Tag Archives: Novels

New Novel Update

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Credit: lalesh aldarwish at Pexels

I have now officially finished the first draft of my latest novel. The title is currently The Hobbford Giant, though that might change. Another gothic mystery, this one straddles the psychological thriller/horror spectrum, and will sit neatly alongside my previously published novels in the genre such as Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Irresistible Summons, The Thistlewood Curse, Phantom Audition, and The Birds Began to Sing.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot at this stage, but here are a few titbits. As previously stated, it concerns a young journalist, who investigates a local mystery with links to her past in the fictional town of Hobbford. There are variations on a few typically gothic locations, including a large spooky house and a sinister forest. In the background of the narrative is an archaeological dig taking place on the site of a now-closed children’s home, following a major abuse scandal. The protagonist’s mysterious estranged uncle is also a key character. He runs an expensive mental health clinic for rich clients.

As for the title, it refers to Hobbford folklore. On a nearby hill, is the chalk outline of a giant figure, somewhat akin to the real-life Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset (see below). In my story, local legend states this giant was sent by a witch to take revenge, after the witch in question was persecuted. The giant was slain, and the body supposedly buried inside the hill. How does this have a bearing on the plot? I wouldn’t dream of spoiling the surprise.

Credit: Wikipedia Commons. Nigel Mykura / Cerne Abbas Giant / CC BY-SA 2.0

What else can I tell you about the book? It took about three months to complete the first draft (working from a thoroughly researched and plotted outline I prepared last year), and in the process, the story became rather darker than I originally intended. Although the essentials of the plot didn’t change, I realised whilst writing that the subject matter and tone veered more towards the horror end of my oeuvre than I originally thought. I’d expected this to read as more a thriller, like The Birds Began to Sing. But it ended up closer in tone to Spectre of Springwell Forest, though to my mind not quite as frightening. Perhaps The Thistlewood Curse is my closest point of comparison, as that one also sits at the mid-point between horror and thriller.

Thematically, this story deals with hidden secrets, as with all good gothic mysteries. More specifically, it concerns what happens when lies are told and perpetuated, and how these lies act as a kind of black hole, sucking in others when they chose to keep silent out of fear and intimidation, rather than bringing the truth into the light. I didn’t set out to write anything particularly profound, but looking back over the first draft, I can see more, in retrospect, what must have been lurking in my subconscious whilst writing this: Lies and cover-ups, however well-intended, are never a good thing.

I will now be following my standard procedure of sitting on the novel for a while, before redrafting with fresh eyes anywhere between six months to a year from now. At that point, I will start the process of showing the manuscript to beta readers, and then think about publication possibilities. I’m excited about this novel and look forward to sharing it with you in due course.

Coming Soon, Later, and Perhaps Never: March 2022 Update

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Credit: Pixabay

Once in a while, I post an update of where I’m at with my pile of unpublished novels, in their varying states of disrepair. These range from completed first drafts to manuscripts polished and ready to go. However, this list doesn’t include the novel I’m currently writing (I’ve almost finished the first draft). Nor does it include the rapidly growing pile of short stories I have waiting in the wings.

Why the update? Partly to whet reader appetite, and partly for my own sanity, so I’ve a nice at-a-glance piece that lays out which are likelier to see the light of day. (Those that definitely won’t aren’t included.)

These novels are divided by genre (sort-of).

Fantasy

Ravenseed

This Dark Ages set fantasy novel is currently sitting with potential publishers/agents. If I get good news, it will be announced here. As for the plot, it’s a brooding, melancholy tale of knights, sorcerers, and enchantment, simmering with love, lust, betrayal, and revenge. Alongside the Dark Ages story is a parallel framing story set in the present.

Release likelihood: If I can’t find a publisher I’ll self-publish, hopefully this year.

The Faerie Gate (plus sequel)

My long-delayed, horror-story-for-children is now on its fourth draft. Originally written in 2015, it’s my scariest novel primarily aimed at children. But this dark fairy tale is also a compassionate story of a young adolescent coming to terms with the separation of her parents. Last year, I penned the first of a planned trilogy of sequels (currently untitled), set some years after this novel. These stand alone and can be read with or without knowledge of The Faerie Gate.

