Tag Archives: christmas ghost stories

Favourite books – a little self indulgence…

OK, this post is a bit indulgent, but have any of you writers out there ever thought about which of your own books you like most? I spent half an hour the other night thinking about just that. I ended up rating them for ‘Best Beginning’, ‘Best Ending’ and ‘Overall Favourite’. And here’s what came out tops:

Best books: The Girl in the Ivory Dress

Best Beginning: The Girl in the Ivory Dress – after the relatively slow build of the mystery in The Boy in the Burgundy Hood, I wanted to hit the ground running in the second book. In the opening scenes, Alice finds herself having to deal with a woman on fire, rescue a priceless heritage collection, and handle not one but two ghosts!

Best books: The Unknown Realms

Best Ending: The Unknown Realms – the conclusion to my 5-book Secret of the Tirthas series gets pretty high stakes at the end, with a final battle involving demons, Lizzie and her friends and – yep, an elephant! If it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye – well, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to.

Best books: Black Beacon

Overall Favourite: Black Beacon – close to my heart because of its inspiration from my family history – but still I reckon a neat plotline and taut supernatural thriller.

This was a difficult selection and even now I find I’m changing my mind – but you have to stop somewhere!

If you’ve read my books, do you agree with my selection? And if you’re a writer, which of your own books do you like most and why?

Click here to find out more about these books on Amazon.

Black Beacon Setting: Beachy Head & the South Downs

Black Beacon inspiration: Beachy Head

Here’s some photos of the South Downs including the stunning Beachy Head, where the hills crumble in a mass of pulverised chalk to the English Channel. A lonely red-and-white lighthouse prevents ships crashing into the cliffs. This spot features in my latest ghost story, Black Beacon, which is set on the sometimes radiant, often bleak, always beautiful landscape of the downs. Like several of the other elements in the story, it draws on my own personal experience.

Black Beacon inspiration: Seven Sisters

The character of Theo in Black Beacon is loosely based on my real German grandfather, Egon Korn, who arrived in England as a Prisoner of War. He met my grandma in Eastbourne and they were soon married. The story of his capture was extraordinary, and something I knew had to write in a story one day. I just never realised it was going to be one of my ghost stories! You can find out more about his experience here.

Black Beacon inspiration: South Downs

My grandfather, who I called Da, used to collect me from the Cavendish Hotel on the seafront in his cream VW Beetle. I was living in the hotel because my dad worked there, we were in the staff accommodation. Da used to drive me up to Beachy Head and we would go and look out on this fabulous panorama. Enjoy!

Black Beacon inspiration: South Downs National Landscape

Black Beacon Inspiration: Cuckmere, South Downs
Black Beacon inspiration: South Downs, looking to Eastbourne

Black Beacon – a reading

Time for a short reading from my latest book, BLACK BEACON, a chilling ghost story for Christmas!

Theo, short of money but determined he and his wife shall have a good Christmas, has decided to take a tree from the forest – but he’s got hopelessly lost. Then he comes across a figure in the darkness…

Here’s some of the wonderful things people have been saying about Black Beacon since its release:

***** I loved this book and read it in one sitting late at night with the aftermath of a storm whistling outside

***** What a great ghostly Christmas book

***** His best book yet 

***** A deeply haunting ghost story

***** This was such an original Christmas ghost story, I could not put it down. From the first pages I was gripped and wanting to know what happened to Nat and Theo.

You can check out Black Beacon now on Amazon:

Black Beacon – Inspiration

Black Beacon is one of my favourite, and one of my most personal, books so far.

Black Beacon Christmas ghost story opening page

This is why:

One, it takes place on the Sussex Downs, near Beachy Head, and in Eastbourne, where I was born. I love this area of the south coast for the wide sweep of the Downs (broad, grassy hills, with small pockets of woodland); for the white cliffs that plunge into the rough sea with its red-and-white striped lighthouse; and for the pastel blues, whites, greys and browns of its pebble beaches. And Eastbourne, which I still visit regularly because my mum lives there, is a beautiful town with a grand, white parade of hotels and a gold-domed pier on the seafront. I even lived in one of those hotels for a while, when I was little and my dad was working there.

