Happy New Year!

After an exceptionally busy 2019, I plan to take things a little easier this year. I very much doubt I will release any new material (either through publishers, or self-publishing) but whilst that might sound disappointing, it’s a necessary reaction to the last year or so, which featured the release of three novels – Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, and Phantom Audition – as well as the short story Papercut, part of the First Love anthology.

So no, I probably won’t have anything new out this year (although I’m not ruling that out entirely). But that doesn’t mean I won’t be writing constantly. For a start, there will be the usual ongoing articles and updates on the blog, but more importantly I’ll be writing one, possibly two, new novels.

The first of these is another gothic mystery that falls neatly into my usual psychological/supernatural horror/thriller spectrum. Unusually for me (in this genre at least), it will feature a male protagonist. The story explores a number of universally relatable themes; for instance, difficult and traumatic sibling relationships, and fears that parents have about their children as they grow up. With a gripping, spooky and sinister mystery at its core, the novel will be a must for anyone who has enjoyed my earlier novels of this kind, and I can’t wait for people’s reactions to the ending. What else can I tell you? It’s set in Oxford and the South-West, and the title is… no, I’m hanging on to that information for now.

The second novel I might tackle this year is one I’ve only just started to outline. It’s a dark, dystopian fairy tale, probably aimed at older children/young adults, based on a very strange, vivid dream I had last year. When relaying said dream to one of my colleagues, the colleague in question insisted the premise was so good that I write a novel based on it, or else she would! I hope I can live up to her expectations.

Last year I had planned to finish my long-awaited science fiction anthology, which has evolved into a collection of stories varying between novella and short story in length. There are seven in total, but due to how busy I was last year, I only wrote two – one novella, and one short story. I will attempt to revisit this project later in the year, if I get the time, as I really do want to write the remaining stories I have outlined.

Elsewhere, I am revisiting a number of older manuscripts – mostly in the fantasy genre – in an attempt to get them up to scratch to potentially show agents/publishers. I’m not sure what my next move will be in that arena, but as ever I’ll keep you updated on the blog. Watch this space.