Release likelihood: Definitely my intention, even though I keep holding it back. I might wait until I’ve written the other two novels in the sequel trilogy before taking the first one any further.

The Deviant Prophet

Another dark fairy tale, but this time for adults. Fantasy and reality clash in a disturbing tale of religious oppression, amid a vivid and surreal world parallel to our own. The initial inspiration for this came from a close friend’s extraordinary dreams. I finished a third draft four years ago, and haven’t looked at it since.

Release likelihood: I’m holding on to it for now, but I’d love to see this published at some stage.

Goldeweed

An epic, three-volume saga I have shaped on and off for almost twenty years. Set in a vast imagined realm on many different planes of reality, it details three love stories that play out against an apocalyptic backdrop at the end of an era. Currently longer than War and Peace, it’s a tale I have rewritten and tinkered with for some time, and I’m still not entirely happy with it. It needs another serious rewrite, which I will undertake when I allocate some serious time.

Release likelihood: Depends on whether unhelpful perfectionism thwarts my ambitions.

Gothic Mystery Thriller/Horror

The White Nest

This novel is something of a culmination for me; a summing up of all the tropes, themes, and ideas I have explored in earlier gothic mystery novels. But although there is an element of Now-That’s-What-I-Call-a-Simon-Dillon-Gothic-Mystery about this novel, it is also radically different in two ways. Firstly, it features a male protagonist. Secondly, it is the most intensely personal novel I’ve written since Children of the Folded Valley. Yes, I know all writing is “personal”, but this one really jabbed raw nerves in an ultimately cathartic way, tapping into traumas regarding siblings, parental fears, false guilt, and more. It is also something of a coming-of-age novel, despite the genre trappings. One more point: The White Nest refers to something sinister in the story, but it’s only a placeholder title. I’m keeping the real title secret for now.

Release likelihood: Needs another polish, but probably my next priority after Ravenseed.

Wormcutter

From something I wrote in 2020, to something I wrote in 2007 (from an idea I had researched on and off since 1996), this detective thriller/horror hybrid begins as an apparently open and shut murder investigation, then escalates into a humdinger of a conspiracy, until it ends up in the most disturbing territory I have ever explored in a novel (definitely 18 certificate stuff). Currently on its fourth draft, and due for another polish.

Release likelihood: Unlikely any time soon. I’m proud of this novel, but I think it might be wiser to hang on to it for the time being, as I do have some concerns about how it could be received.

Miscellaneous

The Balliol Conspiracy

This somewhat old-fashioned, Hitchcockian romantic spy thriller is a conspiracy story of a different kind (much more PG territory, unlike Wormcutter), and proved a real change of pace for me when I wrote it. A strong, suspenseful central mystery results in an historic, fact-based treasure hunt, leading to a new lease of life for the bereaved protagonist. I don’t want to say too much more, except that yes, it does involve Balliol College in Oxford. I also wanted to write a grown-up book that, for once, my mother would be able to read without having nightmares. Currently on its second draft, its actually grown on me quite a bit since I first wrote it, and my wife thinks I should attempt more stories of this kind. But I suspect it is a one-off. We’ll see.

Release likelihood: A distinct possibility, perhaps even soon, but probably self-published.

A Statement of Disbelief

A satirical novel set in the dubious world of Christian television fundraising. It’s only had one draft, and I’ve not reread it for a while. However, I had great fun writing this.

Release likelihood: Unlikely at this point, but I’m not ruling it out.

One final point: My trilogy of children’s sci-fi adventure novels, George Goes to Mars, George Goes to Titan, and George Goes to Neptune, have been withdrawn for the time being. Why? Frankly, these early self-published works didn’t really take off the way I’d hoped. I think they were let down by two problems: 1) The lack of a proper edit, and 2) Titles that make them sound like books for very little children, even though the target audience is the Harry Potter/Alex Rider demographic. My plan is to give them a thorough edit, new titles, and rerelease them in this format at some point hopefully soon (with a clear note that they were previously published in an earlier form under a different name).

