Writing and publishing Archives

A copy of Bound for Perdition standing upright next to a stack of leather bound books and a pocketwatch. The cover of Bound for Perdition has a man and woman silhouetted in dark brown on a green and brown background, with the woman holding a book while the man gestures. An open blank book and pen are inset in the top right corner.

Buying books: the landscape from an indie author perspective

March 4, 2025 / Reading, Writing and publishing

An overview of the landscape of buying books (and the options out there), from my POV as a reader and indie author.

Grown Wise displayed on phone on a table with apples, squashes, fallen leaves, and other autumnal items.

Plans for 2025

December 24, 2024 / Announcements, Writing and publishing

My plans for 2025, both writing and publishing!

Claiming the Tower, Grown Wise, Harmonic Pleasure, Pastiche, The Changing Door, Weaving Hope

Cover of Perfect Accord: a man and woman in 1920s dress silhouetted on the cover: she is testing perfume he just handed her on her wrist.

2024 in review

December 18, 2024 / Writing and publishing

It’s the end of the calendar year, and that means it’s time for a roundup of the year. Read on for what was published, what I’ve written, the extras shared this year, and what’s on the Patreon!

12 Seconds in 1927, Elemental Truth, Enchanted Net, Facets of the Bench, Friend? Friend., Grown Wise, Harmonic Pleasure, Necessary Conversations, Perfect Accord, Ritual Time, Schola Tales, Silent Circuit, The Magic of Four, Weaving Hope

Silent Circuit displayed on a tablet on a table with dried lavender and other flowers. The cover has a silhouetted man and woman in Victorian dress face each other. He is holding a book open for her, as her hand moves to turn a page. They’re on a background of green damask with green pipes, a streak of lightning behind them. A bee is inset on top of a gear in the top left.

Cover Design: Mysterious Fields

July 17, 2024 / Writing and publishing

A look at the cover design for the Victorian era Mysterious Fields trilogy: Enchanted Net, Silent Circuit, and Elemental Truth.

Elemental Truth, Enchanted Net, Mysterious Fields, Silent Circuit

The cover of Three Graces has three women in silhouette, two standing and one sitting, her hand resting on a cane. All three are wearing clothes from during the Second World War, against a deep brown cover with a map. An astrology chart to the back left has the Moon and Venus picked out in brighter gold.

Cover design : Land Mysteries

July 3, 2024 / Land Mysteries, Writing and publishing

Let’s explore the cover design for the Land Mysteries series – with a look at some hidden elements you might not have noticed!

Best Foot Forward, Illusion of a Boar, Nocturnal Quarry, Old As The Hills, The Magic of Four, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day

Cover of Weaving Hope on a tablet: A man and woman in 1920s informal clothing are silhouetted on a bright pink background shading to purple. She is holding out a length of cloth to him, showing him something, with phlox flowers inset in the upper right corner. The tablet is lying on a garden path with greenery and small flowers.

Cover design : Mysterious Arts

June 26, 2024 / Writing and publishing

The cover design for the Mysterious Arts books (through Facets of the Bench).

Bound for Perdition, Facets of the Bench, Perfect Accord, Shoemaker's Wife

Grown Wise: A silhouetted man and woman in 1940s clothes, walking together as he reaches for a branch full of apples. The background is a muted green and brown, scattered with a swoosh of golden light. Shown on a wooden table with a mug of tea.

What’s after The Land Mysteries

May 29, 2024 / Writing and publishing

What made me want to write the Land Mysteries series, and what’s coming next.

As The Ground Shifts, Best Foot Forward, Illusion of a Boar, Nocturnal Quarry, Old As The Hills, The Magic of Four, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day

Cover of Wards of the Roses displayed on a tablet, surrounded by red rose stems, petals, and leaves.

Typos are eternal but fixable

February 14, 2024 / Announcements, Writing and publishing

A word about typos, and more about my process for correcting them. (Including how to let me know if you spot one!)

