Carly lives in the countryside just outside Cardiff with her husband and three young children. She started writing stories when she was seven years old. In 2017 she took a course with Curtis Brown Creative and, in 2019, was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize. She works as a senior lecturer in Cardiff University, is a keen runner, singer and vegan cook. Her number one passion, aside from writing, is wandering around historical sites and getting lost in the past. Published by Sphere (an imprint of Little, Brown UK) The Toll House is her debut novel.
In this event, I will be talking about the inspiration behind my debut novel The Toll House, a ghost story set in the present day and 1860s. I will be considering the importance of setting and space in creating spooky atmospheres, sharing some of my favourite ghost stories, and inviting the audience to reflect on what scares them most.
Published by Little, Brown Book Group UK, The Toll House is ‘an edge-of-the-seat, nail-biting read’ (Kate Hamer author of THE GIRL IN THE RED COAT).
A house with history. That’s how the estate agent described the old toll house on the edge of the town. For Kelda it’s the perfect rural home for her young son Dylan after a difficult few years.
But when Kelda finds a death mask concealed behind one of the walls, everything changes. Inexplicable things happen in the house, Kelda cannot shake the feeling of being watched and Dylan is plagued by nightmares, convinced he can see figures in his room. As Dylan’s behaviour becomes increasingly challenging, Kelda seeks answers in the house’s mysterious past. But she’s running out of time…Because something has awoken. And now it won’t rest . . .