How Long Between First Draft and Publication?

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Someone recently asked how long it takes between first draft and publication of my novels. The short, boring answer is “it depends”. However, I try to ensure a decent amount of time for reflection between drafts, especially between first and second drafts. I find that an interval of a year, or at least six months, gives the necessary distance for some degree of objectivity.

Trying to rewrite a first draft immediately is fraught with problems. Having just been through the intense rollercoaster of writing novel-length fiction, at that stage, I’m simply not able to discern what should stay, go, be tweaked, or rewritten, with any degree of critical judgement. By that point, I’m often sick of the whole endeavour, convinced it’s rubbish (normally having started thinking it’s a masterpiece).

By now, I’m familiar enough with my own authorial ups and downs to ignore both feelings – the idea that I’m creating a masterpiece, or the idea that it’s rubbish. I know that time and distance will provide the truth. For this reason, some of my early novels will (rightly) never see the light of day. Others I initially deemed rubbish have turned out rather well, when viewed with the distance of time.

In truth, the distance between first draft and publication has greatly varied. For instance, I wrote the first draft of my most popular novel, Children of the Folded Valley, in 2011. I sat on it for six months, then made a few tweaks, before then showing it to my father, who had a superb suggestion to improve it. That precipitated a rewrite, though sadly my father never got to see the finished novel, as he died shortly afterwards. Children of the Folded Valley was ultimately released in 2014, three years after I finished the first draft.

In stark contrast, Echo and the White Howl was written during the summer of 2017, after my youngest son (then eight years old) requested a story about wolves. I don’t write animal fiction, but made the attempt on this occasion, rushing from first draft to self-publication in December of that year, so he’d have the novel in time for Christmas. Hardly anyone has read this novel, but I’m very proud of it. Most importantly, my son loved it.

Most of my published work is in the gothic mystery horror/thriller genre, but normally there are a few years between first draft and publication. For example, my first draft of The Irresistible Summons was written in 2015, but it wasn’t published until 2019. In the interim, there were several revisions and deletions (which I detail here). Again, I’m very pleased with the finished novel.

On top of this, some of my novels have sat on the shelf for years in various states of disrepair – from first draft to nearly ready for publication. The oldest of these is another horror novel, entitled Wormcutter, which I wrote in 2007. Due to some of the subject matter, I’m a bit nervous about ever releasing this one, so it may stay there indefinitely. I’ve also a number of fantasy novels waiting in the wings, the oldest of which dates back to 2008. I hope those see the light of day at some point.

Uncle Flynn 10th Anniversary

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Cover design: Charles Bown

This year marks the 10th anniversary of my debut novel Uncle Flynn. Well, sort of. Technically the first version appeared on 30th December 2010, but paperbacks followed in 2011, so it’s sort-of the 10th anniversary. Either way, this treasure hunt adventure for the young and young at heart still holds an important place in my heart.

Uncle Flynn was in fact the eighth novel I wrote, but the first I decided to self-publish. Having been turned down by agents and publishers, my brother-in-law suggested this thing called Kindle on Amazon, and I decided to give it a go. The book was a modest success, and received some very good reviews – although I’m sure the fact that it was free at that time helped.

Plot

The story concerns eleven-year-old Max, a boy who suffers from crippling phobias and anxiety. Estranged from his workaholic father, Max’s life gets interesting one day when his mysterious uncle Flynn – an archaeologist normally working in South America – comes to visit.

During his stay, Max and Flynn discover clues pertaining to a local legend – a treasure buried on Dartmoor by monks, during the sacking of Buckfast Abbey at the time of Henry VIII. Following these clues lead to the discovery of a map. Max begins to put aside his many fears and hang-ups due to his obsession with finding the treasure. Flynn is equally obsessed, despite the dangerous presence of rival treasure hunters.

