My latest novel, the mystery thriller Death Nest, has recently been released. Lately, I’ve been exploring different aspects of this novel, which as well as dealing in page-turning suspense also features coming-of-age elements, a touch of romance, and the odd horror moment (especially in the latter stages). It’s also possibly my most “personal” novel to date (as I’ve discussed elsewhere), with a variety of influences and inspirations informing the book.

Here, I want to share a few insights into the settings, research, and revisions that went into the creation of the novel. Beginning with the settings, I should point out that the town of Corthpothan in the novel is fictional, but slightly based on the real Cornish village Porthcothan. I visited this lovely area on the north Cornwall coast a few years ago with the family, at the height of summer. 

If you drive past, it looks deceptively uninteresting, but if you walk the short distance along the sand of the small inlet next to the village, it widens out into a vast sandy beach. The sea has phenomenal waves, so it is great for surfers. The area is bordered by a spectacular rugged coastline that boasts caves and gorgeous rock pools. Some of the latter are great for children to swim in (if one is concerned about the ferociousness of the sea waves and strong currents).

We had a fantastic time here, but at the same time, the details of the area were carefully logged away in my mind, knowing they might one day make their way into a novel. As for other settings that wound up appearing in the novel, these include the lovely Bagley Woods on Boars Hill, Oxford. In fact, the opening movement of the novel features a variety of Oxford locations, including the King’s Arms pub; a real place, which used to be a regular watering hole of mine. The story also includes scenes in the Magdalen Street cinema (now sadly closed), and Port Meadow, which is another fabulous place to go for walks if you ever visit Oxford, especially if you’re a keen birdwatcher.

Beyond that, the sinister Darkfire Forest is inspired by a few different woodland areas in and around where I live in Devon. Of course, eerie, possibly haunted forests have cropped up before in my novels Spectre of Springwell Forest, but what takes place in Death Nest is a little different. Here’s a photograph I took a while ago that sets the tone for the Darkfire Forest.

Much of my research for this novel came about from simply checking details about places I already knew, making sure I either rendered them accurately, or deliberately changed them (as was the case with the name Porthcothan). The novel also dealt with certain subjects with which I am already greatly familiar (film production, for instance). However, some more in-depth research took place into dark subjects like human trafficking and brainwashing. I also had to research pagan folklore quite a bit, which is where I discovered and adopted the name Damara for the ancient spirit that may (or may not) influence events in the story. But I also made up a great deal too.

The initial draft had a lot more overtly supernatural stuff included. I cut or greatly reduced much of this, deciding a greater ambiguity over such incidents was preferable. There are still plenty of spooky edges in the final text, and one can read the supernatural into the events. But at the same time, there are enough doubts and questions to leave such matters up to the reader, rather than forcing them into a particular perspective.

Death Nest is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon (click here for the UK, and here for the US). It’s also available from Smashwords and its various outlets.