October 31, 2023

Happy Halloween, spooky Samhain 2023

Halloween is here! If you’re a fan of all things spooky, as I am, then I’m sure you have some fun plans for this ghostly season.

Occult reads are always part of the seasonal fun for me. Here are a few of my own occult fiction reads that are perfect for Samhain.

From most recently published, they are:

Matthew’s Twin (2023)

Book 3 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy features medieval spirits, witchcraft and a revenge plot spanning 700 years. After enduring traumatic stomach surgery, who is the mysterious man tormenting Matthew in the present?

Diabolical Dreamscapes (2023)

A collection of hallucinatory short stories featuring corpses fated to walk the earth, surreal tales of the afterlife and dreamlike journeys through the mind as the characters face their darkness, demons and depression.

The Fairy Lights (2022)

Book 2 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy sees Aisling undertake a psychedelic journey through the spirit realms – the seven astral planes of existence – in order to save the soul of the man who had been haunting her house. Guided by a psychic medium, she finds the soul she loves, and learns more about her past, along the way.

The Blue Man (2022)

Book 1 of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy follows frenemies, Megan and Sabrina, dealing with a curse they unleashed twenty years ago. As the terrifying urban legend of the Blue Man proves to be true, how can the new mothers make sure he doesn’t come for their families?

Gods of Avalon Road (2019)

My debut novel is set on Mayday, and although not horror, is a paranormal romance that is perfect for Samhain too. Unwitting Kerry and Gavin are tricked by their eccentric boss into an occult pagan ritual that resurrects ancient Celtic gods into modern London.

Posted by on October 31, 2023 in Books, promotion and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 27, 2023

The Fairy Lights is only 99p!

To celebrate the publication of the third and final instalment of my Belfast Ghosts series, a few days ago on 24th October, you can now read book 2 in the series for 99p. The Fairy Lights is on sale from 24th until 31st October, so why not grab a copy, if you shop on Amazon UK?

Any excuse to dress up in a Halloween outfit!

The Fairy Lights is an otherworldly read that gets quite psychedelic, just in case you were expecting a standard ghost story. The main character goes on a yuletide ride through the spirit realms – all seven astral planes. If you’ve read it, I’d love to know your thoughts – feel free to drop a comment below. Or better still, why not leave a star rating or a short review?

Want to grab a sale copy?

Buy it for 99p!

Leave a rating or review:

Goodreads
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Posted by on October 27, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 24, 2023

Matthew’s Twin is published today! Release day celebration

The trilogy is complete!

Release day is finally here! Belfast Ghosts series book 3 is now published. Matthew’s Twin: The spirit of medieval vengeance made flesh, is now available in Kindle Unlimited, paperback and hardcover. Here are the links:

Ebook:

Kindle UK
Kindle US
Kindle CA

Paperback:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon CA

Hardcover:

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon CA

Hope you can celebrate with me. Why not get a copy for a good ghostly read, grab your skull glass full of prosecco, and let’s have a toast? Cheers!

Posted by on October 24, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

2 Comments

October 21, 2023

3 days until Matthew’s Twin is released!

Drumroll for the third and final instalment of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy. It’s forthcoming in 3 days and I can’t wait to see it out there in the large literary sea of books. Better still, I can’t wait to hear what readers think of it.

Here’s the blurb…

Book 3 – Matthew’s Twin: The spirit of medieval vengeance made flesh would make a great Halloween read. It has medieval mercenaries, murder, magic, mayhem and a mystery man who comes to wreak havoc with main character Matthew’s life. That’s a lot of M’s!

In the meantime (another M!) you can still grab a copy of Book 1 – The Blue Man: A haunted friendship across the decades, while it’s on a 99p sale on Amazon UK from the 17th until 23rd October.

Posted by on October 21, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 18, 2023

The Blue Man is only 99p!

To celebrate the countdown of the third and final instalment of my Belfast Ghosts series, coming on 24th October, you can now read book 1 in the series for the promotional price of only 99p. The Blue Man is my award-winning ghost horror novel and is on sale from 17th until 23rd October. So, why not grab a copy, if you shop on Amazon UK?

Any excuse to dress up in a Halloween outfit…

The Blue Man, I’ve been told, is the creepiest and most eerie of all my novels to date, so it would make a fitting read for Halloween. Of course, once you’ve read it, I’d love to know your thoughts. Feel free to drop a comment below. Or better still, why not leave a star rating or a short review?

Want to grab a sale copy?

Buy it for 99p!

Leave a review:

Goodreads
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Posted by on October 18, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 15, 2023

Ten day countdown until publication

It’s 10 days until publication of Book 3 in my Belfast Ghosts series. Matthew’s Twin has medieval spirits, witchcraft and a revenge plot spanning 700 years. The final instalment of my ghostly trilogy is coming on 24th October, just in time for Halloween. It’s the perfect spooky Samhain read, and will be on Kindle Unlimited, so free to read if you’re a subscriber.

The ten day countdown is on!

This book is the third and final of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy, but it’s actually my fifth published novel. You can imagine how excited I am. I’m always excited at every book release, but this one was very research-heavy, and so it took the most work out of all my novels so far.

