losing itself.
Returning to the world of The Shape of Leaving, this second Rowan Bay novel explores the art of paying attention, the generosity of strangers and the difference between recording a life and living it.
The details
GENRE
Literary fiction
SERIES
Rowan Bay
READING ORDER
Book 2
PUBLICATION
FORMATS
Hardback · eBook
LENGTH
328 pages
PUBLISHER
Rowan House · illustrative imprint
READ THE FIRST PAGES
An early glimpse · The room upstairs
The room was described as having a sea view, which was true if you stood by the wardrobe and leaned slightly to the left. Kit put her camera on the bed and tested the angle. A strip of grey water appeared between two roofs.
Downstairs, someone was playing the piano one hand at a time. The melody stopped at the same place, returned to the beginning and stopped again. She knew how that felt.
On the desk was a card: Dinner at seven. No photographs at the table. Underneath, in smaller handwriting: You are welcome to listen.
Kit unpacked one shirt. It was her usual bargain with a new place. One shirt meant she could leave in the morning without having to admit she had expected anything else.
The story continues. Choose your copy above, or join the reader club for early chapters of the next book.
KEEP READING
More from the bookshelf.
Available Now
Rowan Bay
The Shape of Leaving
A letter brings Mara home to the coast she left behind. The house is unchanged. Everything else is waiting to be understood.
Read an excerpt & buy →
Coming Soon
Rowan Bay
The Quiet Between Tides
A collection of unsent letters draws three generations back to the shore. The next chapter of Rowan Bay is on its way.
Discover what’s next →
Available Now
Standalone
A Practice of Attention
Small, practical invitations to notice more, collect better ideas and bring a little more intention to a creative life.
Read an excerpt & buy →
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Early chapters, cover reveals and launch-day news — straight from the writing desk.