Complicating matters even further, once they set off across Dartmoor, Max discovers the police are on their trail. What has his uncle done to put himself at odds with the law? Flynn urges Max to help him evade his pursuers. Because he is so desperate to beat their rivals to the treasure, Max agrees, despite his uncle’s refusal to tell him why he is on the run.

Photo by Elliot Martin on Unsplash

Background

As well as following in the tradition of well-known titles like Swallows and Amazons, Treasure Island, and adventure films like The Goonies, the novel was initially inspired by the many walks I had taken with my eldest son on Dartmoor (to whom the novel is dedicated). We had visited several memorable locations, including Cater’s Beam, Sherberton Stone Circle, the “Crock of Gold” Bronze Age tomb, and Wistman’s Wood. These all turn up in the novel, even if I am somewhat liberal with the geography.

Some of the dangers faced on Dartmoor by the characters are not entirely fictional. There are deadly mires, especially the notorious Fox Tor mire and Raybarrow Pool. In addition, there are wild boar in the west (now documented fact). There have also been several panther sightings, though most of these were on Exmoor rather than Dartmoor. The sheer number of these (and a few dubious photographs) raise eyebrows on a regular basis, although how they got there is a mystery. Some suggest that the UK Dangerous Pets Act in the 1970s caused eccentrics who owned big cats to turn them loose, and that they somehow bred in the wild. And yes – you can see adders on the moors at warmer times of year, though they typically slither away if you get anywhere near them.

Buckfast Abbey was another key location used in the book. Much of the history of the abbey works its way into the novel, especially regarding how Henry VIII burned priceless Catholic books, closed the abbey, and had its gold and other treasures transferred to London. William Petre, who is mentioned in the novel, oversaw this process. He later retired in the south-west, purchasing a couple of manors. Uncle Flynn moves beyond these facts to suggest William Petre had other motives for returning, namely that he had become obsessed with tracking down the treasure hidden by a few clever monks that had slipped through his fingers.

Photo by Louis Tripp on Unsplash

Themes

I suppose the novel is mainly about overcoming fear and the dangers of mollycoddling. My protagonist Max suffers severe anxiety and panic attacks. He has many phobias, and there are satirical suggestions that an increasingly risk-averse society is at least partly to blame. For instance, one sequence early in the novel has Max being initiated into a secret club in school – a club that dares to play conkers without “protective head gear”. Max and the other children are caught and punished for their dangerous behaviour. This may sound absurd, but my late father (who was a teacher) informed me this kind of nonsense has been introduced in some UK schools.

Such satire is largely peripheral, and the novel implies throughout that Max’s difficult, estranged relationship with his father is what really lies at the heart of his problems. In attempting to impress his father, Max – along with his mysterious, genuinely dangerous uncle – takes increasingly reckless action in his quest to find the treasure. The irony is mollycoddling actually leads Max to take greater and greater risks.

Of course, this makes the novel sound terribly heavy and worthy, and I can assure you it isn’t. It is, first and foremost, a children’s adventure story. I didn’t write it to deliver any kind of “message”. However, I noticed these themes and ironies after the fact. What is important to any author will always be inherent in the text of their work, and in this case, I can see these themes in retrospect.

Uncle Flynn is available on Kindle and in paperback here (in the UK) and here (in the US).

Borrowing History in My Novels

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Many of my novels draw on history for their narratives, particularly the local history of where I live, in southwest England. Here are three examples of more fascinating historic footnotes that I appropriated, and massaged a little, for inclusion in my stories. The first two are from novels presently available, and the last one is from a manuscript I am holding on to for the time being.

The Dissolving of Buckfast Abbey (referenced in Uncle Flynn)

The facts: Henry VIII went about dissolving many Catholic monasteries during his reign. One of these was Buckfast Abbey, in the village of Buckfastleigh, on the southern borders of Dartmoor, which is a short distance east of where I live. The Abbey was dissolved by Sir William Petre, who in 1539, under instructions from the King, seized considerable amounts of gold which were subsequently taken to the Tower of London. William Petre later retired to the south-west. The Abbey was restored in the 1800s.

