Katharine has a Master's degree in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College and a Master's in Education from the University of Vermont. Her first novel, HER SISTER'S SHADOW, was published in 2011 by Berkley Books (Penguin, USA). Her second novel, LITTLE ISLAND, is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2013 from the same publisher. Her screenplay, "Goodbye Don't Mean Gone," was a Moondance Film Festival winner and a finalist in the New England Women in Film and Television contest. Katharine is a member of the League of Vermont Writers and New Hampshire Writer's Project. She has taught writing at Colby-Sawyer College, ILEAD, and at The Writer's Center in White River Junction.

When not at her desk, Katharine can often be found in her Norwich garden, waging a non-toxic war against the slugs, snails, deer, woodchucks, chipmunks, moles, voles, and beetles with whom she shares her yard. Katharine's defense consists mainly of hand-wringing, after- the-fact.

Grace

Flowers

By the water

Have fun!

These are Joy's grandmother's last words—left behind on a note. A note that Joy's mother, Grace, has interpreted as instructions for her memorial service. And so, the far-flung clan will gather at their inn on Little Island, Maine, to honor her. Joy can't help dreading the weekend. Twenty years ago, a tragedy nearly destroyed the family—and still defines them. Joy, Grace, her father Gar, and twins Roger and Tamar all have their parts to play. And now Joy, facing an empty nest and nebulous future, feels more vulnerable than ever to the dangerous currents running through her family. But this time, Joy will discover that there is more than pain and heartbreak that binds them together, when a few simple words lift the fog and reveal what truly matters…

Lilli Niles is at home in her North London flat when she receives an unexpected call. Her elder sister, Bea—at the family homestead in Whitehead, Massachusetts—has just lost her husband, and she'd like Lilli to fly home for the funeral.

Lilli, a painter, is preparing for her latest gallery opening. And more to the point, there are reasons she moved all the way to England to escape her older sister, reasons that have kept them estranged for decades. But something in Bea's voice makes Lilli think it's time to return to the stately house in New England she loved as a child, to the memory of a shared loss—and to a time when simple sisterhood was enough to overcome betrayal and resentment. In this emotional debut, Katharine Britton explores the divergent paths we take in life—and the turns in the road that bring us back, ultimately, to each other.