The House of Dust and Shadows by Tabitha Potts VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR #BookExtract #TheHouseofDustandShadows @tabithapotts @randomthingstours

 

We are but dust and shadows is the motto on the sundial in the garden at Blackthorn Manor. The past haunts the family living there.

When Robert Landimor, a famous painter, dies suddenly, he leaves his estate, including Blackthorn Manor, to his housekeeper, Mary, disinheriting his three daughters, Lucia, Izzy, and Sara in the process. No one understands why.

Sara attempts to find answers, but only uncovers buried secrets about their father and his family instead.

Then, the body of a woman is discovered in the lake on the Manor's grounds, leaving Sara and her sisters to face terrible danger.

Ghosts and the past may not be the only things haunting their family.

The House of Dust and Shadows by Tabitha Potts was published on 19 June by Rowan Prose Publishing. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Virtual Book Tour I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today. 

Extract from The House of Dust and Shadows by Tabitha Potts

Chapter 1

Blackthorn Manor, August 2016

 

High summer had arrived at Blackthorn Manor. It was parched and hot, as the poisoned planet writhed uncomfortably under its stuffy carbon blanket. You wouldn’t know, looking at the house, that things had changed much since the last century. You wouldn’t necessarily sense the pesticides leaching out of the soil and into the water, or the lack of birdsong compared to a hundred years ago or mourn those creatures that have ceased to exist on the earth because of human greed. Innocent and wild, green, and gold, the garden looked like Eden. Roses still in bloom arched their throats up to the sun, wood pigeons strutted across the lawn, a lone bumble bee floated around the flower beds. Not many people came here, the property was still under lock and key. But there are ways to invade even secret, hidden places, and those in the know had started to explore. Teenage couples had broken into the gate house and left condoms and beer bottles there, and dog walkers and poachers explored the woods with impunity, ignoring the No Trespassing signs.  

Now there were four young people, laden down with various items, struggling across the lawn. They’d come from Thornby to film in front of the house and utilize the faded glamour of their location to the full. Their lead actress, Lara, was a friend who was studying drama while they were studying film, but her expressive features and luminous skin made her a natural in front of the camera. Everyone was in high spirits although they were hot from the drive and the struggle over the fence and through the woods, where it was a difficult journey through the trees, including the stubborn blackthorns that had given the Manor its name.  

Ethan, who was directing the shoot, carried the heavy cool box full of snacks and drinks, Alex had the suitcase full of props and clothes, Maryam their makeup artist, another friend from college had her own large silver case full of foundation, powders and sparkling glitter and Lara carried Ethan’s camera and kit. Ethan made it as far as the terrace where he put the box down in a shady spot next to the wall. He wiped sweat from his face. The heat was so intense, it was quite fierce. 

“Let’s stop here.” 

“I’m so hot,” moaned Lara, piling her things next to the cool box and collapsing dramatically on the lawn. 

“Isn’t this place amazing? I can’t believe we just have it all to ourselves.” 

Ethan took a few photos on his phone to share online, admiring the way Lara’s limbs were elegantly arranged on the parched grass. He went over the planned shoot in his head. They had some props with them—fake flowers and a vase, a folding table and tablecloth—and he wanted to have Lara pose on the terrace. But their surroundings prompted other ideas as well. 

“Let’s do the terrace scenes first, and then maybe we should try something by the lake and that little boat house. That could look really good.”

“What should I wear?” asked Lara. 

Ethan thought for a while. He wanted Lara to wear something gauzy and floaty, something that summoned up the beautiful and wealthy at play. Ethan wasn’t one of them, he was from a council estate in Thornby, but he was one of those people whose certainty inspired others around them. “The white dress. I want her to look bleached out.” 

Maryam got to work on Lara with her little brushes and pads. Lara waited patiently, perched now on the terrace wall. 

“It looks so sad in there, don’t you think, Maz?”

“I can’t believe they just leave it sitting there empty like this. It’s so wasteful,” said Maryam, tapping gray powder onto Lara’s eyelids. 

“You can see marks where they’ve taken away paintings and everything, it looks very neglected. Imagine what a great place it would be to have a party.”

“Yeah, you could really go wild. There’s no one around for miles.” 

“That looks great.” Alex was admiring Lara’s make up. “I’ve set up the table and the other props.” 

Lara had to run across the terrace. They did several takes of this scene.

 They were using actual film, so every shot had to be right. She was very conscious of Alex’s eyes on her. Classically handsome, Alex was quiet, and she found him hard to read. As a result, she couldn’t resist trying to attract his attention, something she wasn’t used to having to do. 

Ethan discovered the old sundial on the terrace with its inscription Pulvis et Umbra Sumus and decided to add it to the story.

“What’s that even mean?” Maz asked. 

“Sumus is ‘we are’ and I think Umbra is shadows. I’m not sure about Pulvis, maybe dust? ‘We are dust and shadows.’” 

“You understand it? You’re posh.’”

“Not posh, just did Latin GCSE.” Alex flushed. He hated being called posh because he’d got a scholarship to the local private school. 

Ethan asked Lara to read it. The shadow of the gnomon indicated it was one o’clock in the afternoon. 

They did several takes before Ethan was satisfied, and the heat increased. The air felt as though it was vibrating around them. 

“I want to stop,” begged Lara. 

Tabitha recently received an Honourable Mention in the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize and in 2025 was longlisted for the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers Prize. Several of her stories have been published in print anthologies.

She completed an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck and has a First in English Language and Literature from Oxford University. In her spare time, she runs Story Radio Podcast, a literary podcast. She lives in London with her family and Tamaskan dog Flin.