My fiction: In Uncle Flynn, the protagonist, eleven-year-old Max, and his mysterious adventurer uncle (who apparently has the police on his tail), uncover clues to hidden treasure written by a monk at the time of the dissolution. He supposedly took a vast amount of the Abbey’s gold, along with priceless Catholic library manuscripts, and buried them in a secret location on Dartmoor. This local legend is supported by William Petre’s supposed obsession with trying to locate this treasure that slipped through his fingers during the dissolution. It also explains why he chose to retire in the southwest.

Slaves of Lundy Island (referenced in The Thistlewood Curse)

The facts: Lundy Island is a tiny island on the Bristol coast, about three miles long and half a mile wide. It is sparsely populated, with limited local amenities, including a church, the Marisco Tavern, and a small airstrip where helicopters can land. Lundy Castle has since been divided into holiday homes. Electricity is only available at certain times of day, and there is no mobile phone signal (though there is a radio in the tavern).

Lundy has a rich and fascinating history, but one episode informed The Thistlewood Curse more than any other. Thomas Benson was an MP for Barnstaple when he owned Lundy in the 18th century. He also traded from the North Devon port of Bideford after inheriting a family fortune. His vessels transported tobacco, but he also kept a slave workforce on Lundy procured from convicts he was supposed to transport to America. After getting involved in smuggling, Benson’s misdeeds were discovered but managed to escape justice by fleeing abroad.

My fiction: Thomas Benson becomes Henry Thistlewood in my novel. As per real life, he secretly holds convicts intended for transportation to Virginia and uses them as slaves on the island. However, I devised the background for a ghost story: One slave, Jeremiah Adams, is executed with medieval barbarity after allegedly raping Thistlewood’s wife Cora. Whilst enduring death agonies, Adams curses the Thistlewood family line, swearing he will return to wipe them out.

In the present day, Henry Thistlewood’s descendant, Charles Thistlewood, son of Lord Alfred Thistlewood, mysteriously drops dead, having suffered an inexplicable heart attack. His wife Sally is an old friend of protagonist Detective Laura Buchan. Despite the doctor claiming Charles’s death is an open and shut case of tragic heart attack, Sally suspects foul play and asks Laura to come and secretly investigate, during Charles’s funeral. Laura brings along another childhood friend of theirs, paranormal investigator Lawrence Crane, who uses astral projection to try and discover the truth.

I won’t say anything more about the plot as I wouldn’t want to spoil it, but I will add that in my novel Lundy Castle is still occupied by the Thistlewoods, not divided into holiday homes.

Oliver Cromwell’s Head (referenced in The Balliol Conspiracy)

The facts: During the English Civil War, Balliol College in Oxford had its silver taken by the Roundheads and melted down for Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army. After Cromwell’s death, when the monarchy returned, Charles II had Cromwell’s body dug up, put on trial, hanged, drawn, and quartered. His head was placed on a spike in London as a warning against anyone who’d seek to overthrow the monarchy again. Here’s where the facts get bizarre: Oliver Cromwell’s head was stolen, preserved, and changed hands multiple times (at one point it was hidden stuffed up a chimney), before supposedly being buried in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Exactly where is unknown.

My fiction: My as-yet-unpublished novel The Balliol Conspiracy involves the above facts, though I tweak them by pretending Cromwell’s head was buried in Oxford. I won’t say any more about the plot, as the novel is strictly under wraps, suffice to say it’s a treasure hunt adventure for grown-ups, with a spy thriller element and a romantic element. I’ve not penned anything else quite like this, and it took quite some effort to rein in my gothic horror sensibilities whilst writing, to keep the narrative to PG levels. But I was determined that, for once, I’d write a novel that my mother could enjoy.

Uncle Flynn is available from Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US).

The Thistlewood Curse is available from Amazon here (in the UK), here (in the US), and here (from Smashwords).

The Balliol Conspiracy will be released at some point in the future. Watch this space.

Do I Get Scared Writing Horror?

