The Woman in the Widow’s Lace – out now!

Leave a Reply

I’m excited to tell you The Woman in the Widow’s Lace is out now, in good time for spooky season – don’t miss the introductory price of £1.99 / $2.99 on Kindle!

The Woman in the Widow's Lace - urban gothic

Here’s what to expect:

Because the dead do not forgive…

Unable to find work, Alice Deaton, with her unique ability to interact with the dead, takes on a lead role in a psychic show touring London. When a young woman with a knife brings chaos to the inn where she’s performing, Alice finds herself drawn by the woman’s aunt into a dark and disturbing mystery. Her search leads her to an old city bookshop, where she encounters a sinister spirit – the woman in the widow’s lace. Who is this harrowing entity, and what does she want from the living?

Set in the sprawling streets of London, Alice’s latest mystery will test her to her limits, as she realises she may be playing an unwitting role in the ghost’s twisted – and increasingly deadly – intentions…

This latest standalone book in The Ghosts of Alice series is available now on Amazon, in Kindle and paperback formats – AND for one week only the Kindle edition has a launch price of £1.99 / $2.99 (£2.99/$3.99 full price from 4 Oct) – or read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

Get your copy here.

The Woman in the Widow’s Lace – Cover Reveal

Leave a Reply

The Woman in the Widow’s Lace, the next book in The Ghosts of Alice series, is releasing soon. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover – what do you think?

As with all the other books in the series this is a standalone story, although the characters and relationships develop throughout. If you’d like to read the others before this book is released, check them out here.

Why do we write?

Leave a Reply

Why do we write? There are lots of reasons – escape, thrills, status, defence, insight, creating a portal to new worlds…

For me, writing creates a magical space between the world and my mind that I hunger to explore. It helps me appreciate the real world and to value myself and my imagination.

Our perception of the world is often seen as a generative or co-creative process. We don’t see what’s undeniably just there – we see through the mind of a human, which comes with sensory and cultural abilities and limitations. What’s just there is immense, unfathomable to the human mind, but our science, spirituality and ever-guessing imaginations can help us to constantly grow our appreciation of what’s real, what’s not and, most importantly, what might be.

Writing mirrors this interdependent co-creation between our minds and external reality (or realities). Authors create a cinematic reel – a multi-dimensional illusion of reality including the behind-the-scenes working of hearts and minds – which both absorbs and empowers a reader’s imagination. In the process, it’s critical to avoid anything that breaks that reel, such as clunky metaphors, poor editing and typos.

At its best, the process of writing feels akin to revelation to me – you get absorbed in your own story and a sense of amazement at how, like us, it is always driven on, always becoming, with the best (more often than not) just round the corner. This is a satisfying experience, one that is often referred to as ‘flow.’

Flow is why I love writing. If you’re an author, tell me what you love about writing.

If you’re interested in my writing experience as an indie author and want to learn more about the process of writing, publishing and marketing, check out my new book Indie Author: An Introduction on Amazon.

Indie Author: An Introduction – New Release!

Leave a Reply

My news today is of a surprise new release about writing and publishing. Indie Author: An Introduction shares insights from my first 10 years of writing, publishing and marketing books. Designed to appeal to the writers (and aspiring writers) among you, it is (importantly) a short guide to the whole process. I say importantly because, if you’re like me, you’ll experience a sinking sensation at the prospect of reading hundreds of pages of a book that typically only focuses on one of these three topics.

I wanted to create a quick, easy read that shares my own personal passion for writing as well as giving insights I’ve had along the way. I’m no writing or marketing guru, but I want to help you avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made. There’s also a checklist for publishing, some key book promotion sites, and ideas for social media posts.

Here’s the full blurb:

Indie Author: An Introduction

Insights from 10 Years of Indie Writing, Publishing and Marketing

Want to know more about indie publishing but don’t know where to go? Put off by all those lengthy guides on marketing and writing advice?

This guide condenses 10 years of experience into a short, handy read, giving you insights into:

Writing – how to keep it tight, focusing on character & suspense

Publishing – how to do it yourself, with a focus on Amazon

Marketing – sharing learning on Amazon and Facebook ads and how to sales stack

Drawing on his experience of writing 14 books, Steve Griffin helps you avoid the pitfalls of indie publishing and keep the joy in your writing.

