Tag Archives: paranormal

Selected Listening

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I don’t know about all of you, but I find listening to the news difficult these days. More and more, I find myself ducking away from current affairs, not catching up on the latest, and just kind of ignoring it all and hoping it’ll go away. I imagine that after the past year, I’m not the only one doing this!

However, I do like to listen, either to music or to the radio, and unless I’m hooked on a particular show, I’m not much of a telly-watcher. In particular, I like to listen to things which make me think, or which teach me something, and I’ve been fortunate to find some great podcasts to listen to in recent times. Those of you who follow me on social media may have seen me sharing some of these, but I thought today I would pull together a short post all about podcasts I have enjoyed, and why I would recommend them. So, here we go…

The Ghostly Lady in Green – Haunted History Chronicles

This is a great podcast series if you enjoy history with a paranormal twist. Michelle is brilliant on the history of different historical buildings, many of which she has visited and experienced herself. I’ve enjoyed so many of the episodes in this series that it was hard to pick a favourite, but on reflection I think I would have to choose the episode about Sudeley Castle. Having visited Sudeley myself and been spellbound by both the location and its relationship to Queen Katharine Parr, it was a pleasure to hear the castle’s rich and moving history presented with such knowledge and enthusiasm. You can listen here.

Yours truly in front of the banqueting hall ruins at Sudeley Castle in 2016.

Stepping Out: A Short History of Solitude – BBC Radio 4

I know, strictly speaking this is a radio series rather than a podcast, but I had to highlight it as I enjoyed listening to this so much last year. Stepping Out was my favourite episode, and I found that Thomas Dixon’s exploration of romantic ideas of solitude in nature in the nineteenth century really resonated with me in the lockdown times. You can listen here.

Perilous Places: Spaces of Solitude – Queen Mary University London

Yes, I know – more solitude. You might be sensing a theme here! I loved this whole series, but this episode and its discussion of Emily Dickinson and the ‘Graveyard Poets’ particularly captured me. I pondered the ideas this raised about the darker side of being alone for days afterwards. You can listen here.

The Witches of Shetland – Witches of Scotland Podcast

This podcast is a fairly recent discovery of mine, and I’ve only listened to a few of the thirty-four episodes currently available. So far, my favourite was the discussion of the Shetland witches. This caught my eye as I’m due to visit Shetland this summer. For someone who knew nothing about Shetland’s witches, this was an excellent discussion and a fascinating insight into the subject. You can listen here.

The Bigamy Trial that Scandalised Georgian England – BBC History Extra Podcasts

BBC History Extra are prolific on the podcast front, and from the hundreds of episodes available online, it is so hard to highlight just one that I love. Perhaps because of the period I’m currently writing about in my forthcoming novel, I’ve tended to seek out their podcasts concerning the Georgian and Regency eras. This one about Elizabeth Chudleigh’s bigamy trial really caught my attention, and was fascinating to listen to. I love how History Extra’s podcasts are so good at bringing lesser-known episodes in history to wider attention. I’ve certainly learned a lot from listening to them. You can listen here.

So, there you are – a brief summary of my recommended listening. Do you have a favourite podcast you would recommend? If so, feel free to drop a note of it in the comments below.

Spotlight Part 5: The House at Kirtlebeck End

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And so, readers, we have reached the final book spotlight. The House at Kirtlebeck End is my most recent novel, published in 2019.

Cover for The House at Kirtlebeck End

The House at Kirtlebeck End is a dual narrative story which moves between the 1970s and present day as a young woman, Harry, and her grandmother, Eleanor, tell their respective stories. At the centre of the tale is an old house, filled with secrets and a murky family history which begs to be uncovered. In terms of genre, the book is undoubtedly a paranormal mystery and a ghost story, and is probably the spookiest thing I have written to date!

Weaving a story across two different timelines and from two different characters’ point of view was quite a challenge. I began by writing both narratives in turn, following the structure of the book. However, about a third of the way in, I found it more productive to focus on one character’s story at a time, completing one before returning to the other. I wrote Eleanor’s story, set in 1972, first; this made most sense to me as this timeline was the pivot upon which Harry’s various discoveries hung while she tried to solve her family’s mysteries. Nonetheless it was tricky to ensure that things came together, that the pacing was correct and that the chapters fell into the right order. A large part of the editing was a painstaking process of ensuring that it made sense, and that nothing was discovered by Harry before being revealed to the reader by Eleanor.

