A Thread of Secrets was published February 10th 2024 and is a dream come true for its Galway-based author, Tatiana Tierney. It is a romance novel inspired by Tatiana’s personal experience of living in five different countries.
“The story was in my head for years, but it was only during 2023 that my writing became intensive, particularly in the summer months. The writing world, which I dived into with relish, taught and guided me every day. It was, and still is, exciting, inspiring and very healing.“
Tatiana has kindly shared the prologue with us here today so I do hope you enjoy!
[ About A Thread of Secrets ]
Set against the backdrop and turmoil of Indian Independence and the decline of the British Empire through to the swinging 1960s, this is the story of a young woman called Grace who was raised by her grandmother in England. Grace courageously navigates the trials and turbulence of her life, experiencing love, a troubled marriage, betrayal, loss and hopelessness. In the midst of all of this, Grace uncovers shocking family secrets.
What are these secrets? Will they bring answers to the torment that Grace has experienced? Will the revelation of the secrets bring Grace inner peace or tempt her to take the road to retribution? A Thread of Secrets is about Grace’s perseverance in the face of adversity and a tale of coming full circle.
Extract
Prologue
Awake, May 1969
From where she sat on the wooden bench under a hawthorn tree, Grace tried to gather her restless thoughts, observing her garden. A gentle breeze caressed her dark, slightly grey hair. She was forty-seven years old but thought the many wrinkles on her face and her pale complexion made her look older. A dreadful nightmare had awoken her early, so she just sat there for a while, watching the birds eating from the birdfeeders until she felt her heart rate return to normal. Presently, she found herself able to think about the nightmare, to recall it moment by moment.
She was back in India, where she had lived in the 1940s. It was the day Grace gave birth to her child at the house she had been brought to by force. Her beloved maid, Zia, was in the house and was standing next to her. There was dead silence in the room. Grace lay motionless in bed, breathing weakly. In Zia’s arms there was a newly born child, who wasn’t making a sound. A small bird flew in through the open window. The bird’s beak opened, but it didn’t make a sound either. Grace bit her lips and was still clutching the white sheets, which were drenched in blood. Then she noticed that Zia was trembling in fear. As Grace stared at her, everything became blurred. She could barely make her out as Zia began to hide the baby in what looked like a large, thick blanket, whispering something in her own Hindu language.
Then Grace was outside, beneath a glowing red sky. She was wearing a white robe, her hair loose, and in her arms was the baby, her baby. Red flames enveloped her from head to toe. Though she wanted more than anything to look at her child, her body didn’t obey her wish. And when eventually she did look, all she saw were her empty hands. The child was gone. She emitted a scream, which echoed into the void. The nightmare ended.
Grace’s throat still ached from the scream long after she had woken up. A fire was burning in her chest. Her soul hadn’t found peace. The tears came, streaming
down her face. Sitting up in bed, she had looked down at her hands as though they might contain an answer as to why the awful nightmare had affected her so badly this time. It had often come, haunting her with its painful unanswered questions, but there was something different this time. What was it?
The baby. For the first time, the baby had not lain still in Zia’s arms. It had moved. With that realisation came the question. Might it be possible that on that terrible night so many years ago, her child hadn’t died after all?
A Thread of Secrets ~ Purchase Link
[ Bio ]
Tatiana Tierney is a Galway based self-published author. ‘A Thread of Secrets’ is Tatiana’s debut novel which was inspired by her experience of living in five different countries, including England and Ireland. Also, the ability to observe, learn and imagine helped her to create this wonderful story.
Web: www.tatianatierney.com
Instagram @tatiana.tierney
Facebook @tatianatierneyauthor
