Greetings! I’m pleased to meet you and to welcome you here today. I, and my novel’s characters, are very happy that you could join us today to make your acquaintance, so why don’t we begin…
Introducing…our main character, Miss Kathleen Devine.
Miss Kathleen Devine is a consumate letter writer and it is this gift which enables her to try and understand what is happening on ‘The Sentinel’ lighthouse station. Up until this point in time her world is a world of privilege. Althought tinged with pain and heartache she has never had to confront her own inability to understand the actions of people who have a past they cannot escape. In doing so now, she gains maturity and humility and a growing sense of purpose.
Now let me introduce you to the fearsome Head Lightkeeper, Mr Johannsson.
Mr Johannsson believes in nothing less than an absolute dedication to truth, integrity and duty. His high standards make it difficult however, for those of lesser nature to live up to these ideals, including his keepers and even his own son. It is impossible for Mr Johannsson to compromise himself but in his unyielding character, there lies a fatal flaw for how can he understand other’s mistakes if he cannot understand his own?
Please say hello to the delightful Isabella Brown.
Isabella is a girl full of life and curiosity and tragic naivete who inculcates herself with the Head Lightkeeper, forming an unlikely alliance that leads to tragic consequences. Isabella needs guidance and direction as she becomes more and more a pawn for the machinations of those around her, oblivious to all save for her own delight in the natural environment and in what she can learn of the weather and the sea from Mr Johannsson.
And finally, another introduction…
Every character (except for many of the children) have hidden depths and must work through their own inescapable choices to find peace and a way forward but, towering above all, is, and will always be, the Sentinel. It is steady, it’s light does not fail, and it is a guiding beacon when all seems dark.
Until next time,
Jacqui.
