Description

Working on the reception desk of a 14th century castle, I was always asked one question. Is it haunted? Guests have a vested interest in finding out, as the castle is a four-star hotel and they will be staying the night!
There is a centuries old legend surrounding the castle. The spirit of Lily Lumley, supposed wife of Sir Ralph Lumley, is said to haunt the building after she was murdered in the 14th century by local priests because she refused to convert to Catholicism. This legend is the inspiration for my current writing project, which is my second venture into the realm of novel writing.
My first novel was a young adult fantasy novel, Elodie Black, Guardian of Dreams, set in a fictional world known as The Old Realm. Elodie is a young apprentice at The Curiosity Bureau, and she stumbles upon a sinister plot to destroy magic. I had so much fun writing Elodie’s story and I fell in love with the fantasy genre. I didn’t begin writing fiction until I was in my mid-thirties. My first ever writing project was Elodie Black Guardian of Dreams, and at sixty-four-thousand-words long, there’s nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end! I learned so much and really enjoyed the whole process, from researching, outlining, writing, and revising. At the time I was also studying for an MLitt research degree in history at Newcastle University, and I found the research skills I gained were invaluable when it came to researching for my first novel.
After I finished my postgraduate degree, I didn’t relish the prospect of becoming a lecturer or going on to further study, so I decided to put my historical research skills to good use by writing a historical fantasy novel. I spent months thinking over ideas, and in that time, I started working at Lumley Castle. After a while, a tiny seed of inspiration began to grow in my mind, and I read up on the legend of Lily Lumley and the history of the castle. Pretty soon after that I decided to write Lily’s story.
I often find myself gleaning inspiration from the tiniest and strangest of things when I’m at the castle. It could be a comment made by a departing guest, an old newspaper clipping, or a particular painting on the castle walls. We have a resident cat at the castle these days, (called Poppet) and even she has made it onto the pages of Lily of Lumley Castle. I always become immersed in Lily’s world as I write, and I’m passionate about telling her story. In reality, Lily probably did not exist, but she comes to life on the pages of the book and embarks on a magical journey, leaving behind a legacy that is unearthed over six hundred years later by paranormal investigators, Alice, and her assistant, Sebastien.
I have also written non-fiction. As part of my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees I studied the history of north-east England, in particular the working-class movement and the political enfranchisement of the coal miners. My work on the reform era of 1832 in north-east England was published by The University of Sunderland, and that spurred me on to complete further study at postgraduate level. I have since gone on to publish a non-fiction book about the working-class politics of County Durham between 1830 and 1936.
My future writing plans are pretty exciting. Lily of Lumley Castle will be the first book in a series called, The Copperheart Legacy, and in each book I will use my research skills to bring history to life, but with a magical twist. I’m already researching ideas for the rest of the books in the series, and I’m excited to see where this adventure will take me.