Book record · Former Barking Rain Press title
The Revolving Year
by Vanessa Furse Jackson
In Devonshire in 1999, 35-year-old Imogen Hearne faces her sister's cancer diagnosis and the loss of her rented cottage, then falls in love with her niece's fiancé. The author's first novel, published by Barking Rain Press in 2013.
This book was once published by Barking Rain Press, which announced its closure in 2019. This site is not that publisher and does not sell books. See “Finding the book today” below.
Premise
The Revolving Year is set in Devonshire, England, in 1999. Imogen “Immy” Hearne is thirty-five. Her older sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and Immy learns that the lease on the cottage that has been her home for ten years will end in January 2000. Then, amid the build-up to the millennium, her niece Celia comes to stay, and Immy falls in love with Celia’s fiancé.
The publisher frames her dilemma as a choice between that love and the fragile family she cares about. This summary stays within that description and doesn’t say how she chooses.
Publication history
Barking Rain Press published the novel in autumn 2013. The publisher’s announcement, dated 1 November 2013, lists a trade paperback (ISBN 978-1-935460-82-4) and an eBook in ePub, Kindle and PDF formats (ISBN 978-1-935460-83-1). Open Library dates the paperback to 24 October 2013. The two sources disagree on length: the release says 224 pages and Open Library says 232.
At the time, the publisher described Barking Rain Press as a non-profit fiction publisher and an imprint of BRP Publishing Group, a non-profit based in the Portland/Vancouver area that also ran the Virtual Tales and Nitis Books imprints. Like other Barking Rain titles of the period, the novel came out in print and in several ebook formats at the same time, and the release pointed readers to the press’s own website. The release described the author as a Devonshire native living in Corpus Christi, Texas. A January 2014 author profile called it her first novel. Barking Rain Press announced its closure in 2019. This research found no later edition from another publisher.
This page is an independent record. Barking Rain Press no longer sells this or any other book.
Reading notes
These notes come from desk research using the publisher’s announcement and an author profile. They are not a reading report.
The publisher marketed the book as chick lit and contemporary romance, but its premise also belongs to the family drama. The central romance can’t be pursued without hurting someone close to the heroine. The story stacks several pressures at once: illness, losing a home and a forbidden attraction. It sets them against the end of the twentieth century, a natural backdrop for a story about whether to change one’s life.
According to the release, the author is herself a Devonshire native, and she was living in Texas when the book came out.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press edition is out of print, and this research found no later edition. Library catalogues and WorldCat can find copies by title and author, or by ISBN 9781935460824 for the paperback. This page doesn’t give prices or say where the book is sold.
Finding the book today
The Barking Rain Press edition is out of print, and no later edition was found during this research. Library catalogues and WorldCat can locate copies by title, author or ISBN 9781935460824.
Discussion questions
- Immy has to choose between a new love and keeping her family together. Is there a right answer, and who gets to decide?
- Her sister's illness and the loss of her cottage arrive together. How do outside pressures change the choices a person feels free to make?
- The man she falls for is engaged to her niece. How does a family connection change the moral weight of a romance?
- The novel is set in the run-up to the millennium. Why might an author set a story about personal turning points against a public one?
- When the book came out, the author was a Devonshire native living in Texas. What might distance from a place bring to writing about it?
- The title suggests the turning of a year. What might 'revolving' mean for a character who is choosing whether to change her life?
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Sources
- Now in Print & eBook from Barking Rain Press: Chick Lit Novel 'The Revolving Year' by Vanessa Furse Jackson, PR.com (Barking Rain Press release, 1 November 2013). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- The Revolving Year (Open Library, ISBN 9781935460824), Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Meet Vanessa Furse Jackson (John M. Daniel blog, January 2014), John M. Daniel. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- When Things Go South When You're North: The End of Barking Rain Press, Judy Penz Sheluk. Accessed 2026-11-12.