I hold the reins. I knit with emotion At the foot of the blade. Splashed by your blood I tell them your history. Then I turn back again Into anonymity and silence. I am a storyteller. You must listen with care. I can banish your boredom And teach you to listen. But when I finish I will no longer be there. I am a storyteller. When the fire flames die At last I am quiet. You go back to your houses; To the lights and the noise. And I fade back Into the dark. 
Barbara Erskine is the author of Lady of Hay, which has sold well over a million copies worldwide, Kingdom of Shadows, Encounters and Child of the Phoenix, which was based on the story of one of her own ancestors. Midnight is a Lonely Place and House of Echoes were short- listed for the W H Smith Thumping Good Read awards of 1995 and 1997 respectively and were followed by Distant Voices and On the Edge of Darkness. Her most recent novels, Whispers in the Sand and Hiding From the Light were both Sunday Times top ten bestsellers. Barbara Erskine’s novels have been translated into thirty languages.
Barbara Erskine has a degree in mediaeval Scottish history from Edinburgh University. She and her family divide their time between the Welsh borders and their home near the coast of North Essex.
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