Woodland magic comes to Sussex in new novel

A novel that has taken over 40 years to write, has now been published by Troubador books. Based on an idea when she was ten years old, Sarah Kendall began writing Ragllan and the Curse of the Black Dog - a magical fantasy - when she was in her teens.

An avid reader, influenced by The Hobbit, The Narnia Chronicles and Watership Down, Sarah wanted to tell a story featuring all the things that she loved as a child, and still does.

Using the beautiful Sussex countryside where she grew up as her setting, Sarah felt compelled to write about the golden Wolf- like creatures she imagined were lurking in the shadows whilst playing in her parent's wood.

And so, the shape-shifting Nature Spirit - Ragllan, the Red - and the mysterious Wolflings of Friston, were created.

Ragllan and the Curse of the Black Dog is an unforgettable story of magic, mystery and humour, set against the leafy backdrop of the imaginary kingdom of Friston. Children young and old will enjoy reading it - it is a great book to lose yourself in over the Easter holiday.

Sarah now lives in the beautiful village of Fairlight. The wooded beaches and gnarled hawthorn trees were the inspiration behind the setting at the beginning of the novel, and for the dark Forest of Haradin, which is inhabited by quarrelsome pygmy Centaurs.

Ragllan and the Curse of the Black Dog is now available to buy from: [email protected] and Fairlight Post Office (which also sells hand-made crochet products and jewellery), the shop/ deli at The Ship, Winchelsea Beach and Ethel Loves You, in Rye.The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea will be stocking it from the beginning of April.