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Photo by Donovan Reeves on Unsplash

My youngest child asked me an interesting question today: Do I get scared writing my horror novels? I feel like the answer ought to be no, since I’ve already plotted out the narrative and know exactly what’s going to happen. I’m aware of all character arcs and know where everyone ends up, alive, dead, or worse. Yet despite this, in all honestly, the answer is yes.

It is often assumed that horror fans (and writers) are hardened, desensitised individuals, but this silly stereotype simply isn’t true. Stephen King apparently has to sleep with the light on. I have much sympathy and have previously expounded on this subject at greater length. Writing horror – which in my case subgenre-wise is a blend of gothic mystery, supernatural thriller, and ghost story – definitely makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention at times.

My point is that visceral emotional response ought to be the result of any fiction writing. A novel should be immersive in that way, generating an appropriate reaction in the reader. In the case of horror, I want them to feel suspense, thrills, fear; a burning desire to get to the bottom of the supernatural mystery, underscored by an awareness that once they learn the truth, they might wish they hadn’t. Horror fiction should be bracing and invigorating, rewarding the nerve of the reader with the masochistic catharsis inherent in the greats of the genre.

If I didn’t experience at least a bit of that, when writing The Irresistible Summons, Spectre of Springwell Forest, The Thistlewood Curse, and so forth, I wouldn’t be a very good writer. I believe an author should be thrilled by the telling of their story as they write it down. Every word should remind them that this is their kind of tale; the kind they love to read, share, and about which they love to enthuse. So yes, those novels did generate a little creeping dread as I penned them – especially when doing so late at night, when everyone else in the house was asleep and the shadows decided I need a bit of company.

If you’re curious (and brave enough) you can check out my scarier novels on Amazon here (in the UK) and here (in the US). They are also available on Smashwords here.

Summer Holiday Special: Download The Irresistible Summons FREE

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For the next six weeks, I’m making my gothic mystery novel The Irresistible Summons FREE to download at Smashwords, to promote my novels in outlets other than Amazon.


Here’s an introduction to whet your appetite.

In a brief prologue, teenager Naomi Levinson laments the death of her boyfriend, Toby Lane. Toby and his entire family perished in a mysterious house fire, which Naomi comes to believe may have been started deliberately.

Several years later, Naomi is now an accomplished television producer making documentaries debunking the supernatural. When a shoot interviewing a possibly possessed killer in prison goes terribly wrong, the production company Naomi works for faces a lawsuit and possible closure.

Offered what could be her last job, Naomi is initially reluctant to take on filming a promotional video for computer game company Persephone. She considers the task beneath her talents. However, after production gets underway at the Persephone office block on London’s Canary Wharf, strange things begin to happen.

One member of staff inexplicably disappears. Ghosts are sighted, one of whom appears to be Toby. This re-opens old emotional wounds for Naomi, bringing back bittersweet memories of her strictly religious messianic Jewish parents, who disapproved of her secret teenage romance.

As Naomi continues to investigate, she begins to believe she might have stumbled onto a genuine haunting, one with disturbing links to her past, and possibly her future.

A horrifying conspiracy is gradually revealed. Cutting edge technology and ancient evil meet, leading to the discovery of a shocking and terrifying secret – one that could change the nature of life and death as we know it.

The Irresistible Summons can be downloaded FREE from Smashwords here. It also continues to be available for purchase at Amazon. Enjoy!

Recent Reviews

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Here are four new (or newly discovered by yours truly) five-star rave reviews for my novels.

For my most recent novel Peaceful Quiet Lives, this from A Critical Reader on Amazon:

“What an appropriate book for the here and now! While it may be a fictional account of a future America’s “Second Civil War” which breaks it into two separate countries, one far left and one far right, it is written as political satire of our current state of affairs.

Aside from the politics, readers will be swept up in the love story between Sam and Eve and the struggles they go through.

A must-read!”

