by Paula Wynne
An army of people scuttled in and out of two police cars and three security vans. She spotted someone attaching a surveillance camera to one side of the house. Another set of cameras were being fitted to the opposite side. A man on the roof ran wires along the gutters.
An alarm suddenly shrieked and everyone stopped dead in their tracks.
A voice bellowed, ‘Okay everyone, that’s the last test.’ Then the owner of the voice appeared in the doorway and shouted at the men with the cameras. ‘Alarm done. How you guys doing?’
The man running cables near the gutter shouted back, ‘Every point between the boundary and the house is covered. No blind spots.’
Roy slipped back into the car. He leaned over and whispered to Kelby, ‘You’re finally verified and able to go inside your own home.’
Kelby stared at Roy and shook her head. ‘Hawk.’ She choked up and muttered, ‘He did this.’
‘Good man. He came through.’
After squeezing the car between the security vehicles, Roy jumped out and lifted Annie out of the car. She pushed his hands away gently. ‘I’m fine, Rob Roy, I want to walk. Daddy taught me to never give up.’
As Kelby’s breath caught in her throat, she exchanged a look with Roy.
Annie stood between them and took each of their hands in her own. ‘I promised him he could share my two feet.’
A pair of silver-grey doves flew over them. Annie pointed up as one of them let out a woo-oo-oo cry. ‘See, Aunt Kel, Daddy and Mummy are with us. Up there.’
Kelby watched the birds hide themselves in amongst the pine needles. A quiver ran through her. Was it the same dove she’d seen outside Gary’s shed?
She shook her head. Now she was imagining things. Yet the sensation Gary was watching over them still lingered. Talking to him, as she had done with her mother, helped to heal the gaping hole he’d left in her life. She chuckled to herself, maybe she’d be talking to him through Annie in future.
They ambled to the front door and Annie tugged on Kelby’s hand. ‘No big work handbag, Aunt Kel?’
‘Don’t need one.’ As Annie smiled at her, Kelby thought her heart would burst. ‘It’s just us three, Pumpkin.’
‘And our ants.’
The End of
The Grotto’s Secret
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Coming soon...
The
Sacred Symbol
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Bonus Material
Go behind the scenes of The Grotto’s Secret at
http://paulawynne.com/the-grottos-secret
Bonus material is available at
http://eepurl.com/bEidgH
* A map of the grotto’s location
* Behind the scenes information
* Q&A with Paula about her inspiration behind
the story creation
* Things you don’t know about some characters
You can download reading group questions at
http://bit.ly/21wEEMQ
Join Paula’s mailing list to receive the latest news about upcoming releases and specials and for the opportunity to get a free review copy of her next book:
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Author’s Notes
Writing a historical novel creates challenges for an author. Especially when it comes to what is and isn’t true.
The facts about the Spanish Inquisition have been carefully researched and are true. The witch hunts and torture methods are true. Many horrific devices were used to force people into being heretics or witches. I was fascinated with the idea that many ‘witches’ burnt at the stake may have been innocent mothers, like Madre.
I was inspired by Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) who wrote his own complete herbal. He was prosecuted for witchcraft by the Society of Apothecaries, but acquitted by a jury. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal is still in print today.
Most of the facts I have used about plankton are true. However, rizado is completely fabricated.
The poisonous plants I have used to kill fictional characters can really kill humans and dogs. Some cause agonising deaths. The popular oleander bush, prolific in Spain, almost killed my puppy. You can read his story on my website at
http://paulawynne.com/the-grottos-secret.
You can also read about toxic plants on my Pinterest board:
https://uk.pinterest.com/paulagracewynne/writing-the-grottos-secret/
You can also check out my notes and timelines for the story at http://paulawynne.com/infographics
Acknowledgments
Firstly, I want to thank my readers who trusted me enough to buy this book. Thank you for your faith in me.
I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who saw me through this book; to all those who provided support, talked things over, read, wrote, offered comments, allowed me to quote their remarks and assisted in the editing, proofreading and design.
Above all, I want to thank my husband, Ken, my son Kent, my mad puppy Dexter, and the rest of my family, who supported and encouraged me in spite of all the time it took me away from them.
Expert help
As I have researched and written The Grotto’s Secret some extremely kind, generous and knowledgeable people have provided me with information. Their expertise and help has been rich in detail, brimming with constructive feedback. A thousand thanks to them all.
The following people are experts in their field and I am hugely grateful for their advice and feedback which has helped to improve the book. In no particular order I would like to thank:
Bob Bedford, Executive Director at the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture. Bob enriched the chapters and discussion between Tío and María. His advice and suggestions added colour and authenticity to the characters.
Paul Newman, author of Daily Life In The Middle Ages and Growing Up in the Middle Ages helped in verifying facts about daily life in medieval times.
Timothy Graham, Professor of History at The University of New Mexico also helped me in ensuring the historical details were correct. Tim teaches keen students about handling medieval documents and manuscripts. He has had the privilege to work with the finest collections of medieval manuscripts in Cambridge and Oxford in England, along with rare collections in France and the USA. As proof of his expertise, Tim was awarded the 2016 Award for Excellence in Teaching by the Medieval Academy of America Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA).
Frank Morey from Virtus Risk Management whose information and advice on celebrities needing security when threatened by internet stalkers made those sections come alive.
Kevin Robinson a retired West Yorkshire police inspector, who has over thirty years of British and international policing experience. Since retiring Kevin supports writers in making their fictional police officers and procedures more realistic.
Doctor Mike Rossiter, Consultant in Sport, Exercise and Musculoskeletal Medicine who helped me to ensure the doctors and nurses in my book sounded like real medical staff.
Rob MacNevin for reading the crash chapters to be sure even the tiniest details are correct.
And finally, thank you to Kent Wynne and Ryan and Niall Sheridan for being supportive sons.
My awesome beta readers
Beta readers are avid book-lovers who read final drafts of novels to advise the author of any major hiccup
s before the book goes into the editing process. These wonderful, caring friends read the book and gave their feedback and constructive advice on how to improve some sections of the book.
I am deeply thankful for the help given by Ros Brookman, Graham Bird, Angela Crouch, Helen Johnson, Mary Murphy and Amanda Connery.
And a huge thank you to my husband, Ken Sheridan, who picked out things that didn’t make sense and suggested many ways of improving the book.
Last and not least: I ask forgiveness of anyone whose name I have failed to mention.
About The Author
Moving to Spain allowed Paula to fulfil her lifelong dream to write novels. During the hunt for their new home in rural Andalusia, Paula and her husband found a beautiful home with stunning views down the Valle del Guadalhorce to Malaga and Marbella.
Apart from a white-washed village in the far distance, the valley is lush with green wheat fields and rolling hills, shadowed by layer after layer of mountains.
Paula’s first sight of the Guadalhorce Valley took her breath away and gave birth to the fictional location of The Grotto’s Secret.
Paula received an ‘Honourable Mention’ in the 75th Annual Writers Digest Writing Competition for two unpublished novels, which inspired her to continue writing.
Paula and her husband Ken starred in the BBC Show, Escape to the Continent, which showed their quest to live in Spain.
When Paula is not writing, she will be pottering in her garden, walking her Springer Spaniel along the country tracks around her home or exploring caves and ruins in Andalusia.