I wish I could say that I used Louisa May Alcott’s book Behind A Mask as inspiration for Ravenscourt but I only discovered this much overlooked book when I was putting together a presentation for a talk I was doing. I was situating Ravenscourt in the Gothic tradition and books such as Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Woman in Black, came up. All of which I already knew but then up popped Behind A Mask. Like many of us, I had always associated Alcott with Little Wome

I’ve always loved a strong setting — and I see them as characters in their own right. My first book, Tower of Vengeance , is set in the Tower of London during the 13th century — a place I know intimately, having volunteered there for over thirteen years. Immersing myself in its atmosphere came naturally, though in my imagination I did have to knock down a few walls and build new ones! My aim was always for the Tower itself to dominate the story, to stand as a living, breathin

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I absolutely love a good Gothic book such as Jane Eyre, The Silent Companions, Mrs England, The Yellow Wallpaper, and one of my all-time favourites Rebecca. All of these books have similar themes with the Gothic house very much at the centre. I can never resist a book with an atmospheric house on the cover! In 19 th  century fiction, the haunted or decaying house often reflects a woman’s mental state or social confinement. A locked room or attic symbolises repression, secrets

Two years ago, I returned to one of my favourite cities — Venice — to research Ravenscourt . I knew the book had to begin there; it’s a city seemingly frozen in time: sleek gondolas, glittering palazzi, those narrow secret canals, and the bustle and elegance of San Marco. My first stop was Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa, once home to the Grimani family and their stunning collection of antiques. I’ll never forget stepping into the Tribune Room and seeing the sculpture

Deciding where my central family could live and work within the Tower was relatively easy as there has long been a history of drinking...

I had my setting – next I needed characters to populate the Tower and of course what all authors call a hook. I had this vague idea of...

I am a historian who loves research and nothing gives me greater pleasure than finding facts that I can use in my books. I can spend days...

The raven stopped pecking the eyeball in the severed head and listened to the voice carried on the wind’ So begins Chapter 2 of Tower of...

Writing fiction means creating a world for your characters to live in whether it’s modern-day New York, 1930s Berlin or a fantasy world...

I have never been good at writing at home – I am too easily distracted by the sudden desire to clean all the cupboards, hoover all the...