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A discussion with a close friend back in 2020 where we talked about what we wish we had done differently with our lives thus far, made me sit back and think. I had always wanted to be a writer but I had never pursued the dream. I had fallen into a career in my early twenties and then life and practicalities got in the way. Now in my fifties, it was now or never, and so it began.

The Hensley Legacy grew from a thought about the thousands of children around the world who go missing from their families. I always hope in my heart that the people who take these children, take them to love them and to fill a void in their own lives, despite the wrong doing. But having started, I was searching for a direction to take it.

A chance meeting, on a train in Canada in April 2023, with a descendant of the first North American First Nations self-made millionaire, Mathias Splitlog (1810 – 1897), got me thinking. The story of Mathias inspired me and I chose to use a similar direction in my book to create the ancestry of the lead character. I wanted to take them through a life altering experience with the revelation of their actual identity, and yet keep their personality true to their imposed upbringing.

The book briefly touches on Milton Keynes when one character visits the area to look for a potential heir to a considerable fortune that has been left by the late Florence Hensley. However, it is mostly set on the island of Malta, being a place where I have gained a fondness for over the years.

I am happy to report that The Hensley Legacy will be released on Friday 21st June 2024 but is available to pre-order from all major bookstores and online. I am holding a book launch event on Saturday 22nd June at the Swan Revived in Newport Pagnell between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, open to anyone. I will be available to sign copies on the day and will have both hardback and paperback copies to purchase.

Local author publishes first novel - The Hensley Legacy