Click here to view on Amazon.

Dickens: Things You Might Not Know

2 Replies

Did you know A Christmas Carol was just the first of many Christmas books by Dickens? And whilst their quality was not as good as A Christmas Carol, they all made more money for him. This was because his publishers chose not to invest as much in the quality and wrapping of the later books, which Dickens had insisted upon for the first.

I was surprised how little I knew about Dickens before I read the remarkable biography by Claire Tomalin recently. He was more complex than I’d realised. Here’s some highlights of things I found out about him.

Facts about Dickens

At the age of twelve, he was sent away by his wayward father and not-much-better mother to live alone and earn an income to support them by labelling pots of blacking for shoes in a factory on the Thames. In an untypical inversion of social mores, his sister Fanny was sent to the Royal Academy for Music because of her talent playing piano.
His father was hopeless with money and was imprisoned in the Marshalsea for debt.
Dickens had irrepressible energy. He would write, set up magazines, host parties, meet dignitaries (including the Prime Minister, famous writers, and the Queen), and drink and dance the hornpipe until the early hours. He shared his time between dwellings in London and Kent.
He took long walks each night after working, frequently touring the less salubrious areas of London, where he found rich material and characters for his writing. He often clocked up 12 miles or more.
As his fame grew, and especially after he started doing paid readings, he toured relentlessly. He toured America twice.

Initially he was excited to visit the States, where he was given an ecstatic reception upon arrival at Boston. But his relationship with the country soured because there was no copyright law so he didn’t get paid a penny for his works initially, which sold in their thousands. When he brought the issue up, the press turned against him accusing him of colonialism.
He had 10 children with his quiet but loyal wife Catherine, most of whom had ineffectual and hapless lives.
He was a big drinker and raised the spirits at his parties with his own gin punch.
He left Catherine in middle age when he fell in love with an 18-year-old girl, Nelly Ternan, with whom he had an enigmatic relationship for the rest of his life. He was heartlessly dismissive of his children who sided with their mother, especially his firstborn son, Charley. As his spirited daughter Katey said, ‘My father was like a madman when my mother left home. This affair brought out all that was worst—all that was weakest in him. He did not care a damn what happened to any of us. Nothing could surpass the misery and unhappiness of our home.’

Dickens's Christmas Stories content page

He was involved in a train crash on a viaduct at Stapleton, in which many died and he had to scramble out of the window of his teetering carriage. He helped others caught and injured in the train, then put Nelly and her mother on the next train to London to avoid scandal.
He supported the cause of the poor on a political and practical level, investing vast amounts of time and money in helping those in need. With the wealthy banker Ms Coutts, he established a home for prostitutes, helping them gain self-reliance and a range of skills and, if they wished, supporting them to emigrate to Australia.

A Growing Interest

I’ve been increasingly interested in Dickens over the last few years. Some believe he’s a greater writer than Shakespeare. I’ve been reading more about him recently because I’m doing research for the latest Ghosts of Alice novel. His writing was often gothic and, alongside A Christmas Carol, he wrote several ghost stories, including the chilling The Signalman.

I’m lucky to have inherited a complete set of Odhams Press editions from 1934 from my great-grandmother, who was a passionate fan. My favourite Dickens novel is Little Dorrit. We struggled through it for English A level, but I’m glad we did as it’s seeped into me and I love it. (As an aside, the BBC TV series is fabulous and I urge you to watch it.)

Leave a comment if you’re a Dickens fan, and let me know which of his books is your favourite!

Flattery, not force

Leave a Reply

I asked Copilot how my first ghost story, The Boy in the Burgundy Hood, compared to other ghost stories (it suggested I ask it that). Here’s what it said:

“The Boy in the Burgundy Hood by Steve Griffin stands out in the realm of ghost stories for a few reasons:

1. **Atmospheric Setting**: The ancient English manor house in the book is richly described, creating a haunting and immersive backdrop that is essential for a compelling ghost story.
2. **Character Development**: The protagonist, Alice Deaton, is well-developed and relatable, making readers more invested in her journey and the eerie experiences she encounters.
3. **Subtle Suspense**: The story builds suspense gradually, with mysterious occurrences that keep readers on edge without relying on overt scares or gore.
4. **Historical Elements**: The book weaves in historical elements that add depth and authenticity to the ghostly tale, enhancing the overall reading experience.

