About me

My first novel was a young adult fantasy novel, Elodie Black, Guardian of Dreams, set in a fictional world known as The Old Realm. Elodie is a young apprentice at The Curiosity Bureau, and she stumbles upon a sinister plot to destroy magic. I had so much fun writing Elodie’s story and I fell in love with the fantasy genre. 

I didn’t begin writing fiction until I was in my mid-thirties. My first ever writing project was Elodie Black Guardian of Dreams, and at sixty-four-thousand-words long, there’s nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end! I learned so much and really enjoyed the whole process, from researching, outlining, writing, and revising. At the time I was also studying for an MLitt research degree in history at Newcastle University, and I found the research skills I gained were invaluable when it came to researching for my first novel. 

After I finished my postgraduate degree, I didn’t relish the prospect of becoming a lecturer or going on to further study, so I decided to put my historical research skills to good use by writing a historical fantasy novel. I spent months thinking over ideas, and in that time, I started working at Lumley Castle. After a while, a tiny seed of inspiration began to grow in my mind, and I read up on the legend of Lily Lumley and the history of the castle. Pretty soon after that I decided to write Lily’s story.  

I often find myself gleaning inspiration from the tiniest and strangest of things when I’m at the castle. It could be a comment made by a departing guest, an old newspaper clipping, or a particular painting on the castle walls. We have a resident cat at the castle these days, (called Poppet) and even she has made it onto the pages of Lily of Lumley Castle.  

I always become immersed in Lily’s world as I write, and I’m passionate about telling her story. In reality, Lily probably did not exist, but she comes to life on the pages of the book and embarks on a magical journey, leaving behind a legacy that is unearthed over six hundred years later by paranormal investigators, Alice, and her assistant, Sebastien.  

I have also written non-fiction. As part of my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees I studied the history of north-east England, in particular the working-class movement and the political enfranchisement of the coal miners. My work on the reform era of 1832 in north-east England was published by The University of Sunderland, and that spurred me on to complete further study at postgraduate level. I have since gone on to publish a non-fiction book about the working-class politics of County Durham between 1830 and 1936. 

My future writing plans are pretty exciting. Lily of Lumley Castle will be the first book in a series called, The Copperheart Legacy, and in each book I will use my research skills to bring history to life, but with a magical twist. I’m already researching ideas for the rest of the books in the series, and I’m excited to see where this adventure will take me.