MY INSPIRATION FOR THE SECRETS OF THE LAKE

The Secrets of the Lake was inspired by the intriguing legend of a dragon that was said to live in a supposedly bottomless lake close to the village where I was brought up.

In a nearby church, there is a wonderful stained glass window showing a fearsome ‘dragon’ – obviously a crocodile – with a pair of white legs waving from its mouth, being threatened by a knight on a white charger. After seeing this as a child, and long before they became commonplace in children’s books, tv and adverts, I became fascinated by dragons, and my first foray into writing fiction, aged eight, was inspired by this myth.

More recently, a local landlord marked the millennium by cutting a huge dragon into the hillside nearby. I visit as often as I can, delighted to see the legend still being celebrated in this way.