Local author Kathleen McGurl
Kathleen McGurl is the author of dual timeline novels in which a historical mystery is uncovered and resolved in the present day. She has published 16 novels with HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, as well as some other self-published books.

She moved to Mudeford (from just along the coast in Southbourne) during the pandemic. While out on a walk one day she came across the information board at Mudeford Quay about the Battle of Mudeford. With the help of Christchurch Library, who searched out and reserved lots of books on smuggling in Hampshire and Dorset, she wrote "The Storm Girl" which is set locally and features a fictitious pub that is a hotbed of smuggling.
 
Kathleen is married, mother to two grown-up sons, and spends part of the year travelling in a motorhome which provides plenty of inspiration for further novels. Find out more at her website https://kathleenmcgurl.net/home