SECRETS

Why do we keep secrets? Because we are embarrassed or ashamed to reveal the truth, because we feel guilty, because we want to give a nice surprise, because we are protecting someone or maybe many people, even a whole nation, because we are protecting ourselves, because we are simply enjoying keeping something precious to ourselves. Can you think of any other reasons?

I believe that every story contains at least one secret, even if it’s just the author keeping a secret from the reader. But in some stories the secret is the main theme, or perhaps the story is dominated by various secrets. I have written two such books.

The first one I wrote some years ago. It’s called SECRETS AND LIES and is one of my FAMILIES IN A STEP-CHAIN series.

This is the only book I’ve ever written that is based on something from real life. When my daughters were about fourteen and fifteen, one of their friends told me a whole secret story about her life. She said she was telling me because I was an author and she wondered if I could work it into a book.  At first I dismissed the idea because after all it was a secret, but in the end I found myself just writing it, though of course I changed all the names and family dynamics and circumstances.

It’s all about a fourteen year old girl, Katie whose mother, for reasons of her own, wants to have absolutely nothing to do with her ex-husband and his new family and has always kept her daughter away from them. Katie has never met her real father as she’s been brought up since she was a baby by her step-dad. She calls her step-dad ‘Dad’, and regards him as her real dad. But then she discovers that her eighteen year old brother is in regular contact with his half brother but has always kept it a secret from his mum so as not to upset her. Katie begs him to introduce her to her half brother, who is a grown man with a family of his own, and gradually she too starts to lead a secret life, that her mother knows nothing about, becoming more and more a part of her half brother’s family. I won’t tell you what happens in the end, but let me say, there are fireworks!!

The second story I wrote about secrets is much more recent. SECRETS AT SILVER SPIRES is one of my SCHOOL FRIENDS series.

Jess’s secret is that she is dyslexic. She feels such terrible shame about this and is quite sure that if ever the secret were to come out, all her friends would no longer want to be friends with her. Eventually, like many a secret, it is inadvertently revealed, but by this time, misunderstandings are becoming major problems. If only Jess had asked someone to tell her what those words on that sign said.

STRICTLY NO ADMISSION

Do you have any secrets? If so, don’t tell me them! And more importantly, if a friend ever tells you something and finishes with the words ‘Don’t tell anyone’, you must respect that, and however tempting it is to tell just one person, tell NO ONE!

This is me and my husband on our wedding day nearly 35 years ago. By the way, our wedding was a complete secret from everyone in the world except two people – the witnesses. Don’t you think we look as though we were enjoying that secret! Well, we were!

And we’re still together!