Until November she had worked at the Gazette & Herald three days a week, fitting in work on her books in her spare time as well as juggling family life with her two children.

Sarah told HoldtheFrontPage: "The last 12 months have been brilliant.

"But things have been getting more hectic and were pretty full on."

Sacrifice, published earlier this month, is her third gothic tale, this time beginning at the time of the Crusades, when a band of knights received a lily from an angel to help them defeat their enemies in a holy war.

Over the centuries the lily's powers warped and darkened, leaving madness and death in its wake, until 1890 when three young people combine forces in a bid to turn around the curse that has befallen their families for generations.

Leaving her job at the paper has meant Sarah has been able to devote more time to the promotion of her new book, and has been touring schools and libraries in the east of England to talk about her work.

She said: "For Heretic I did do a day in Edinburgh, but now I've got more freedom to do that kind of activity.

"It's been very interesting and meeting some of the teenage readers has been a great pleasure."

She has also just completed her fourth book, which is due out early next year, and says it is something of a departure from her previous work - having a contemporary setting.