Upon A Summer's Day displayed on a tablet in a sunset scene looking out across water to fields beyond, all of it glowing golden and sparkling with magic. The cover of Upon A Summer's Day shows a man in a suit silhouetted over a map of northern Wales in a muted green. He is gesturing, holding his cane in one hand, a cap on his head. Behind him is an astrological chart, with Jupiter and Saturn highlighted in the sign of Taurus.

Extras in 2024

January 10, 2024 / Writing and publishing

A look at the state of my extras and fun scenes in 2024.

Treats And Extras

A look back at 2023

December 28, 2023 / Albion, Writing and publishing

It’s the time of year where a recap is called for. Check out the post for the books (and two extras) released in 2023, what I’ve written, and improvements to this website and my authorial wiki. Books that came out in 2023

Bound for Perdition, Four Walls and a Heart, Illusion of a Boar, Nocturnal Quarry, Old As The Hills, Shoemaker's Wife, Three Graces, Treats And Extras, Upon A Summer's Day

Where to start

August 9, 2023 / Questions and answers, Writing and publishing

One of the questions that I hear fairly often these days is “Which of your books should I start with?” I now have an entire page on this website to help with your questions about reading order. The short answer is: “Start anywhere you like with any book set before 1935.” (Though there are a couple where you might have more fun in a specific order.) Read on for a few more thoughts about that.

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Fool's Gold, Goblin Fruit, Old As The Hills, On The Bias, Pastiche, Seven Sisters, Shoemaker's Wife, Upon A Summer's Day

Fanfic and me

July 19, 2023 / Announcements, Questions and answers, Writing and publishing

I’ve had a couple of questions recently about how I feel about fanfic – so time for a post where I can lay it all out. Short version: I love and approve of fanfic, but please don’t send me any fanfic (or related text, like ideas you’ve had for it) or otherwise directly wave it in front of my eyes. Sharing fan art, craft projects, and other forms of fannish goodness are all wonderful. Read on for more of an explanation (and why I’m putting it this way.)

A copy of Bound for Perdition lying on a piece of aged paper with elegant handwriting. The cover of Bound for Perdition has a man and woman silhouetted in dark brown on a green and brown background, with the woman holding a book while the man gestures. An open blank book and pen are inset in the top right corner.

Writing and the question of AI

May 25, 2023 / Writing and publishing

If you’ve been anywhere on the Internet recently, you’ve probably seen a lot of comments about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning when it comes to creative applications like art and writing. (Among other reasons, it’s a big part of the current Writer’s Guild of America strike.) It’s about time for a post from me about what that means for my writing, and then some general thoughts about the larger implications of these new and ever-improving technologies. One thing that’s making some of these conversations complicated is that people are using the terms “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning” in a variety of ways. Here we’re mostly talking about situations where computers use information they’ve been trained on to give output (basically, making predictions of what makes sense based on what they’ve already seen.)

The cover of Old As The Hills displayed on a tablet in front of a pine forest, dotted with firefly light. The cover of Old As The Hills has a man with a can and a woman silhouetted on a green ground with a map. She holds out her hand, he is putting something into it, forming a doorway between them. An astrological chart behind them shows the symbols for Venus, the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn highlighted behind a splash of glowing stars.

Reviews and how they help

May 3, 2023 / Questions and answers, Writing and publishing

Reviews are a fantastic way for readers to help out authors they want to support. But a lot of readers are nervous about what to write, where to share them, and what they ought to know about the process. Here’s a little demystification to help. I’m focusing here obviously on books, but the same basic process can help with music, podcasts, and all sorts of other content out there. The short version: Leaving a brief (2-3 sentence) review of books you love wherever you get or talk about your books is a fabulous way to both help other readers and the author. They don’t need to be long or complicated to help. What kind of review are we talking about? When authors talk about reviews helping, what we mean is usually something simple. We’re talking about a review of one to four sentences from a real human who read the book and wanted to share a couple of thoughts. You don’t need to be elaborate and you don’t need to include tons of details. Reviews like this help provide what gets called “social proof”, that real humans read the book and had a range of feelings about it. Detailed reviews and literary criticism are fantastic too – but they’re a completely different thing. Many people aren’t up for writing that (and certainly not about all the books or music or whatever else it was they enjoy).

Pastiche, Sailor's Jewel