The Joined Up Writers are delighted to share Chapter 3 of our community novel, in which we meet a new character, Valerie, later in the evening on the day of the fair. Valerie has come to the village to house hunt but has found herself tangled up in the strange and tragic events of the day. Sitting in the kitchen of Tregethlan Manor she has a conversation with her husband Derek on their WhatsApp family group, but is interrupted.

The dialogue between Valerie and Derek towards the end of the chapter was originally written by two of the Joined Up Writers in WhatsApp, complete with emojis, exclamation marks and predictive texting. We have decided not to correct the words that came out scrambled (as they often do in texts), but to leave it as it came out.

We hope you enjoy reading our latest chapter.