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All Shall Be Well

‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.‘

– Juliana of Norwich

This famous quotation by the fourteenth century Norfolk anchoress sums up the realisation reached by the main protagonist, Carol Wyatt, at the end of my second romance novel, ‘When the Nailbourne Flows.’

Carol moves from being a shy teenager, infatuated with a boy at school she struggles to talk with, through a quarter century of shelving interpersonal relationships (except for one awful blip) while caring for a nephew on the autism spectrum. What begins as a noble ideal based in love becomes a crutch to avoid confronting her bypassed development once the lad matures. She is left all at sea, with no idea how to kick-start an affective life during the early years of middle-aged spinsterhood.

Lyminge Library, where Carol works.
The opening hours.
The former railway station converted to a characterful library.
St Mary and St Ethelburga’s Church, Lyminge.
The terrace of Church Cottages at Lyminge.
2 Church Cottages, where Carol and Tommy come to live with Mary Wyatt.

As a teen, Carol is never far from her best friend, Janice Robbins. I had an absolute ball writing Janice. Sexually liberated, confident, cheeky, and ever Carol’s staunch defender, Janice spews some of my favourite dialogue lines during her attempts to help Carol move forwards.

Having Janice stay with Carol for a spell, later in life and still single, offered a recipe for adding the effects of mature experience to their interactions; a task akin to painting the fine laughter lines of age across a youthful portrait.

Looking from Chloe’s and Davey’s graves down towards the Nailbourne, Duck Street, Elham.
Orchard Cottage where actress Audrey Hepburn lived for a time, as described by Chloe Wyatt.
St Mary the Virgin, Elham.
The Abbot’s Fireside, Elham – Scene of Carol’s ill-fated ‘date’ with Nick.
The flying buttress at St Mary and St Ethelburga’s, Lyminge, which illustrates Carol’s life in her mind.
The war memorial in the churchyard at Lyminge, close to the spot Bill and Mary Wyatt are buried in the book.

Ultimately, despite their best laid plans, it is fate – like the intermittent rising waters of the Nailbourne – which determines the outcome. Carol understands how the ebb and flow of situations in her own life have always followed an underlying course towards the best resolution for herself and those she loves.

The downhill gradient beside 2 Church Cottages.
The garden gate and steps at 2 Church Cottages.
Looking back up the gradient towards 2 Church Cottages from Well Road.
St Ethelburga’s Well and Tayne Field, viewed across Well Road from the foot of the gradient beside 2 Church Cottages.
View from the footbridge towards Church Cottages. Carol pursues Dale, and also releases her bouquet here.
Dale’s childhood home at Wesley Terrace, on the far side of Tayne Field.
A car parked outside the last cottage in Wesley Terrace, where Dale grew up.

‘When the Nailbourne Flows’ will be available in Kindle and Paperback formats from 25th September 2024.

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