“I turned about the room, toe to toe, making the smallest circle. What I wanted was not there. His clock, his papers, his quill glass – emptied, cleared, gone. I had seen this room empty before and had not minded; now it only magnified my loss. I did not want a coin, or token, or keepsake. I wanted words, some note – but there was none. He’d gone without taking his leave. He’d taken what was his with him.”
Extract from ‘The Words In My Hand’ by Guinevere Glasfurd – included in the showcase
“The Words In My Hand is my first novel, and has occupied me for the last two years. I lost six months at the start of last year, as my daughter was unwell, and did not write a word. I thought, I can’t write this book, and pushed it as far away from me as I possibly could. But the characters refused to be quiet; if anything, Helena’s voice grew stronger. At the end of August 2013, I went back to it. I had a deadline and was determined to meet it. I wrote day after day and late into the night, and produced a first draft by the end of September. In January this year, I substantially rewrote the first third of the book, and by the end of March, the editing was finished.”
