The next window opens

The next Rowan Bay story begins with a room upstairs. A photographer arrives at a hotel expecting a brief assignment. Instead, she is asked to put her camera down and listen. That small condition changed everything I thought the book would be.

A different view of a familiar place

Where the Light Stays returns to the coast with a new central character, Kit. She is skilled at noticing what a place looks like and less certain about what it asks of her. Through the hotel’s final winter guests, she begins to learn the difference.

I wanted the cover to hold that tension: a strong architectural shape, a warm light and a view that is only partly available. The doorway is open, but you still have to decide to walk through it. It is a simple image with room for a reader’s own interpretation.

Before publication day

The book page brings together the opening glimpse, publication details and available preorder destinations. The reader club is the place for occasional updates as the story moves towards publication. If you review books or run a reading group, the launch-team page is also open for advance-copy requests.

This is the second Rowan Bay novel. You can meet Kit without reading Mara’s story first, though returning readers may recognise a particular blue pot. I hope the familiar details feel like catching sight of a friend across a room.

Stay for the story

Thank you for spending time in this imagined town. The most rewarding part of writing a place is discovering how much more there is to notice when you return.