Two, the main characters, Theo and Nat, are loosely inspired by my grandparents, who I loved so much. They met after the war, when my German grandfather was a Prisoner of War. The story of how he was captured is astonishing – almost unbelievable – and I’ve included it in the book.

Black Beacon Christmas Ghost story back cover

Three, it’s about Christmas, in the 1970s, and what’s not to love about that? The heyday of glam, Slade, Wizzard, Brotherhood of Man… OK, before you go mentioning the winter of discontent I plead innocence. I was a small boy reading Tintin and playing with my dog. I adored Christmases then, always with my grandparents, they were one of the most exciting times of my life.

And lastly I love Black Beacon because I’m a horror fan and it’s frightening. At times, really frightening. The ghost is… pure evil.

So I invite you to read it and find out why – if you have the stomach for a proper haunting this Christmas, that is…

Black Beacon: A Christmas Ghost Story, is available on Amazon now.

Black Beacon Christmas ghost story proof copy

Black Beacon: A Christmas Ghost Story – Out Now!

I’m SUPER excited to tell you my latest book, Black Beacon, a chilling Christmas ghost story set on the snow-swept South Downs, is out now!

Black Beacon Christmas Ghost Story out now!

Here’s what it’s about:

1976. The South Downs.

The Christmas it snowed.

The Christmas that evil returned…

Struggling with money, Theo and Nat are doing their best to make Christmas special. It’s been a hard time of year for them, ever since they lost their beloved daughter.

But this year, their troubles are just beginning. They are about to be visited by a shocking ghost from Christmas past, a spirit who will bring back not just the horror of the war that divided them but also a deep, hidden betrayal from their own private past…

Click here to get a copy of Black Beacon on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle editions – or read for free on Kindle Unlimited!

Black Beacon – Cover Reveal!

Ta-dah! As promised, here’s the new cover of my forthcoming Christmas ghost story, Black Beacon – a spooky tale of love and betrayal, set in the 1970s on the South Downs of East Sussex.

Black Beacon Christmas Ghost Story cover

What do you think?

Hope to have it out early November!

What I’m writing now…

The few months since I published my latest Ghosts of Alice novel, Alice and the Devil have flown by. I’ve been very happy with the reviews (averaging 4.5 stars on Amazon!) – and wanted to let you know the things I’m excited to be working on next.

What I'm writing now

A Christmas Ghost Story

I’ve loved reading Shani Struther’s Christmas ghost stories (link below), so on the runup to Christmas I started on my own festive ghost story. It’s set on the South Downs of England and it’s a departure for me in several ways:

(1) it’s a completely standalone novel, not part of any series;

(2) it’s set in the 1970s – the heyday of the Christmas single! – and

(3) it focuses on a married couple, Theo and Nat, whose haunted, complex pasts are about to come crashing into their seasonal plans.

I did have what I thought was the perfect title for it, but unfortunately it’s been used elsewhere recently and would cause a bit of a clash – so X👻?🤔X will be out later this year. Most likely in the autumn, to tie in with the build up to Christmas.

The next Ghosts of Alice story

Whilst I’m editing this book, I’m also excited to be working on the plot of the next Alice novel. For those of you who’ve read my books, you’ll know I like to mix things up a bit and play around with expectations. So, whilst there’ll be all the essential spooky ingredients, this is going to be quite a different tale, in a very different setting. Although, for those of you who have read my young adult series, The Secret of the Tirthas, some things might be familiar…😉

The Man in the Woods

I’m also revisiting one or two pieces of older writing, short stories and novellas that I really liked but for one reason or another never completed. One of these is The Man in the Woods… who is that lonesome figure our narrator comes across whilst cycling out in the forest? What’s he doing, camping out there in all weather? It’s a creepy, psychological suspense novella with a big twist. It’s definitely one of my most sinister stories. I hope it gets to see the light of day!

Time. That’s all I need. More time…