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In this collection of prose poems novelist Wendy Robertson takes her reader through her own experience of the peaks and troughs of 'Low Mood'. She says 'Focusing and refining the language i my writing has brought me a valuable degree of control and recovery.'

A psychological novel from bestselling author Wendy Robertson A psychological novel from bestselling author Wendy Robertson The Story We're all experts in childhood. After all weren't we all once children? But ... Twelve year old Dee - is a misfit in her family. Her parents see her stubborn willfulness as a source of chaos in the household. It's the last straw when she decides not to speak. As her life begins to unravel Dee tells us her own story - how she begins to rescue herself from her own life. But she's not alone on her journey. Travelling with her is a woman who throws pots and a dog called Rufus. Then there are Dee's drawing books and characters she's met in stories she has read... First Three Readers' Comments 1. Avril Joy, Novelist and Short Story Writer 'From the first page we have no choice but to take this fragile but resilient child into our hearts. We see the world through Dee's eyes, notice everything as she does, struggling with her 'to work out what all this means, ' from the beasts and cages that haunt her dreams to the uncomfortable, often destructive, politics of family life. The world of the novel is as richly textured as the 'markings, ' Dee makes in her precious books. It is a world in which the powerlessness of childhood is laid bare. It's triumph is to show us just how the spirit of the child survives. What makes this novel so touching is the way Wendy Robertson fast tracks us straight into Dee's world' 2. Clive Johnson, Editor and Author 'Most striking here is the careful handling of the mystery of Dee's state of mind and the growing undercurrent of menace.' Clive Johnson 3 Sharon Griffiths, Author and Journalist 'It's easy to label a child, much harder to see the real picture. In a tense and moving story, Wendy Robertson challenges us to find a new way of looking.'

A beautifully interwoven tale of four generations and the secrets they have kept...In 1991, Bronwen Carmichael is a student in Durham. While researching aspects of World War Two, she finds her mother Rosa's journal. It was written in 1954; Rosa was thirteen and England was recovering from the war. As Bronwen discovers, it was also a dark time in Rosa's childhood. At the journal's heart is a deep family secret which now, fifty years later, may suddenly create havoc in the restrained Carmichael family. This secret has tied the family together - matriarch Kate, writer Rosa, academic Bronwen and daughter Lily - with invisible cords.

How well do we really know the ones we love? Wendy Robertson's The Woman Who Drew Buildings is a powerful portrayal of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her son. Perfect for fans of Josephine Cox and Rosie Goodwin. As Adam Matheve walks towards his mother's house, to see her for the first time in two years, he has just one hope - to forge the bond with her for which he's always yearned. Enigmatic Marie Matheve has spent her life indulging her passion for drawing buildings. Now, after a dangerous fall, she lies unconscious, her life slipping away. All Adam can do is wait in desperate hope for her recovery. But as time passes Adam begins to unravel the mystery of his mother's past and discovers how little he really knows about the woman who raised him... What readers are saying about Wendy Robertson: 'The gift of a true writer is in the telling of stories and characters that stay with you long after you close the book - and Wendy Robertson is one of those writers' 'A skilful, imaginative novelist' 'Five stars'

In this collection Wendy Robertson takes the reader on a creative journey through the peaks and troughs of depression. Mindometry: States of mind How do I know what I mean till I see what I say? I have experienced the blight of so-called Low Mood three times in my life. The first was when I was fourteen. Nobody noticed this in a busy self-involved household and a busy exam-oriented school. The second time was when for twenty years I'd been a teacher and a lecturer, combining that with writing fiction - as well as a mother, wife and householder after the first two years. This second time it was noticed. I had a very good GP who convinced me that medication could help with what was basically 'a chemical imbalance'. I helped myself by adjusting my work/life balance, especially by moving onto full time writing and, after eighteen months had passed, I was more of less back to normal and taking no medication. Twenty years on, during this last winter I've had another spell of this destructive 'Low Mood' thing, plunging into that well remembered darkness when I wasn't looking.(Light is clearly important to my mental welfare.) This time again I had an excellent GP who recommended medication and some (very good) counselling. The chemicals are doing their work. The good counsellor has helped me draw logical lines through the chaos in my mind. She also showed a real interest in the way that I, as a writer, viewed and was affected by my reactions to this low mood As I go through my life I have always kept a constant notebook, scribbling ideas, lines, observations, sketches day by day. It has always been so. And these days my notebook is being shaped by my difficult journey through this phase of Low Mood, to the point when I may be able to see a way through. Then, with the help of the good counsellor I've been enabled to make sense of what might seem to be an incoherent verbal chaos in my mind: to focus on what it all meant. Working on and clarifying the words on the page has meant that I could focus on and clarify the meaning of what I was going through and give it some shape. This process, with the pills and the benevolent people, is showing me the way back to the steady state of mind that I need to cope with my life. I have ended up with this collection of developed writing - some from the recent episodes, some from earlier constant notebooks reflecting the same feeling. Again I say, How do I know what I mean till I see what I say?

