What have I been writing for the last five years?
These SIX manuscripts:
1. This Unnatural Masquerade is historical fiction with a dark fantasy twist:
‘It is not for them to question the King’s Necromancer,’ he said. ‘But there will be riots, nothing surer, once the mob knows the revenants have killed someone.’
2. The second in the Necromancer’s Heir trilogy: This Unnatural Affliction. Set in 1834 it takes place in the Fens near Ely, and is full of curses, hares and opium:
‘Fool that I am. It is dark, and we are in a wretched, haunted place looking for a hidden grave. But I should not expect a necromancer to be afraid of such things.’
3. A contemporary YA urban fantasy, set in Edinburgh, called Half-Dead Hex:
‘You may not hear the singing of your blood, yet, but you shall. Witch’s get. Faery cursed. That from your mother. Of your father I know nothing.’
4. Tarragon Moon is a fairy-tale influenced fantasy. It’s what happens when Rapunzel runs away, cuts her hair and falls in love with a dragon:
‘Hush, now. Not a sound, while I call the shadows.’
5. The Poetry of Lies is contemporary Australian women’s fiction with an historical thread. When spiteful gossip twists the truth too far, a photographer must strip away secrets to uncover her family’s past, unaware she is unearthing the lie at the heart of her small country town. It’s the first in a planned trilogy of books set in Five Rivers.
“The creeks are dry gullies, until we get rain.” She glanced up and narrowed her eyes against the midday glare of a cloudless sky. “Then they flood. So do the rivers. It would have been more truthful to call the place Five Hazards, but the Chelmsfords probably wanted it to sound civilised.”
6. Unchaperoned is paranormal Regency romance* – two of my favourite genres. I’m planning the rest of the series starring the gentlemen of the Echidna Club and the women that love them.
“Women are always armed, my lord.” She flinched as a heavy-set gentleman in a Hussars uniform jostled her. “But we are supposed to reserve our ire for the Kith.”
* Love Regency too? Read my fun 500 word flash fiction of Heyer style dialogue.