Posted by on October 15, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 11, 2023

Compliment or insult? When your books get stolen by readers

*Note* I have amended some information in this post after a recent update. I’ll discuss the details of the amendment in another forthcoming post.

If you are an author, at some point in your career, you may unfortunately become victim of book theft. In this post, I’m referring to finished books, not copyright theft – though that may well be a subject to broach in another post.

When someone steals a book from an author, the author does not get paid. On the one hand, it might be easy to view a stolen book as a compliment; clearly, someone enjoyed it enough to steal it. I have had books stolen on a few occasions, in different circumstances. One of my poetry books was stolen from a cafe in Cambridge, to the embarrassment of management who had agreed to stock copies for purchase by customers. On another occasion, digital ARC copies of one of my novels ended up becoming distributed widely, for free, against my wishes. I have since learned to only distribute epub or paperback ARCs to people I have a working relationship with (i.e. not strangers).

In my humble opinion, I consider book theft to be an insult to an author and not a compliment. If such an unscrupulous type steals work from an author, they are making a statement that said author is unworthy of or undeserving of compensation for their art. Bear in mind that I speak as an author who has been on the receiving end of theft; of course I feel passionately outraged about such an act. So, let me finish by asking you cool-headed impartial folks out there – what do you think? Compliment or insult? I would welcome your thoughts.

Posted by on October 11, 2023 in Reading, Resources and tagged , , , , , .

3 Comments

October 7, 2023

Goodreads challenge update

I’m on track to achieve my Goodreads challenge goal of 20 books this year with 17 reached so far. Can I manage 3 more in 2023? It’s likely.

At the moment I’m reading 2 books on the history of witchcraft, for writing research, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have finished those before the year is out. I’ve also got books on the GCSE syllabus for work that count towards my reading goals; luckily I enjoy the ones on my class reading list regardless of needing to read them as part of my job.

Anyway, I’m going to keep this post short today, mainly because there aren’t enough hours in the day and I’d like to spend them reading – and writing. Want to join me with a cuppa and a good book? Alright then, bibliophile buddy. Let’s do it!

Posted by on October 7, 2023 in Reading and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

October 3, 2023

Belfast Ghosts trilogy – 4 weeks until publication

October is here and that means two things. Number one: Halloween is coming. Hurray! But before Samhain makes its grand entrance, the final instalment of my Belfast Ghosts trilogy will be published.

Matthew’s Twin is Book 3 of my spooky series of standalone, supernatural novels. If you like all the Ms – medieval mercenaries, murder and mayhem thrown in the mix with a mad dash of mitosis – then this strange and creepy book may just be for you!

Want to know more? Here’s the back cover blurb:

Matthew’s Twin: the spirit of medieval vengeance made flesh

A medieval Scottish soldier.
An Anglo-Irish witch.
A seven hundred year plot for revenge.

Around the time Customs Inspector Matthew began having crippling stomach pains, he began witnessing visions of a past-life involving a Scottish soldier during Edward Bruce’s conquest of Ireland, an Anglo-Irish defender of Carrickfergus Castle and a local witch with a bloodthirsty agenda. When medieval mercenary and vengeful witch performed a necromantic ritual to help the Scottish conquest succeed, Matthew began to learn more about his connection with 14th century Northern Ireland.

After an operation to remove what he thought to be a tumour from his stomach, a mysterious man arrived to cause chaos in Matthew’s life. What did the strange – yet familiar – man have to do with him? Why did malign forces from a dark, medieval past want to cause harm? Was there any way for Matthew to learn about a seven hundred year injustice before the ghosts came to wreak vengeance on him in the present?

Ebook available for pre-order for £2.99/$3.26:

Kindle US
Kindle UK
Kindle CA
Kindle AU

Posted by on October 3, 2023 in Novels and tagged , , , , .

Leave a comment

September 29, 2023

Is having haters a sign of success?

Recently an old friend of mine lamented on Facebook that if people want to say things about her, they should say any such comments to her face. For reference, my friend is quite a successful singer, as part of a touring duo in the UK and Ireland. After offering reassuring advice, I then took a moment to reflect on her post, as it got me thinking: is having haters a sign of success?

Now, nobody wants haters. Who wants to be harassed by trolls, whether they are people you may know in real life, or anonymous, online ‘keyboard warriors’? Wouldn’t we all like to be loved? Few would say no. Yet, life doesn’t work that way.

Dealing with haters merits the same kind of thick skin that dealing with a psychic vampire requires. These types have nothing good to offer, and with no real accomplishments of their own to show the world, seek to attack others and bring them down to make themselves (the haters) feel better.

I’m no stranger to haters myself, having incurred the wrath of a few sad sacks online earlier this year, who harassed me after I appeared at a public author event. Anyone who has had a run-in with haters can relate to how frustrating it is to be on the receiving end of abuse. So, let’s break down what it means if you become unlucky enough to cross paths with nasty trolls:

Continue reading →

Posted by on September 29, 2023 in Writing and tagged , , , , , .

2 Comments