Kay Seeley, a local author, had the first signing of her self-published novel, The Water Gypsy, while on holiday in Malta. The books were due to arrive from the publisher while she was away, so had been sent to her daughter, Liz, who lives in Croxley Green. Unbeknown to Kay her husband, Michael, arranged for Liz to send some out for Kay’s birthday. He organised the book signing at a popular local bar. Kay said, “It was fantastic. Lots of our friends were there, everyone joined in and we sold all the books. We had bubbly and a huge chocolate cake. It was the most amazing surprise and the best birthday ever.”

Kay writes short stories for women’s magazines. She was short-listed for The Ponsara Prize and the Strictly Writing competition in 2010, The Sid Chaplin Short Story Competition 2011, and the Skyros/ Writing Magazine Holiday Competition, 2012. She was inspired to write The Water Gypsy when she met a couple who lived on a Narrow boat. Meeting them sparked an interest in the history and lives of the boat people who lived and worked on the canals. This led to the publication of several articles on the subject and ultimately The Water Gypsy.

Set in the late nineteenth century, The Water Gypsy is the story of Tilly Thompson, a girl from the canal, who is caught stealing a pie. It’s a story of love and loss, lust and passion, injustice and ultimate redemption which charts the prejudice, persecution and hypocrisy of Victorian Society.

Based on information supplied by Kay Seeley.