Promotional poster

The story itself was inspired by a Christmas holiday spent in southern Scotland a few years ago. We stayed in a big old Victorian house in a tiny village in the countryside. It was a truly beautiful place, not at all forbidding like the house at Kirtlebeck End. Nonetheless, it was full of interesting features, from the sweeping wooden staircase, to the antique iron towel rail in the bathroom. It got me thinking about the things that the house would have seen over the years, and the stories it held within its walls. I found myself wondering what the house might tell me, if it could speak. The idea stayed with me, and developed eventually into this ghostly tale which takes place in an old house, sitting alone at the end of a fictional village I named Kirtlebeck. Given my love of the Gothic, it’s little wonder things ended up this way!

New Release: The House at Kirtlebeck End

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I’m really happy to announce that my new novel, The House at Kirtlebeck End, has been released!

The House at Kirtlebeck End is a paranormal suspense novel set in Scotland in the 1970s and the present day.

Let the dead speak…

Two troubled women. Two different decades. Two unsolved disappearances. Will the house that witnessed it all ever give up its secrets?

In 1972 artist Eleanor Murray starts afresh in Kirtlebeck with her husband, Bert, and daughter, Anna. Still reeling from Bert’s recent infidelity, Eleanor’s hopes of happiness in their rural idyll are swiftly consumed by depression and despair. Then, just months after their arrival in the village, Bert goes missing.

In 2018 Eleanor’s estranged granddaughter, Harry James, arrives in Kirtlebeck after inheriting the Murray family home. Desperate to put her chequered past behind her, Harry is determined to learn about the family she never knew and to discover what happened to her mother, Anna, who vanished without a trace years ago.

As the story moves between the decades, secrets are unearthed and the dead begin to speak. Alone in the big old house, Harry learns that nothing is quite as it seems, and that behind a family history filled with strange disappearances lurks an otherworldly tale of darkness, obsession, and vengeance.

Available at: Amazon / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords / Kobo

The Big Blurb Reveal!

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Today I’m delighted to reveal the blurb for my forthcoming novel, The House at Kirtlebeck End:

I hope it has you intrigued! The House at Kirtlebeck End is a paranormal mystery/suspense novel, and will be available in ebook and paperback format on 2nd December 2019.

To celebrate the imminent release of my next book, my first contemporary novel Ethersay is currently 99p / 99c on Amazon Kindle. If you haven’t read Ethersay, you can check out the book’s description and promotional trailer here, and you can click here to pick up your copy.

Cover Reveal: The House at Kirtlebeck End

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Today I am so pleased to reveal the cover for my forthcoming novel, The House at Kirtlebeck End.

Choosing a cover for this book wasn’t a straightforward process (it never is), with lots of deliberating and procrastinating and difficult choices between lots of wonderful designs. However, I decided that the cover for this book needed to show the reader exactly what it is – a paranormal mystery/suspense novel – and I feel this cover does that perfectly! I’d love to know what you think, so please comment below.

With just a month now to go until the release date of 2nd December, I will shortly be publishing the book’s blurb and details of the e-launch event, so keep an eye out here for updates.

Release Date: The House at Kirtlebeck End

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Good evening and a happy Halloween to you all!

Today I’m pleased to announce that my next novel, The House at Kirtlebeck End, has a release date! The book is scheduled for release in ebook and paperback format on 2nd December 2019.

The House at Kirtlebeck End is a paranormal mystery/suspense novel, set in a small fictional village in southern Scotland. The book also has a touch of inter-generational family saga to it, as it moves between the 1970s and present day to reveal one family’s otherworldly tale. This book is the culmination of almost two years of work from original concept through to finished product, and I’m really excited to share it with you soon.

Over the next week or so I will reveal the book’s cover and also publish the blurb on this site. In the meantime, if you’re on Goodreads please head over to the book’s Goodreads page and add it to your ‘to be read’ list.