My grateful thanks to Grace Pilkington for arranging for me to stay in with Sorrel Pitts today to chat about her recent release.

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Sorrel Pitts

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Sorrel. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Thank you for having me Linda.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought Broken Shadows because it has just been published.

Belated happy publication day! What can we expect from an evening in with Broken Shadows?

The seeds of Broken Shadows were sown when I was 14 years old and discovered some mysterious stones called The Devil’s Den (renamed as The Shadowing Stones in the novel). I went riding in the dawn with a friend over the Marlborough Down in Wiltshire and we came across these eerie stones in the mist. The experience never left me and I decided I would write about it one day. My central protagonist, Tom, is also 14 when he visits the stones in the dawn and finds his younger brother’s remains in a nearby barn.

That sounds fabulous Sorrel. How is Broken Shadows being received by early readers?

It took me eight years to write the novel, and, despite having a top literary agent, almost as long to publish it. I passionately believe in it and this seems to borne out by the pre-publication reviews coming through – which I confess made me cry when I first read them because they felt like such a vindication after so many years of work.

Broken Shadows is a book that manages to seamlessly fuse a crime, a mystery and a moving love story into one. A book about the pain of exile and the changing face of rural communities. A ‘beautiful, heart-breaking’ (Goodreads) book which evokes the wild and mysterious landscape of ancient Wiltshire as a backdrop to a modern story of loss, regret, and ‘unanswered questions and suspense that will keep you reading to the end.’ (Amazon review)

Those words must feel wonderful. And I know you’ve been called ‘A very promising writer’ by Sir Michael Parkinson too. How exciting.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I have brought my favourite album ‘This is the Sea’, by The Waterboys. It’s very old now but I still think that no nothing has ever beaten the incredible way it conjures up the anthems and forces around and within us. It also explores joy and passion with a depth that perhaps only classical music has matched. But most of all, it is earthy. I am definitely a child of the land, which is reflected in my novel, and in my adolescence was deeply influenced by Mike Scott (leader of the Waterboys) and his incredible music. I’ve been to see The Waterboys play more times than it’s possible to count. I last saw them in October 2023. They still sell out. I’ve asked for the final song on the album ‘This is the sea’ to be played at my funeral. It is so full of joy and hope, and that’s the way I try to live my life.

I love the way music can touch us. And I understand you are a musician too?

That’s right, I am also a musician and some of my songs have done very well in the UK Songwriting Contest. You can find my music here on Soundcloud.

How brilliant. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about Broken Shadows Sorrel. I think it sounds wonderful. Whilst you find your music on Soundcloud for us to listen to, I’ll just give readers a few more details about Broken Shadows:

Broken Shadows

In 1994, eleven-year-old Callum was abducted from his Wiltshire village. His body was found six months later by his older brother, Tom, near a Neolithic henge called the Shadowing Stones. It was the first in a series of events that would destroy Tom’s family; the boys’ father was a suspect but never charged, and their mother committed suicide a year later. Convinced his father was responsible for his brother’s death, Tom fled to Australia to start a new life.

Now, almost three decades later, Tom learns that his father is dying of cancer. Knowing this may be his last chance to uncover the truth, Tom returns to England. But when childhood acquaintance, Anna, forms a bond with Tom, old feelings are stirred. As he’s reluctantly drawn closer to both Anna and his father, Tom is confronted with a series of shocking twists and revelations that will change his life forever.

Published by Bloodhound, Broken Shadows is available for purchase here.

About Sorrel Pitts

Sorrel Pitts grew up in the ancient English landscape of Wiltshire, which is a strong presence in her writing. She worked as a magazine editor before moving overseas to teach English in Turkey and Spain. On her return to the UK she became Commissioning Editor for Macmillan Publishers and Editorial Manager for Oxford University Press. She is now living back in Wiltshire and is a freelance editor and writer. Her current key role is Series Editor for PRH’s Penguin and Ladybird Readers series.

Sorrel has written numerous educational adaptations for Harper Collins, Oxford University Press and PRH including Ian McEwan’s The Children’s Act – which was nominated for a major educational award – and John Le Carre’s The Night Manager (both PRH) as well original stories Nuala and Champion (Stand For Publishers) and The Scissor Man Caves (PRH). Many of Sorrel’s educational titles are published under her pen name of Anna Trewin.

Sorrel’s debut novel The River Woman was published in September 2011 by Indigo Dreams Press. Sir Michael Parkinson described it as ‘a fascinating story written by a very promising writer’.

For further information, follow Sorrel on Twitter/X @pittssorrel and find Sorrel on Facebook and Instagram.