Linda Wilgus

Linda Wilgus grew up in the Netherlands in a house full of books and has lived in Italy, Belgium and the United States before settling in the UK. A graduate of the University of Amsterdam, she worked as a bookseller and a knitting pattern designer before becoming a full-time writer. Her short stories have been published in numerous literary magazines. Linda shares her home with her husband, three children and dog. Her debut novel The Sea Child publishes in January 2026.

Isabel has always been a woman of mystery. As a child of four, she appeared on the Cornish shore, soaking wet, unable to speak. The villagers believed she was brought from the sea, the daughter of a spirit. Now, newly widowed, Isabel feels the ocean calling her to come back home, and when Jack Carlyon, an injured smuggler, crosses her path, she is swept up into a love story that will test her courage, her reputation, and her heart. Jack plays a dangerous game, and there are those that would hang him if they knew what he was. Isabel fights to make sense of the magical pull of the ocean and wants to protect Jack – but at what cost?