Moving house is supposed to be one of the most stressful life events after death and divorce. At the beginning of a new year, people often peruse online property portals and look in estate agents windows and wonder what it would be like, living in a new home or a new place. Mary Powles’s second novel creates characters who are relocating for a variety of different reasons.

Gwendolen Gauntlett has become dissatisfied with the monotony of her existence, estranged from her son and granddaughter and dreams of escaping to a different town for a new start. Renting a property in Pontardeilo, as a temporary solution before buying, she not only has to confront her own history, but also becomes entangled with the house’s past.

Darren is on the move as he reels from the disintegration of his marriage to childhood sweetheart, the glamorous Lauren. He has painstakingly renovated their flat in Tenby and is reluctant to leave.

Grace Palmer, of Pughes and Palmer Estate Agents, Pontardeilo, has made the decision to sell her mother’s house and is trying to conduct a long-distance relationship with Paul in Suffolk. Every week, she presides over the highs and lows of all the cast who enact the daily dramas associated with moving house.

Mary Powles was born in Suffolk and trained as an English and drama teacher at Homerton College, Cambridge. She is married with two grown-up sons and lives for part of the year in a flat in Tenby. She is based in Llanelli, which inspired the fictional town Pontardeilo in her novels.

The book is illustrated by the talented painter, Denise Di Battista who can be contacted at John Street Gallery, Llanelli. Each chapter focuses on one of the houses in the story and the chapter heading is an illustration of the property.

Mary said: “I do feel that a house is more than the sum of its parts, particularly an older house. When house-hunting, you get a sense of the character of the place and often you end up falling for a property that doesn’t necessarily tick all the boxes. It’s a bit like a love affair in that respect.”

Moving Times by Mary Powles is available at Tenby Bookshop, price £7.99, and on Amazon.