Best Foot Forward Archives

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.

Albion’s Council

April 1, 2025 / Albion

A look at Albion’s Council, the 21 people who are responsible for maintaining the Pact and tending the land magic for the country.

Best Foot Forward, Grown Wise, Mysterious Fields, The Hare And The Oak, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day

Copy of Best Foot Forward lying on a bed of sand, covered by an enamelled Horus medallion. The cover has a deep red background with map markings in a dull purple. Two men in silhouette stand, looking up at a point in the top left. An astrology chart with different symbols picked out takes up the left side of the image, with glowing stars curving up to the title.

The problem of names

March 11, 2025 / Albion

The names characters use tell a lot about their relationship with the people they’re talking to (and about). Here’s a quick guide to the nuances.

Apt To Be Suspicious, Best Foot Forward, Old As The Hills

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 Best Foot Forward displayed on a tablet, with a palm leaf, on a golden yellow background. The cover has a deep red background with map markings in a dull purple. Two men in silhouette stand, looking up at a point in the top left. An astrology chart with different symbols picked out takes up the left side of the image, with glowing stars curving up to the title.

Happy Pride! LGBTQIA+ Books

June 12, 2024 / Albion, Reading

A look at LGBTQIA+ books and characters as of June 2024.

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Casting Nasturtiums, Complementary, Four Walls and a Heart, Goblin Fruit, On The Bias, Point By Point, Seven Sisters, The Fossil Door

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 The Magic of Four on a tumble of smoothed rocks. Four students in silhouette on a blue background of a map off the west coast of Wales. Three stand around a table, the fourth is perched on the near corner, leaning forward and gesturing.

Idea to Book: The Magic of Four

May 15, 2024 / Ideas to books, Land Mysteries

Find out the ideas behind The Magic of Four: a love of classic school stories, exploring a second generation of characters, Schola and her magic. And oh, yes. Horses.

Best Foot Forward, Casting Nasturtiums, Chasing Legends, Eclipse, Goblin Fruit, Old As The Hills, Outcrossing, Pastiche, The Magic of Four, Wards of the Roses

Copy of On The Bias lying on a bouquet of early summer flowers, with tea and honey nearby, in shades of pinks and pastel greens.

In Character: Thomas Benton

May 8, 2024 / In Character

Thomas Benton likes to be quietly in the background. Here’s a look at his life, from his early service in a country house, through the Great War, and his life after, entwined with the Carillons.

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Carillon Family, On The Bias, The Magic of Four

Old As The Hills displayed on a tablet, in a stone arch with a glowing purple night sky behind it. 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.

Neurodiversity in my books

April 17, 2024 / In Character, Questions and answers

A guide to neurodiverse characters in my books, as of 2024. (Check out the grid early in the post for the current complete list.)

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Casting Nasturtiums, Complementary, Eclipse, Illusion of a Boar, Old As The Hills, On The Bias, Pastiche, Perfect Accord, Seven Sisters, Shoemaker's Wife, The Fossil Door, The Magic of Four, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day

Nocturnal Quarry displayed on a tablet lying on a bed of smooth river rocks.

Idea to Book : Nocturnal Quarry

February 7, 2024 / Ideas to books

The ideas behind Nocturnal Quarry are all about Alexander Landry. Well, Alexander in his element, tying up a few loose ends, and family of choice and blood.

Best Foot Forward, Nocturnal Quarry

Cover of Best Foot Forward displayed on a phone, resting on folded golden linen with a mug of coffee. Yellow flowers lie on a book with Scrabble tiles spelling out "spring is in the air". The cover has a deep red background with map markings in a dull purple. Two men in silhouette stand, looking up at a point in the top left. An astrology chart with different symbols picked out takes up the left side of the image, with glowing stars curving up to the title.

Idea to Book: Best Foot Forward

January 17, 2024 / Ideas to books

The ideas behind Best Foot Forward: the comment that started it all, Alexander and Carillon, music, and Vienna.

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Eclipse, Interstitial Moments

Up for a 2024 reading challenge?

December 18, 2023 / Reading

It’s late December, which means it’s also the time when various sites post their reading challenges. If you’re doing one in 2024, here’s a guide to which of my books might fit particular categories. (If you’re doing a challenge not listed here, and other people can join in, send me a link and I’ll add it!) You might also want to check out my post about summer reading challenges from the summer of 2023. The two challenges I’m pulling from for this post are the Book Riot’s Read Harder 2024 challenge and the 2024 PopSugar Reading Challenge. They have some overlapping categories, so I’m going to note which challenge applies, and the books I’ve written that might apply.

Best Foot Forward, Carry On, Chasing Legends, Facets of the Bench, Fool's Gold, Forged in Combat, Four Walls and a Heart, Illusion of a Boar, In The Cards, Magician's Hoard, Mistress Of Birds, Nocturnal Quarry, Outcrossing, Pastiche, Sailor's Jewel, Shoemaker's Wife, The Fossil Door, The Magic of Four, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day, Wards of the Roses

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

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.

Summer (any time) reading fun

June 7, 2023 / Reading

It’s time for summer reading challenges where I am. Whatever time of year it is for you, I thought it might be fun to do a round up of some reading challenges. Some of these come from libraries, and some come from other groups. I’m still waiting on my local library’s challenge (out on June 17th), but I’m thinking about how I’d like to nudge my reading a little bit. (To be honest, a lot of it has been research reading, one way or another, and I would like to mix it up, and also just read more.) Here are some different challenges to check out. You can also check your local library systems (a lot of libraries put something together for adults, as well as for kids and teens.) If there’s nothing up yet, check back later in June, my local public library isn’t launching theirs until the 17th.

Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Eclipse, Fool's Gold, Magician's Hoard, Mistress Of Birds, Point By Point, Sailor's Jewel, Seven Sisters, The Fossil Door, Wards of the Roses, Winter's Charms

My plans for 2023

December 29, 2022 / Announcements, Writing and publishing

Now that I’ve talked about what I got up to in 2022, it’s time to look forward into 2023. I’m incredibly excited about my plans for 2023. There’s quite a lot to come! Publication dates may shift a little, but I expect them to be fairly close to the following. Coming out in 2023 This year, I’m alternating between a series of 1920s books (Mysterious Arts) and books dealing with the Second World War (the Land Mysteries series).

Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Carry On, Illusion of a Boar, Nocturnal Quarry, Old As The Hills, Shoemaker's Wife, Three Graces, Upon A Summer's Day