WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Saskia Walker

My most common source of inspiration is a sense of place. July sees the publication of my novella, WHAT YOU WISH FOR, in SECRETS volume 19. WHAT YOU WISH FOR is a perfect example of this inspiration at work, because the story grew out of an entrancing, romantic and mystical place. Set on the Cornish peninsula in England, the novella is a paranormal time travel. When I set out to write it I wanted the place to be as important as the characters —I wanted to capture a little bit of somewhere that is very special to me.

Cornwall is a beautiful part of the country, the very tiptoe of England. Dramatic landscape, rugged coastline, and untouched, cosy villages abound, and the history of the county is evident everywhere. The people have a whimsical attitude, and they play into the myths and legends of their locality. This makes it a popular place for tourists, and settlers who seek a more bohemian, timeless environment to live in. Not only that, but when you visit Cornwall you have the sense that anything is possible. There is a magical quality to the county, and that is what I have tried to capture in my story.

WHAT YOU WISH FOR features a London web designer who has moved to Cornwall to restore a cottage and intends to run her business from her home. As Lucy restores the cottage she becomes intrigued by its history, and the date of its build. She jokes that she will find out, even if she has to go back in time to get the answer. The local nurse has befriended Lucy, and unbeknownst to Lucy the local nurse is also the local white witch.

In the story, Lucy not only gets the chance to visit the house two hundred years earlier and find out when it was built, her life also collides with Cullen Thaine, a handsome visitor to the cottage who feels as much attached to Cornwall as she is, but who is about to leave. The conjunction of their lives in time and the attraction between them leads to passion, romance, and more. Someone must give up a part of themselves to be with the other, but who will it be?

The images here feature the harbour at Newquay, where the story is set, and the Bedruthan Steps, the treacherous, rocky coastline where many ships have floundered throughout history - an important location in my story.

SECRETS Volume 19 features four erotic romances, and has the subtitle “timeless passions.” I hope that readers of my novella will get a sense of the beautiful landscape in Cornwall, and through my two characters — who are both bound to the place in their own ways — experience the magical, romantic quality of life there.

Saskia
http://www.saskiawalker.co.uk/

To read more about Cornwall go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall