Debut novel brings a dark tale of love

THEY say you should be careful what you wish for.

And for Eloise, the beautiful, enigmatic woman at the heart of Cindy Wallace’s debut novel, this proves to be more than the case.

By day Cindy works in administration in Bradford Council’s catering department but she spends much of her spare time at her keyboard, lost in a world of creative writing.

“I’ve always written short stories, I told stories to my children and grandchildren,” she says. “Writing a novel became a burning desire, then in 2006 I was on holiday in Scotland and just started it.”

The result is Cindy’s debut novel, Be Careful What You Wish For. Described as “a story of love, lust and witchcraft”, it takes the reader on an intriguing journey into a dark world where the price of wishes gets higher and higher.

Orphaned at the age of 15, following the long, painful illness and death of her father and her mother’s dramatic suicide, Eloise goes to live with her aunt. When she falls in love with Liam, her dark past seems to fade away. On the surface they seem like a perfect couple, but when Liam is seduced by a younger woman, the “fearless and sexy” Grace, things soon turn sour.

When Liam begins a new life with his lover he dares to think his wishes have come true – but when things go very wrong, with Grace turning into an irrational, depressed woman, convinced Eloise has put a curse on her, he soon realises with each wish comes a painful price.

An interest in Paganism led Cindy to write about a relationship set against a background of witchcraft, but set in contemporary times.

“I had the outline of the story and wrote about three chapters, then I lost it on the computer. I then wrote about 12 chapters and put them on a memory stick – and that corrupted.” says Cindy. “It didn’t get off to a great start but I got there in the end. I started it in 2006 and finished it in 2012. It’s 43 chapters and 800 pages long.”

Cindy, of Bingley, says the story unfolds on several levels, with several of the characters wishing for things that come at a price.

“I did a lot of research. The book refers to classical Greek mythology and there are Shakespearean references too ,” says Cindy. “Writing the novel became a complete labour of love for me and I got very lost in the story while I was writing. It was almost as if I was watching a soap opera, with all these people and their various lives unfolding before me. I became protective of the characters too.”

She adds: “After all the work I’d put into the book, I was keen to get it out there so I published it myself. Now I’ve sent it out into the world I want to keep on writing.”

Cindy, who has two children and two grandchildren, also designed the book sleeve; an atmospheric Tarot card-inspired cover and dark clouds drifting across a full moon on the back.

Emma Clayton