Jane Markland

I started writing at school, where an English teacher told me one day I’d write a novel. It's only taken most of my life to achieve this! Cielo was formed as a spark of an idea one sunny afternoon while riding my bike past a country house in North Norfolk. I wondered, just who could live there? Then came Nathan, and Max. 

Cielo is the story of forgotten people in society, both succumbing to addiction to escape their lives. Nathan is fresh out of prison when he arrives at Cielo, abandoned by his family, he resorts to dealing drugs and once inside decides to change his life. He finds an affinity with plants and is sent to Cielo, to restore the old garden there. He meets Max, an alcoholic, who asks him to build a white garden, where he can lie in and die alone, his face in the rose petals. Cielo weaves its magic on Nathan, who begins to fall under Max’s spell, this man who had it all, why is he trying to kill himself? And why did every other gardener leave this beautiful place, never to be heard of again. Nathan must dig deep to find strength to face the hidden horrors, and family secrets buried within the house he has grown to love. Can he save Max, and can he save himself?

I’m a medical secretary at the local hospital, and have two children and two granddaughters. I can always be found with my head in a book, my nose inside a rose, or with my family. I live in Norwich, Norfolk, my home city.