Blind since birth, widowed in her twenties, now lonely in her forties, Marianne Fraser lives in Edinburgh in elegant, angry anonymity with her sister, Louisa, a successful novelist. Marianne's passionate nature finds solace and expression in music, a love she finds she shares with Keir, a man she encounters on her doorstep one winter's night. Keir makes no concession to her condition. He is abrupt to the point of rudeness, yet oddly kind. But can Marianne trust her feelings for this reclusive stranger who wants to take a blind woman to his island home on Skye, to "show" her the stars?
Linda Gillard has a website at www.lindagillard.co.uk and an author page on Facebook.
She graduated from Bristol University, then trained as an actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Whilst under-employed at the National Theatre, Linda developed a sideline as a freelance journalist. She ran two careers concurrently for a while, then gave up acting to raise a family and write from home.
Twelve years later, she re-trained as a primary teacher and taught in Norfolk for some years. She moved to the Isle of Skye where she lived for six years in a house on a hill overlooking the Cuillin mountain range, featured in her first novel, EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, short-listed for the 2006 Waverton Good Read Award.
A LIFETIME BURNING was published in 2006 and STAR GAZING, set partly on Skye, was published in 2008. In 2009 STAR GAZING was short-listed for "Romantic Novel of the Year" and "The Robin Jenkins Literary Award", the UK's first environmental book award. STAR GAZING was also voted "Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010" by the readers of Woman's Weekly magazine.
Linda's fourth novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE was published in 2011 as a Kindle e-book and quickly became a best-seller, selling 10,000 downloads in less than 4 months.
STAR GAZING and EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY were published as Kindle e-books in June 2011, A LIFETIME BURNING followed in 2012 and a new novel, UNTYING THE KNOT is also available as a Kindle e-book.
Film rights have been sold for STAR GAZING.
Linda now lives on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands. She has just finished a supernatural love story set on the Isle of Skye.
