Darkness Blooms - The Dream and the Weaver

My author copies from the anthology Darkness Blooms, a collection of dark speculative fiction published by The Dread Machine, which examined themes about identity, security and community.

My story, The Dream and the Weaver, examined what would happen to society if - in the very far future - dreams were treated as nothing more than another media outlet. Sleep has to be paid for and our happy dreams, distorted memories and nightmares are bought and sold to entertain others.

"Determined to find her wife, Ayumi enters a dream world where she must confront her past trauma and grief with the help of Mashoka, a faulty Weaver."

More about the book can be found here: https://www.thedreadmachine.com/darkness-blooms/
There's also a Spotify reading playlist! :)

Short Story - On St Mark's Eve - The People's Friend Special

In this month's issue of The People's Friend Special is my short story On St Mark's Eve - a folklore romance with rivalry, ghosts and smuggling! Illustration is by Sailesh Thakrar :)

Sweet As You Like - Victorian Sweet Shop Romance - The People's Friend Special

 

Illustration by Mandy Dixon

Out this month in The People's Friend Special is my latest short story. This one is set in Norwich and is actually a prequel to a past story, Carried By The Wind, but you don't need to have read that one to enjoy Sweet As You Like! :)

Lavender and Leeches - What Did A Victorian Pharmacy Offer?

As a lookback on my past works, this blog post is going to focus on my short story Lavender and Leeches. This was previously published in The People’s Friend magazine back in 2019. 

Alongside it was this lovely illustration by Jim Dewar.

It was my sixth story with the magazine and was heavily inspired by watching reruns of Victorian Pharmacy, a BBC documentary series starring Ruth Goodman where historians recreated working in a 19^th century pharmacy. 

Other influences came from the pharmacy display at the Bridewell Museum in Norwich, which, while based on a 20^th century pharmacy, certainly has a varied and interesting selection of old medicines. There’s even a carboy 😊

Lord Winterton's Secret One Year Anniversary - Inspiration and Landscape

It will soon be the one year anniversary of my Regency romance mystery, Lord Winterton’s Secret, published by DC Thomson/The People’s Friend on the 20^th of January 2022.

Other versions include a large print edition published by Ulverscroft and a self-published digital edition with the title Curious Governess, Dangerous Lord (which was the original title when the manuscript was first submitted to The People’s Friend!). The kindle version is the author’s original version, without any changes to fit the publisher’s inhouse style or wordcount.

 

Lord Winterton’s Secret was my first pocket novel. Pocket novels are a series of quick holiday reads, just under 200 pages, with a limited print run. To celebrate the book’s anniversary, I thought I’d write about what inspired me as well as any major changes the story went through during the first draft stage.

A Light On The Horizon - Writing Process

With the release of another of my short stories in The People’s Friend magazine, A Light On The Horizon, I’ve decided this blog post will be about my writing process for historical fiction 😊 It’s an adventure romance set on the Norfolk coast with lighthouses, smugglers and a great big storm! Currently available in issue 236 of The People's Friend Special.

 (Some pictures may need to be clicked on to better see the text)

Gorgeous illustration by Mandy Dixon

Growing up, I loved reading fiction which wove lots of historical detail into the narrative. When I come up with ideas for my own stories, I like to focus on one interesting fact, such as local folklore or how ice-cream was made in the 19^th century, and shape the plot and characters around this. As most of my stories are set along Norfolk’s coast, countryside or in Norwich city, I also include a regional meal or location.

Beyond The Masquerade & A Mile In Your Shoes - The People's Friend

A Mile in Your Shoes is in this month's The People's Friend Christmas Special, about cider making and Christmas traditions, while my Regency serial set in Norwich, Beyond The Masquerade, is still running in the weekly edition of The People's Friend magazine. Both illustrations are by Helen Welsh and the magazines can be found in most UK supermarkets :)