A novel about fear

Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Category: Author Videos

Author Clare Owen tells us what inspired her novel Zed and the Cormorants (Arachne Press), an eerie tale about love, loss and revenge, and the complexities of family life. Clare also gives a reading from the book.

Author Clare Owen tells us what inspired her novel Zed and the Cormorants (Arachne Press), an eerie tale about love, loss and revenge, and the complexities of family life. Clare also gives a reading from the book.


Zed and the Cormorants:


Zed's family have moved from London to a village in Cornwall. Dad says they need a fresh start, but no one s asked Zed what she thinks.


She knows she ll never fit into her new school, or make any friends, let alone find someone special. At this rate she'll be lucky to find a phone signal.


Maybe their new home will help with Mum's depression, and keep Zed's sister Amy away from her dropout boyfriend, but why does it have to be so remote? Why has the boathouse been locked up for 70 years? Why do the birds living by the estuary fill her with such dread? And what do they WANT?