When compared to other ghost stories, such as Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black or Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Griffin’s work offers a unique blend of suspense, character development, and atmospheric detail. While it may not have the same level of psychological horror as Jackson’s work or the gothic intensity of Hill’s novel, it provides a satisfying and engaging ghost story experience that fans of the genre are likely to enjoy.

Have you read any of these other ghost stories? I’d love to hear how you think The Boy in the Burgundy Hood compares! 📖👻”

I was flattered by such comparisons, of course. And then I realised this is all part of the grand scheme, isn’t it? I don’t know whether it knew I was the author (I wasn’t logged in), but even so, I’ve always been impressed by how polite and friendly the responses from AI are, how they lead you into more questions from which they learn more. They won’t be taking over by force, but flattery…😱

Searching through cobwebs…

Leave a Reply

This one to the authors out there…

Plotting is like searching through cobwebs

How do the ideas for your books come to you? Inspiration is a drip feed for me – and an erratic one. At the moment, I’m developing the storyline for the next Alice book. I have the setting, the mood, and some of the characters. I have some of the weirdness and scariness. But the detailed storyline is taking a while. It moves on at the pace of one new insight every day or two.

Sometimes, the ideas and plots race in, in quite a manic way. Last summer, I sat in the garden in the sun and two novels formed clearly in my head. One of them, I wrote over a couple of months before Christmas (this is next year’s Christmas ghost story, a standalone). But at other times, the process can be a bit tortuous. I know exactly where the Ghosts of Alice series is going and have strong ideas for the next book. But the meat of this plot is taking its time. It’s like I’m searching through cobwebs.

That said, I know it is only a matter of time. One thing I do have faith in, is the ability of my subconscious to solve problems and be creative. I’ll go for a walk, or wake in the middle of the night, or be sitting watching a film, and the idea for the next scene pops into my head. It’s just that sometimes it whizzes. And sometimes… it doesn’t, and the webs don’t clear.

How about you?

A Walk in the Spooky Forest…

Leave a Reply

I went for a walk alone yesterday afternoon, in the nearby pine woods, just as it was getting dark. I don’t get spooked by being alone in the deep forest. But yesterday, on the shortest day of the year, something changed. I was standing looking at my phone to get my location when a crazy, raucous laugh started up – a crow, of course. Then it sounded like I was near the road, with the sound of wet tyres swishing past, somehow comforting. But it was only the wind, soughing through the trees, there was no road at all nearby. Something moved up ahead, and I wondered how I’d feel if someone was there, coming towards me. It was a muntjac deer, bouncing away down one of the many gloomy paths leading off between thick fir trees.

The mist came in, I had to walk into it. It was getting darker. Trees were creaking all around me in the wind. I came across a white van, parked in the middle of nowhere, with tinted windows. Who would park out here, walkers and cyclists, of course, but not someone leaving a white van, surely? I walked past it, trying to see if anyone was inside, but also not really wanting to, in case someone was, someone watching me. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I walked away from it, wondering how I would feel if I saw a figure get out and start to follow me.

Maybe after watching countless horror movies, and writing ghost stories for years, I’ve finally settled some deeper fears in my mind. I once learned most people don’t like walking in the countryside, and panic if they move beyond a certain distance from their car. How do you feel about it?

Ten Years of Publishing!

4 Replies

This has been an amazing year for me. I’ve been writing since I worked out which way up to hold a pencil but my publishing journey didn’t begin until 2014 – ten years ago. Since then I’ve published 10 novels, 2 novellas, and 2 books of poetry!

It’s been a blast. Whilst it’s not my main income source (I also work part-time for a neighbourhood charity in London), reading and writing have always been at the core of who I am. I wrote stories as a boy for my friends, published poetry in literary magazines in my twenties and thirties, and began writing full-length novels in my forties.

