If you’ve read “Gifted” – and I hope you have – you will know that it is set in the island of Jersey where I live. Now Jersey is a tiny little place – 45 square miles to be precise – you can actually walk right the way around it if you’ve got a good pair of hiking boots and a day to spare (and if you’re considerably more energetic than I am!). In fact, we are so tiny that if you look for us on a world map, we’re not even there.

So you would be forgiven for never having heard of us (or confusing us with a US state – which was actually named after our inconsequential little rock believe it or not!)

I know that when I read I like to be able to picture the scene, envisage where the plot is unfolding, so for those of you who feel the same, I thought it would be cool to give you some actual location  shots of where some of the action happens in Gifted. Warning: very slight spoilers (but no major plot giveaways!)

So, these first ones are of Corbiere Lighthouse. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that this is where most of the major action goes down…….

really pretty in the daytime……..

but maybe not wise to wander those cliffs once twilight falls……with all the people who have drowned there oevr the centuries, who knows what might be roaming once darkness comes…

This next one is of St Brelade’s Bay –  a really beautiful beach on the west coast of the island. I spent HOURS on this beach when I was a teenager (in those glorious days before I spent my weekends grocery shopping and watching junior football matches haha)

and it’s underneath those beguiling blue waters that Evie’s life changes forever…….

This next one is of some cliffs on the north cost called The Tombolenes – a name you’ll recognise if you’ve read the book. Local legend has it that this is where tragic Jeanne was hounded to her death by the marauders who murdered her betrothed on the eve of their wedding. Some say that on stormy nights you can still hear her screams….

And on a less morbid note, there is a great little shack in the next bay along that does an awesome Thai burger!!

These final pictures are of the biggest beach in Jersey. On the west coast, it stretches for five interrupted miles and is called St Ouen (pronounced Won) – but everyone knows it as The Five Mile Road (yeah original lot us beans – a “bean” is a Jersey person, by the way). You don’t want to get caught in a current off The Five Mile Road, because from there, it’s a straight drift out into the Atlantic and the next land you’re going to hit is America. But this does mean that we get some pretty good surf there and there are lots of great spots which, if the wave is right, will be busy summer and winter. Like Secrets, another location in “Gifted” – don’t ask me why it’s called Secrets – it clearly isn’t given the number of people you’ll find there on a hot afternoon in August – but it seemed very apt given the realisation Evie has whilst walking there with Piers…

Surfing at Secrets at Sunset

Five Mile Road

And finally……….so now maybe you can picture more clearly where Gifted is set, but as for the characters, I guess those you’ll have to envisage for yourselves. Except, perhaps for one. There is one character in the series who I’ve based almost exactly on someone very close to my heart…

This is my dog Bradley………a.k.a Evie’s dog Cosmo. Well, they look alike anyway. In the books, Cosmo is a brave, feisty little terrier who leaps to Evie’s defense when she’s in danger. Whereas Bradley is scared of the cat.

So there you go….. a whistle stop, Gifted flavoured tour of Jersey – well, bits of it anyway. Hope you enjoyed it – come visit!!!

I should mention – none of these photos (apart from the one of Bradley) are taken by me – I am a hopeless photographer and I’m sure that you wouldn’t have found ten photos of my thumb / my shoes / the sky very interesting and informative.

Annalise x