The Paula Brackston Fan Group discussion

From the Author

The Silver Witch is arguably a story with three main characters: Tilda, Seren, and the lake itself.

Llangors Lake is just over the hill from where I live, and it is a place that has fascinated me since I was a child. I used to ride my pony from our farmhouse up and across the top of the mountain. After half an hour or so of trotting and cantering through the heather and bracken I would come to the plateau that forms the summit of this hill and from there you can see down into the valley on the other side. And there, nestling in the lush lowland meadows, with the majestic Beacons rising up behind it, sits the lake, shaped like an enormous tadpole, fringed by wetlands at one end, pastures and small woodlands at the other. From so high up the water often looked like glass, with the sun bouncing off it and reflections sharp and bright. Some days it would be shrouded in mist, and trapped by the vapour the sounds of the water birds would reverberate around the valley. If there was snow, the lake would show up as a dark, almost sinister hole in the midst of the gleaming whiteness surrounding it.

It is certainly a place to stir the imagination, and setting my story there made writing it a very special experience for me.

I loved The Silver Witch Paula and the setting you used was fabulous and now knowing how intimate you were with it makes it even more special.