For dystopian sci-fi memoir Children of the Folded Valley, an enthusiastic endorsement from Mathew Graves, on Amazon:

“Well-written and deeply personal, this book weaves together religious fanaticism and science fiction wonderfully and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I would love to see this story adapted to the screen one day but in the meantime I highly recommend reading the book.”

Next, I rather like this amusing assessment of my gothic horror mystery Spectre of Springwell Forest:

“This book was immediately gripping. It has a lot going on, but it all works so well together that it doesn’t feel over the top. I mean, there are ghosts, witches, government coverups, possession. It sounds bonkers, and I guess it is, but it never gets ridiculous.”

Finally, here’s an unnamed Amazon customer on my sinister psychological thriller The Birds Began to Sing:

“Amazing thriller with a brilliant twist at the end which even the most hardcore of murder mystery readers wouldn’t see coming. A must read.”

In closing, a plea: Reviews are vitally important to indie authors such as yours truly, so if you do read one of my novels and enjoy it, please do leave a review, on Amazon, Goodreads, or ideally both (using the same review for both is fine).

I don’t need these reviews because I’m in need of constant affirmation (although affirmation is always nice). These reviews are vital because they act as sacrificial offerings to the Algorithmic Overlords, who in their beneficence, then point other readers in the direction of my work. They don’t need to be long or eloquent. “I enjoyed it” is fine. But if you like my work, or even if you hate it for all the right reasons – “Too scary”, “Too disturbing”, “Too offensive”, “Too unbearably sad”, etc – the best possible way to support me, other than buying my novels, is to please, please, please leave reviews. Thank you very much to those who already do. It is hugely appreciated, as this literally helps me to earn a living.

Check out my novels from Amazon here (in the UK), here (in the US), or alternatively on Smashworlds here.



Echo and the White Howl Revisited

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In late 2017, I self-published my one and only animal fiction adventure novel, Echo and the White Howl. Set in the Alaskan wilderness, it’s a gripping revenge story packed with hunts, blizzards, and dangerous journeys, with a mysterious, supernatural edge. It also proved one of the most challenging projects of my writing career.

I decided to pen this novel after my youngest son begged me to write him a story about wolves. Although I initially resisted the notion, rather irritatingly, an excellent narrative occurred to me, and the voices in my head wouldn’t shut up about it. In the end, much to my son’s delight, I had no choice but to write the damn thing. In the process, I learned three important lessons:

Writing animal fiction is bloody difficult

Animal fiction is a fiend because it is tricky to tread the line between assigning relatable human attributes to animal characters whilst making sure their knowledge doesn’t go beyond what they would naturally know. A myriad of choices complicates this, from turns of phrase to the wolves’ knowledge of the world around them. For example, I had to weed out a lot of human expressions from the dialogue or create wolf equivalents. A wolf wouldn’t be unable to put its finger on the problem, for instance, as they have paws. It also gets awkward when describing human devices of which they have no knowledge (for example guns). In addition, when hearing about places beyond their natural habitat (eg cities, or the sea), again, they have to be seen to not fully comprehend such concepts.

Animal fiction is a technique, not a genre

Animal fiction can incorporate everything from comedy to satire, allegory, adventure, fantasy, romance, and more. In my case, Echo and the White Howl is a coming-of-age adventure tale aimed at anyone capable of reading it and up. The book combines atmospheric, dirt-and-snow-under-the-paws Alaskan wilderness realism with a few mystical elements. In keeping with the traditions of much animal fiction, humans lurk on the narrative periphery as an ever-present menace. Key inspirations include Watership Down, Bambi, and bizarrely, Twin Peaks.

Suspension of disbelief: Where to incorporate research, and where to ignore it

Again, this was a fiend. I undertook the usual deluge of research for writing this novel, but how much of it I should incorporate became a constant question. I have included elements of how cubs are raised, how a pack hunts, the challenges to become Alpha, and so on. However, science tells me wolves see in black and white. Needless to say, I ignored the latter point and opted for poetic licence, for much the same reason George Lucas opted for poetic licence when deciding we should hear those cool laser sounds and explosions in the Star Wars space battles, despite the fact that space is a vacuum, and we’d hear nothing were such battles to take place in reality.

