Weekend at Owlpen Manor to meet Kate Riordan

A few weeks ago I received a DM from Jessica at Penguin Books UK to say that she had an exciting invitation for me and little did I know what was in store for me, a fabulous weekend away in the stunning Cotswolds countryside at Owlpen Manor which was the inspiration for Kate Riordan's new book The Girl in the Photograph.

When Alice Eveleigh arrives at Fiercombe Manor during the long, languid summer of 1933, she finds a house steeped in mystery and brimming with secrets. Sadness permeates its empty rooms and the isolated valley seems crowded with ghosts, none more alluring than Elizabeth Stanton whose only traces remain in a few tantalisingly blurred photographs. Why will no one speak of her? What happened a generation ago to make her vanish? 

As the sun beats down relentlessly, Alice becomes ever more determined to unearth the truth about the girl in the photograph - and stop her own life from becoming an eerie echo of Elizabeth's . . .

On arrival I was met by another of the lovely ladies from Penguin, Sarah, and taken to the gorgeous cottage that I would be spending the night in to get settled before meeting up for lunch with the rest of the group, Jessica, Sarah, Kate and a few fellow bloggers and their guests (have to confess that I completely forgot to take a group photo of us all!).

Lunch was a nice relaxed informal affair, as was the whole weekend, which gave us the chance to get to know each other but especially gave us the chance to talk to Kate and ask her questions about her book and how the inspiration of setting it here came about (in the book the name of the Manor house is changed to Fiercombe).