A Darlington author has brought ghosts, grief and dark secrets together in a haunting debut novel released just in time for Halloween.
Suzanne Turbitt, 62, has published Risborough Hall: A Ghost Story and gothic novel which combines a supernatural tale with the devastating impact grief can have on a person.
The 166-page book follows Emma, whose world has fallen apart following the death of her father.
Struggling with sleeplessness, loneliness and despair, she is persuaded by her best friend Chloe to visit Risborough Hall in the hope of finding some peace.
But strange events begin to unfold inside the old hall, forcing Emma to confront its secrets as the past and present begin to collide.
Suzanne, who previously spent around 20 years working in business support at Hull City Council, said she has dreamed of becoming a writer since she was young.
Suzanne Turbitt, 62, has published Risborough Hall: A Ghost Story (Image: Suzanne Turbitt)
She said: “I've always wanted to write. When I was a young girl, I used to write short stories. But then, obviously, life gets in the way and you don't have the money to do it really.
“Then I got married, I met my hubby and I had the time and I had the money to do it. So I joined a writers' group at Darlington Library and I thought, let's just see if I can do this.
“I suddenly realised that really I'd held myself back a little bit and I thought, no, I'm going to do this.”
Suzanne approached two literary agents and two publishing houses before Pegasus offered her a three-book deal.
Her debut took around eight to ten months to write.
She said: “Everybody just seems to think it's really easy to just write a book. No, it isn't.
“It took me eight to ten months to write it. You've got to get your beginning, you've got to get your middle and you've got your ending. The ending doesn't have to be a happy one, it just has to resolve everything.
“It has to make the reader think, how did they get to that? But also, you have to put in a twist. I love a twist.”
Suzanne Turbitt, 62, has published Risborough Hall: A Ghost Story (Image: Suzanne Turbitt)
Suzanne deliberately wanted to create something different from a conventional haunted house tale and decided to put grief at the centre of her story.
She said: “I looked around and I looked at all the ghost stories that were out there on the shelves. I knew I wanted to do something different.
“I started to really kick things around in my head and I just thought, nobody's covered grief. Nobody's gone for grief and what grief can do.
“I knew I had to appeal to people who like Gothic horror. It didn't have to be too frightening.”
The theme took on an even deeper significance after Suzanne's husband died last year.
By that point the book had already been written and accepted for publication.
She said: “A little bit of grief came from my father. I remember what I went through when he died, and then I looked at other people and what they'd gone through.
“My own husband died last year. I'd already written the book and it had been accepted, and now I realise that a lot of what I've put in the book is true.
“I based it on what would happen to other people and a little bit on myself. But then he died and it's massive what grief can do to you.”
The hardback was released on September 24 and the Kindle version is also available, while the paperback is due out on Thursday, October 29, two days before Halloween.
A copy has also already been found by a reader at Darlington Library.
Suzanne said: “They put the copy out on the Friday, and somebody checked it out on Saturday.
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I thought, it's literally been in the library a day and somebody's taken it. Which was brilliant.”
Suzanne will mark the paperback release with a book signing at the Quakerhouse in Mechanics Yard on Thursday, October 29, from 7pm until 9pm.
She will then appear at Marshalls Cafe on Friday, October 30, from 7pm until 9pm for a ticketed book launch featuring a cheese platter and wine, with guests also able to share ghost stories.