Katherine Blessan

Katherine Blessan was delighted when she managed to get her first novel Lydia’s Song, which is about child-sex trafficking in Cambodia, published by a small independent. She had spent eight years working on it so had had to remain committed to it in the midst of other pressing life events and work!

She is writing her second novel as well as a few short stories and would describe her fiction as having a gritty edge and a compassionate core, as she likes to tackle issues that might make people uncomfortable such as trafficking and FGM.

Having worked in publishing and as a secondary school English teacher, she is now doing the work that she loves most: writing and tutoring.

Katherine has finished her third novel and is working on a few screenwriting projects. She would describe her fiction as touching on social issues and exploring the space where cultures cross.

Having come from a teaching background, Katherine is in the process of setting up an arts for wellbeing social enterprise.

Katherine lives in Burngreave with her Indian husband and two boys.

Lydia's quiet expat life in Cambodia is dramatically turned upside down by the sudden arrival of Song, a young & vulnerable Vietnamese girl, and the flattering romantic attentions of a handsome, dashing local man. Just as she settles into this new-found happiness, everything is shattered as Song is kidnapped and sold into the child sex trade. Broken, Lydia returns to the UK, confirmed in her doubts about 'God', only to find the most unexpected guest on her doorstep one night many years later with the most incredible story to tell of hope lost and innocence restored.

"I love how the author beautifully brought the awful atrocity of sex-trafficking to life through the power of story! We all need to be aware of what is happening in our world and what darkness is hidden at all levels of the sex trade. These girls and women are REAL people - someone’s daughter, someone’s sister. And yet, the author also presents light and hope in a dark and hopeless place. Restoration and redemption is not a quick and easy process. But with the right support and investment it is more than possible. We need more stories of hope and restoration in our often dark and broken world. So I commend the author for writing one so well. May we all choose to be part of bringing light into dark places!" - Amazon reviewer

Home Truths with Lady Grey’ is an evocative, moving story about the power of friendship to unlock new ways of seeing life and self.
When normally capable, career-minded Jennifer crumbles under a debilitating disease, she struggles with no longer being in control of her life. Her carer, Mona, finds out that her husband is gambling and hiding the truth from her. As their relationship builds, they discover that despite their differences they have so much to learn from one another. Will Mona discover how to balance the conflicting loyalties of family and self? Will Jennifer learn to let others in? Will they both survive?