Will she have the courage to face her past...? When the bright lights of the theatre collide with the old values of a small community, the stage is quite literally set for a tale of passion, drama and tragedy in No Rest For the Wicked, a gripping saga from much-loved author Wendy Robertson. Perfect for fans of Rita Bradshaw and Rosie Goodwin. In the poverty-stricken years after the First World War, a travelling troupe of players arrives in the small Northern village of Bishop Auckland. With them is Pippa, a young French girl who has her own secrets. For her, and for so many of her companions, the troupe provides a sanctuary from the outside world. Protected by the lights, make-up and costumes, none of them notices what is going on underneath their very noses. But when something tragic happens in the town within days of Pippa's arrival, she is forced to start examining her old life and looking forward to a new one, no matter what the cost... What readers are saying about Wendy Robertson: 'The gift of a true writer is in the telling of stories and characters that stay with you long after you close the book - and Wendy Robertson is one of those writers' 'A skilful, imaginative novelist' 'Five stars'

A saga of a divided family and the unwanted child who reunites them. Honesty's Daughter is a compelling saga from Wendy Robertson that reaches out from Durham to Colorado Springs to wartime France, and links the lives, passions, tragedies and triumphs of a troubled family. Perfect for fans of Josephine Cox and Rosie Goodwin. 'Robertson handles skilfully a transitional world in which both values and people change. A heart-rending tale of love and hardship' - Lancashire Evening Post Carmel Benbow's first love has always been her garden and, since her husband's death, little else has occupied her. But her children, long-starved of a mother's affections are suffering. Seventeen-year-old Michael John is a vicious bully, his younger brother, Ambrose, his primary target, and Astrid, the eldest, is embroiled in a highly unsuitable affair. As the First World War approaches, the family is on the verge of disintegration, but help comes from an unusual source. Keziah, a lifelong friend, traveller and horse-dealer, uses her controversial magic on the family, but will her influence be enough to rescue Michael John from himself, Ambrose from Michael John and Astrid from her lover? What readers are saying about Honesty's Daughter: 'This is a [well] rounded story with a lovely flavour of Co. Durham' 'The characters are delightful' 'A very warm read - five stars'

A family feud and one fateful night result in tragedy... Under a Brighter Sky is a powerful and evocative saga by Wendy Robertson that tells the tale of two families, a bitter rivalry and the dramatic repercussions of one dark night. Perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn. The Catholic Farrells and the non-conformist McNaughtons live in the same Durham mining village. It is only when the Farrells' Aunt Biddy arrives from Ireland that the two clans finally meet, albeit disastrously. After this meeting it is the McNaughtons who are forced to look after Aunt Biddy and although Greg's family is divided by Biddy's presence, his thoughts remain with Biddy's bright young niece, Shona Farrell. It's at Shona's insistence that they all spend Christmas together. But the events of Boxing Night, when Margaret McNaughton is found wandering the streets and a local prostitute is murdered, leaves the finger of guilt pointing at Tommo Farrell. Distraught, Shona follows Tommo's trail to Manchester, a trail which Douglas McNaughton is treading for reasons of his own... What readers are saying about Wendy Robertson: 'The gift of a true writer is in the telling of stories and characters that stay with you long after you close the book - and Wendy Robertson is one of those writers' 'A skilful, imaginative novelist' 'Five stars'

After nursing in the Spanish Civil War, Susan is relieved to set foot on English soil again. By her side is a beautiful, young Spanish woman, Chichu, who has lost her whole family in the fight against Franco and only kept her own life by fleeing. But adjusting to life in England isn't easy; Chichu's foreign temperament is often met with suspicion, and Susan, who discovers that a tragic love affair has left her pregnant, also faces hostility. In desperation they return to Susan's childhood home, a farm on the Durham fells - now run by a reclusive farmer. But their peace is short-lived as threat of the Second World War reaches the countryside and Chichu is interned. Unwillingly, Susan turns to Spanish War veteran Aaron Maichin for help, a man whom neither she nor Chichu ever trusted...

First World War. Pupil-teacher Mara Scorton's world is one of, ill-lit classrooms and the sight of unshod feet shining purplish in the cold winter light. And, though she is little more than a girl herself, Mara loves her job in the Hartlepool dockland school, despite the imperious ways of her headmaster Mr Clonmel. But her world falls apart when a German warship demolishes the school and Mr Clonmel is killed. Mara is handed a mysterious package by a dying Frenchman addressed to his children in her home town of Priorton. Mara returns home, accompanied by her annoying but seemingly harmless landlady, to her warm unorthodox family. And to the house of Jean-Paul and his deranged, damaged sister Helene, two French refugees who will have long-lasting effect on the stormy years to come...