Veronica M Podbury
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Welcome to the official website of Veronica M Podbury.

Author of Secrets and the sequel 'Watching'.

Veronica on books

I have loved books for as long as I can remember. Even before I could read, I used to hold a book in front of me and pretend to read aloud.

I believe the books we read change us and stay in our minds forever, even when we think we have forgotten them...

And on mystery

It is very important to me that the characters in my books are believable and engage your attention so that you keep turning the pages right through to the end.

Although all the people in my books are fictional, they reflect real life, which is always full of mystery, hidden just beneath the surface of ordinary things.

Veronica reads an extract from Secrets


News

New Year 2019
Celebrated the New Year watching the fireworks in  Philadelphia
November 2018
In Ghana, meeting some beautiful people and privileged to be invited to speak in some wonderful churches.
October 2018
Walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain - fifteen miles a day, and no blisters!
October 2015

Back in America again, this time New Jersey
September 2015
Starting to learn Spanish - a completely new language for me!
July 2015
Summertime in Northern France - beautiful sunshine, blue sea.
June 2015
Just back from visiting Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia.  Saw some great re-enactments from the American Revolution.

2015  New Year's Resolution 1: Climb 2 mountains 
and 2: Learn something new.

September 2014   Climbed Snowdon in North Wales- it was hard but wonderful- must climb another mountain soon!

July 2014      Sizzling in the sun in Lincolnshire- even my summerhouse in the shade is too hot! Working on my third novel.


June 2014      Delighted to publish comments from a talented young student at City of Derby Academy:
In school on the 2nd of July we had a visit from an author called Veronica M. Podbury who has written a short series of books called 'Secrets' and 'Watching'. Veronica read out the first few pages of the first book 'Secrets' and we were all hooked!  We all buzzed with excitement and felt a little disappointed when she stopped.  We urged Veronica to carry on as she left us at such a 'cliff hanger'. 

It was great to have an author part read a book to us as it gave us the anxiety and apprehension which Veronica intended and it also gave us a chance to ask questions and make comments about the book and for her to answer any questions.  This makes reading the book a little more enjoyable.

It was also amazing that at lunchtime Veronica held a book-signing and question-asking conference where we could go and buy books and have them signed, as well as ask any questions.

It was a marvellous experience and I hope that Veronica comes back and visits us when she publishes her third book.

Charley Heelis
Form 7J

May 2014   Visiting family in Philadelphia and New York, with time to relax on the New Jersey shoreline- the horseshoe crabs are huge!

December 27th 2013    In Scotland for mountains,  Scottish music and dancing and meeting with parts of my family not seen for too long!

Publication Date of new novel "Watching"- 22nd August 2013
"Watching" is another mystery thriller for teenagers. The central character, teenage girl Brooke, encounters an evil network hidden just beneath the surface of a quiet neighbourhood.  The foreword is written by the national charity Hope for Justice, which aims to end modern-day slavery.


Veronica at Walton Girls School, Grantham 17th July 2013
Spent time with girls in Years 9 and 10, discussing and answering questions on many aspects of reading and creative writing, as well as giving a reading and lunchtime book signing.



Veronica on cycling marathon to raise funds for children’s home  30th June 2013    Along with other inexperienced cyclists, Veronica cycled 26miles to raise much-needed funds for children and babies in New Life Homes Trust in Kenya.  Along with people at her church, Veronica  volunteers at these superb homes which offer love to abandoned babies and children, some with complex health needs.


At The Grammar School at Leeds  26th June 2013
Veronica  read from her teenage mystery novel “Secrets” to pupils in Year 7 and Year 9 and then led an interactive session as they discussed the plotline of the novel, and other aspects of writing. Pupils took the opportunity for more questions and discussion with Veronica in the library over lunchtime, with the chance to have their own copy of “Secrets” signed.  





















Upcoming Events

November 10th
Speaking at the historic Davenant Foundation School 
​June 29/30th
Speaking at the Arts Festival at English Martyrs School, Leicester 
Wednesday 25th February
Opening New Library
Caistor Yarborough School
December 11th 2014
St John Fisher Catholic High School

Saturday December 2nd 2014
Filey School

August 2014
ONE Event , Lincolnshire Showground

Saturday 5th July 2014
Ladies' Breakfast, Lincolnshire

25th June 2014
City of Derby Academy

Monday 12th May 2014
Creative Writing Week                                 William Farr School, Welton, Lincs

Friday 21st March 2014
Caistor Grammar School

Wednesday 12th February 2014
The Grammar School at Leeds

Wednesday 29th January 2014
Neale Wade Academy, Cambridgeshire

Saturday 23rd November 7.30pm
The Pudding Club
Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre
Lincolnshire

Thursday 21st November
The Newark Academy,  Nottinghamshire

Wednesday 20th November
Caistor Yarborough Academy

Thursday 14th November
Gateways School, Harewood, Yorkshire


Wednesday 16th October 2013  1pm

Caistor Library /Arts and Heritage Centre

5th October 2013   1.45-2.45pm   
Ilkley Literature Festival Fringe 
More information available   www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/fringe/











































Books by V M Podbury

Picture
Truth and lies, love and deception are all tangled together in this mystery on the windswept Yorkshire Moors. 

Brooke’s mother has met a man on the internet and is excited about them going to start a new life with him and his son in their isolated cottage.  Brooke is wary of Shaun, and suspicious of his changing moods. Then she makes some disturbing discoveries, and is determined to uncover the truth. But how will she convince her mother, who is blinded by love?

Alone and afraid, Brooke meets a Gypsy girl and her brother out on the moor who promise to help, but can they be trusted?    


Buy Secrets in paperback on Amazon

Buy Secrets Kindle edition on Amazon












Picture
Things are never quite what they seem, as Brooke discovers when she goes to live with her grandmother and begins to suspect that the quiet neighbourhood hides a dark secret. As more evidence of this underworld comes to light, she realises that she and those close to her are in danger.  Shocked by what she is finding, she realises this network may even involve her family and close friends.

Watching is the exciting sequel to author Veronica M. Podbury's first novel, Secrets, but this teenage thriller is itself a complete novel, dealing with another reality hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life.  Brooke and her friend Greg must show courage as they face some awful truths, knowing that they must find out who is hidden behind the locked door of the last house on Albert Street.


Foreword written by Hope for Justice, the UK charity working to end slavery and people-trafficking


Watching is available in both paperback and Kindle edition from Amazon and all good bookshops.


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