I’ve read this incredible novel at least five times since last February. The mastery involved in this tale unfolding – if I produced a book like The Secret History, I’d only be putting out one novel a decade too.

Why are we so nostalgic for the Nineties? Well, I’m a Millennial so I have a pretty good memory of the mid-Nineties onwards and I have some theories as to why this particular decade is so ‘in’ right now.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, writer’s block is ‘the condition of being unable to create a piece of written work because something in your mind prevents you from doing it’. But what’s behind it, really? And how can we overcome it?

There’s grief, madness, and loss steeped into it. And of course, the first truly malevolent haunted house in pop culture. In my opinion, what makes The Haunting of Hill House truly powerful is its narrative ambiguity – how much is in Eleanor’s head?

When I originally planned this blog, I was simply thinking of women writers who have influenced me and whom I haven’t already written about. However, once I really looked at my list, I realised that all five are best-known for their Gothic work.

‍Coldharbour I is the only book I’ve written so far in the series that doesn’t have a prologue of sorts, so here’s the official prologue to Coldharbour: A Gothic Tale of Love and Death, from an exclusive POV: the elusive Elizabeth Black.

World building is most commonly connected to speculative fiction, in which the writer has to create more of the environment their characters are in, as opposed to researching a real time and place.

I had to write something that at least partially reflected my own lived experience, seeing as Coldharbour is such a personal (if completely fictional) story. Here’s a relatively spoiler-free outline of some of the representation in Coldharbour.

I have a confession to make (as usual): I was incredibly snobbish about publishing at the beginning. I had this idea in my head that I had to get a literary agent and be traditionally published in order for it ‘to count’.

Why are we so fascinated by haunted houses? They crop up again and again in pop culture and I feel like it’s one of the first spooky things we discover as children. Most episodes of Scooby-Doo have some form of haunted house going on, after all.

I haven’t had a Netflix account for at least a year, but when I (briefly) reactivate it this winter, I’ll be paying a visit to some old favourites, because if there’s one shining light in Netflix’s library, it’s the horror series.

Full disclosure: I’ve studied much more poetry (reading and writing) than prose. But I always knew that the story of the Wildes was a story in prose, so I’d just have to spend years learning how to write a good book. In the most poetic way I could.

With my love for a good old British beach, it’s no wonder that my fictional setting Coldharbour is a seaside town. In alphabetical order, here are my top ten personal favourite seaside towns across the UK and Ireland.

I’m often asked about my influences when it comes to writing and obviously, I have many literary ones. But really, it all comes back to the legenday Jim Steinman. If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side…

Did you know that Halloween isn’t an American invention? It actually began in Britain and Ireland as Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival that heralded the beginning of winter and the ‘darker half’ of the year.

Most of my favourite Black writers are predominantly poets and their voices are as diverse, compelling, and fascinating as you’ll find in any canon of poetry. So, here are five Black poets whose work really speaks to me.

The Master and Margarita had been on my radar for a long time as someone who loves stories about witches and the Devil.

This is not exactly an advice post, but more the ‘character rules’ I (mostly) subconsciously abide by, which can give an insight into my process and characters – and if you’re looking for tips, something here might help you too.