Beyond all of this, I had a particularly difficult time coming up with a good title. The first draft was penned under the unimaginative moniker Wolf Story, but try as I might, I could not settle on a proper name. My excellent friend Yasmine Nuoraho, who designed the wonderful cover for the novel, trolled me with many unhelpful suggestions, including A Tale of Tails and Lupine Larks. Yet in the end, it was she who came up with Echo and the White Howl, which is nicely enigmatic.

All things considered, I don’t think I will ever attempt animal fiction again (although never say never), but I am immensely proud of Echo and the White Howl, and dare I say, I think it deserves a much bigger readership. A number of people have read some odd things into it (one person insisted it was a Brexit allegory) but whilst some of my familiar themes are present – megalomaniacal abuse of power for instance – I certainly didn’t write the novel with any clear message in mind. I just wanted it to be a first-rate adventure story.

Echo and the White Howl can be purchased from Amazon here (in the UK), and here (in the US).

Writing Update: The White Nest

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With the exception of a couple of short stories, last year I took an extended break from fiction writing after finishing the first draft of a novel tentatively titled The White Nest. This story proved every bit as “personal” as Children of the Folded Valley. In fact, given the level of raw nerve jabbing involved, it’s safe to say I did something of a “Truman Capote”. What I mean by that is Capote was scarred to such a degree after writing his masterpiece In Cold Blood that he never finished another novel.

I am not comparing myself to such a literary giant, nor did I do anything as drastic as attend executions for my art, as he did, but the painful truth is that writing The White Nest affected me in ways I’m still coming to terms with. For some time, I wondered if my “voices” would ever return. I wrote a bit about that experience in this article on Medium. Thankfully I can report that the voices are back.

This year so far, I have written the first novel in a planned trilogy of fantasy stories that exist in the same Universe as my as-yet unpublished dark fairy tale novel The Faerie Gate. However, despite being pleased that I’ve managed to write another novel, I’m not yet convinced the quality is high enough to warrant being shared with the world. I feared the same for The White Nest, but having finally braved another look at the manuscript, I am pleased to report that is not the case.

The White Nest (I’m keeping the real title secret for now) is another gothic mystery, at least in part. It is also a coming-of-age story, a romance, a conspiracy thriller, and obviously it contains some strong horror elements. It deals in themes of complicated sibling relationships, parental fears, and false guilt. Reading it back, I can see why the process of writing it had such an effect on me, due to some of the painful personal experiences on which I am drawing. That said, I think readers will simply enjoy it as a vivid, gripping, page-turning mystery, which was always my primary intention. I think it might contain the best first act I’ve ever written. I can’t say if the ending is up to the same standard, as I’ve yet to reread it, but so far the signs are promising.

In terms of plot, The White Nest represents something of a departure from my previous gothic mysteries, in that the protagonist is male. I’m keeping the specifics under wraps for now, but I can tell you the story contains a full checklist of my favourite gothic tropes, including a sleepy south-west England village, haunted forest, eerie mansion, secret tunnels, dubious secret experimental facilities, occult secret societies, ghosts, demons, curses, mysterious disappearances, childhood memories buried by trauma, rug-pulling twist ending… you name it. You could even call this novel Now That’s What I Call A Simon Dillon Gothic Mystery if you really wanted to, as it is something of a compilation of my preoccupations, genre wise.

Here are some photographs of locations that inspired settings for certain sequences in The White Nest. The novel is predominantly set in Cornwall, but much of the landscape is based on the rugged North Devon coast. However, the first part of the novel is set in Oxford. One key scene takes place in Port Meadow.

Once I finish a second draft of The White Nest, I am moving on to a new gothic mystery, one that’s been gestating in my mind for some time. It is getting to the point where it is an itch I have to scratch, and I’m looking forward to developing it. In the meantime, I may well release a volume of short stories in the future, as I’ve now got quite a nice pile of these, and it would be nice to have them all together in one place. As ever, watch this space.