This envelopes the reader in a rich perspective, allowing for all sides of the tale to be revealed and an understanding given as to motivation and outcome. That’s all that she is prepared to say about the new book at the moment, she is ‘still in sponge mode’, receptive to all sorts of ideas. I liked how it has many viewpoints and shifts between the plots that all tie together in the end of the book. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH).

With hindsight I’d like to say it was because she was so powerful, and maybe that did draw me, on a subconscious level, but really, it was just the story that caught my imagination. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny. While writing North Child, which is based on the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Edith became an expert in mapmaking, seamanship, Scandinavian languages, Norse mythology and the Arctic, journeying by ship through the fjords of Norway. As with all fairy tales, you may be able to easily guess the end of the story, but this in no way detracts from its telling.Mothers often get a bad rap in my books’, says Pattou, ‘and I still wonder about the way that Rose’s mother is the one main character in the book not to have her own voice’ ( North Child is told by multiple narrators, including Rose, her brother, father and the White Bear. She is the author of two highly acclaimed fantasy novels in the US, "Hero's Song" in the Songs of Eirren series, and "Fire Arrow", a Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Novel of the Year. I loved going to EYF 2017 and mooching about as a punter; but last year also saw North Child taking a stand at a flock of yarn festivals, including Dornoch Fibre Fest, Highland Wool and Textiles Fair at Dingwall, Perth Festival of Yarn and Loch Ness Knit Fest . But that was weeks ago – and Christmas already seems long gone, although there’s plenty of fresh snow and the mountains are white to ground level.

Rose feels out of place in her family, despite her love for them and her home; she can never live up to the standard set by her dead sister Elise, and is consumed by un-east-like wanderlust and desire for adventure. The bear takes Rose to a distant castle hidden within a mountain, where each night she is confronted with a mystery. In her long, arduous journey, she discovers the truth about her true self and how the fate of so many lies firmly in her hands. Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she will ventue far from home and embark on a dangerous journey. The white bear takes her back to the castle and all is well until Rose's curiosity gets the better of her and she lights the candle.The story is told by the various characters involved, primarily Rose and the White Bear, with chapters told by those surrounding them; Neddy (Rose's brother), Father and the hideous and conniving Troll Queen.