Old As The Hills Archives

Cover of Eclipse displayed on a tablet, resting on a pine bough, surrounded by wood five-pointed stars.

Characters and songs

June 3, 2025 / Albion, Ideas to books

Four songs illuminating characters from my books – Orion, Isembard, Gabe, and Hereswith.

Eclipse, Grown Wise, Illusion of a Boar, Mysterious Fields, Old As The Hills, 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

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 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

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

Copy of Pastiche on a white wood background, surrounded by golden yellow leaves that pick up on the yellow of the stained glass window on the cover.

In Character : Richard Edgarton

March 13, 2024 / In Character

Explore the history of Richard Edgarton in all his many roles: Lord, Captain in the Guard, magistrate, husband, father, and lover of the land.

Ancient Trust, Four Walls and a Heart, Old As The Hills, Pastiche, Perfect Accord, The Fossil Door, Upon A Summer's Day, Wards of the Roses

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.

Idea to Book: Upon A Summer’s Day

February 28, 2024 / Ideas to books

All about the reasons Upon A Summer’s Day exists in the world: Gabriel Edgarton in all his glory, a dance, and a Council Challenge.

Old As The Hills, Upon A Summer's Day

Old As The Hills sitting on a bouquet of flowers - rosses, sweetpeas, and others, on a whitewashed bench with honey, tea, and other summery things. 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.

Ideas To Book: Old As The Hills

February 21, 2024 / Ideas to books

The ideas that made Old As The Hills come to life: a loving marriage, writing closer to history, and a conversation with a particular bit of esoteric history.

Old As The Hills, The Fossil Door, Upon A Summer's Day

A look back at 2023

December 28, 2023 / Albion, Writing and publishing

Let’s take a look back at 2023: books that came out, things written, what’s been happening on the Patreon and Discord, and some website and wiki notes.

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

Thoughts about where to start with my books (and a link to a page all 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

Cover of In The Cards displayed in a gleaming silver frame, with purple flowers on the right and a purple velvet high-heeled shoes.

Alt-text and the author

July 5, 2023 / Technology

Want to write better alt-text and make your images more accessible? Here’s a guide focused on author-related uses.

Old As The Hills, Shoemaker's Wife

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

What I got up to in 2022

December 22, 2022 / Land Mysteries, Mysterious Powers, Novellas

It is the time of year where a roundup of what I did seems useful for a variety of reasons. (Come back next week for what’s coming in 2023!) What came out in 2022 I put out four novels, two novellas, and a substantial extra in 2022. That’s a lot! Links here that aren’t the title (in the header) will take you to my public wiki. There you can see more details about people and places.

Ancient Trust, Best Foot Forward, Bound for Perdition, Forged in Combat, Mistress Of Birds, Nocturnal Quarry, Old As The Hills, Point By Point, Shoemaker's Wife, The Hare And The Oak, Upon A Summer's Day, With All Due Speed