With 2021 well underway, here’s an update on my various writing endeavours.

Firstly, and most importantly, I’m now ten chapters (about 40,000 words) into writing my latest novel; a sequel to a still unreleased contemporary children’s horror/dark fairy tale I wrote in 2014, entitled The Faerie Gate. The new novel is yet to be titled, but it wasn’t originally conceived as a sequel. During the planning stages, I realised the narrative dovetailed perfectly in the universe of The Faerie Gate. It is set several decades later (in our future), and is a much bigger, more epic story. In fact, it could even end up being two or even three volumes, which means The Faerie Gate will be to the new story to what The Hobbit is to The Lord of the Rings. It’s a hugely ambitious undertaking, which I’ll keep chipping away at throughout this year, and probably beyond.

My most recent novel Peaceful Quiet Lives continues to bring in good reviews, and this post contains links to various articles exploring the novel from lots of perspectives.

This April, my currently unavailable gothic mystery horror/thrillers Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition are due for re-release with all new covers. More information on that next week.

I’ve also written a new short story, entitled Trial Period. It’s an unusual piece that takes a satirical look at being made redundant, and the peculiarities of the modern job market. It evolves into a tale of odd-couple mentorship and friendship between the protagonist – a white, middle-aged former publishing professional – and his co-worker, a young black woman with untapped literary talent. Whilst working for the marketing department of a herbal remedy company, they eventually discover a sinister conspiracy.

Trial Period might be published on Medium at some point in the future. Speaking of which, I’m now very active on that platform, contributing to publications including Frame Rated, Cinemania, The Writing Cooperative, Writer’s Blokke, and Illumination. I’ve also had an article published in the Guardian earlier this year, so all things considered, not a bad start to 2021.