“You don’t need to find somewhere to live.” He lowered Lizzy to the window seat that overlooked the harbor. “I happen to know of a large family home with a sea view that’s not even on the market yet. It will be perfect for us.”

* * * * *

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

Without my brilliant editor, Flo Nicoll, writing would be nowhere near as much fun or as productive. I’m grateful for her wise comments and the insight she offers on each book.

I’m thankful to my agent, Susan Ginsburg, and the team at Writers House who continue to be a wonderful source of support and encouragement in my career, and to the fantastic teams at Harlequin UK and HQN in the US who work so hard to put my books into the hands of readers.

Thanks to my husband for answering my questions on sailing, for not drowning me whenever he’s taken me out on the water and for not rolling his eyes when I hung over the side moaning like a drama queen.

Developing a new series is always fun and exciting. I’m grateful to fellow author and friend Nicola Cornick for always being on the end of the phone when I hit a plot problem and to Andrew Cornick for generously allowing me to use his beautiful photographs of puffins on my website.

My two sons bought me a colony of soft toy puffins to act as inspiration on my desk, thus providing further proof of my family’s support of my unusual profession.

My final thanks go to my readers, who cheer me daily with their kind emails, Tweets and Facebook comments. Thank you for buying my books. You’re the best.

Sarah

xxx

Excerpt

Please enjoy this exclusive excerpt from Map of the Heart
By Susan Wiggs

PART ONE

Bethany Bay

“Thank you for all the Acts of Light which beautified a summer now passed to its reward.”–letter from Emily Dickinson to Mrs. John Howard Sweetser

CHAPTER 1

Of the five steps in developing film, four must take place in complete darkness. And in the darkroom, timing was everything. The difference between overexposure and under exposure sometimes came down to a matter of milliseconds.

Camille Adams liked the precision of it. She liked the idea that with the proper balance of chemicals and timing, a good result was entirely within her control.

There could be no visible light in the room, not even a red or amber safe light. Camera obscura was Latin for dark room, and when Camille was young and utterly fascinated by the process, she had gone to great lengths to practice her craft. Her first darkroom had been a closet that smelled of her mom’s frangipani perfume and her stepdad’s fishing boots, crusted with salt from the Chesapeake. She’d used masking tape and weather stripping to fill in the gaps, keeping out any leaks of light. Even a hairline crack in the door could fog the negatives.