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by Michelle Harrison

It was a bottle. Just a bottle made of bevelled small, and coated with a silver lacquer that had flaked off in places, not enough to reveal its contents. The cork stopper was crumbling, but tightly wedged in. There was something looped around its neck with string; a stained label, coiled with damp. Kitty reached past me and hooked it out. A mouldering smell reached my nose as she unfurled the label. '"They say there be a witch inside it,'" she read. '"And if you let her out, there'll be a peck of trouble."' She let the paper spring back and grinned the grin that I loved. The grin that usually meant she was about to do something reckless. 'Let's smash it.'

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 1, 2050

About the author

My first children's novel, THE 13 TREASURES, won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. THE OTHER ALICE won the Calderdale Book of the Year Award. A PINCH OF MAGIC won a Dutch Bronze Pen Award. My books have been translated and sold in 25 territories worldwide.

Before becoming a full-time writer I worked in publishing as an editor, and before that, as a bookseller. Prior to that, I worked in bars, a bakery, and a second-hand record shop to make ends meet while trying to get my first book deal. I live in Essex and have a son, Jack, and two cats, Widdershins and Lucky.

My next children's novel is A CLOCK STRIKES MURDER, a sequel to TWICE UPON A TIME, publishing in March 2026 in the UK. My debut novel for adults is TWO LITTLE LIARS, a thriller partially set in the 1990s. It publishes in June 2026.