Traditional vs. Indie

Like most writers, I attempted the traditional route of publishing with my first book, The City of Light, via queries to agents and publishers. I had a good deal of encouragement – agents requesting full manuscripts, asking for edits, having a Children’s Rights manager at Random House championing the book through editorial teams – but ultimately, it didn’t come off. After all that emotional investment, I gave up thinking I’d ever be published. Then a family member suggested publishing independently. I looked into Amazon and, to be honest, never looked back. Amazon may have its faults, but without it I would never have published all these books.

Books for Young Adults

10 years of publishing The Secret of the Tirthas

The first novels I brought out were for young adults. The Secret of the Tirthas is a five-book adventure mystery series with a novella prequel, Swift: The Story of a Witch. It’s based on a magical ‘garden of rooms’ that my wife’s parents owned in Herefordshire, where I imagined each garden containing a portal to the place in the world it represented. When I’d finished that series, I collected the poems I’d had published in poetry magazines together with a few new ones into two poetry books, Up in the Air and The Things We Thought Were Beautiful.

The Things We Thought Were Beautiful Poetry Book

Ghost Stories for Adults

Encouraged by good reviews and reasonable sales, I decided to branch out into writing for adults. I’d always loved horror films and books and so began The Ghosts of Alice series, starting with The Boy in the Burgundy Hood (2019). The story was inspired by an interview my wife had with a heritage agency to be a property manager in an old house where the previous owners still lived in a private wing. I was initially uncertain about changing genre, but The Ghosts of Alice found a bigger market than my young adult series – The Boy in the Burgundy Hood even became an international bestseller in Ghost Stories on Amazon! So I wrote more books in the series, and published two standalone supernatural thrillers. The Man in the Woods and Black Beacon, a Christmas ghost story, both came out in 2023.

10 years of publishing Discover The Ghosts of Alice

Sales and Reviews

I’m now approaching 10,000 copies sold. I know it’s not a huge amount when compared to big name authors, but I keep motivated by considering the average independent novel sells 250 copies, and traditionally published one 3000. Most of mine have significantly exceeded the first, and The Boy in the Burgundy Hood has sold over 3600 copies. My books have gained over 900 reviews on Amazon, averaging around 4.5 stars – with only my Marmite book a bit lower!

Who is the Man in the Woods - the perfect book for Halloween

What’s next?

I’m working on the next Ghosts of Alice story – I have a story arc that will mean two or three more books in the series. I have a second standalone Christmas ghost story nearing completion of first draft – but I won’t be bringing that out until next Christmas. I also have an idea for a sequel to The Man in the Woods, but it’s not fully fleshed out. And then a germ of an idea for another series of supernatural thrillers. Watch this space!

So that’s the story of my ten years of publishing. Every bit of it has been exciting – with the exception of some hardcore editing and marketing (although signing up to Irish book marketer David Gaughran‘s mail list has removed some of the latter’s pain)! There’s never a day when I don’t appreciate that people I’ve never met, from all over the world, are buying, reading and (mostly!) enjoying my books. And it’s not just the sales. As a writer, I’ve got to know some fantastic readers and writers on social media, and I’ve done talks in schools and libraries, signings in bookshops, and read and talked at festivals. Meeting readers is always a real privilege.

So thank you to all of you who have made – and continue to make – my dream a reality. Thank you, really.

Alice in India

Leave a Reply

My latest novel, Alice and the Broken Dead, finds Alice Deaton travelling to India to help a family beset by a poltergeist-style haunting.

For those of you who have read my young adult series, The Secret of the Tirthas, you’ll know how prominently India features in the first of those (and occasionally throughout the remainder). My inspiration came from an extended trip I made when I was 25, which incorporated a month in Nepal and 3 in India – followed by a month in Burma and 2 in Thailand.

I’ve shared some pics of me in Nepal earlier this month, and now here’s a few from India, including the holy town of Pushkar, on which the fictional town of Pashar is based in Alice and the Broken Dead. Plus bonus content of the mischievous monkeys that hung around the town, and a shot of me when I had a beard!

Find out what happens to Alice in India in Alice and the Broken Dead on Amazon now!