About Me

I’m the author of 18 books, including the bestselling Ghosts of Alice series and my chilling Christmas ghost stories. I’ve also written the adventure mystery series The Secret of the Tirthas and two poetry collections.

Early Writing & Poetry 

I was born in Eastbourne and grew up in Warwickshire. At school, I wrote constantly – action and horror stories starring my friends, which boosted my confidence when they were eagerly passed around the classroom. I was sure I’d be a writer, but somehow that got lost during my university years, studying English at Southampton and Environmental Management in Stirling.

In my twenties, while working for environmental organisations in Wales and London, I began writing poetry. Encouraged by publication in magazines like Poetry Ireland and Poetry Scotland, I gave public readings – including two at the iconic Troubadour Café in Old Brompton Road, where Bob Dylan once played.

The Secret of the Tirthas

A few visits to a secluded garden in Herefordshire sparked the idea for The Secret of the Tirthas, a young adult portal series. I loved the concept of a garden of rooms with gateways to mysterious places around the world. The fantasy came as much from Lizzie Jones’s real-world adventures – inspired by my own travels to India, Louisiana, and Africa – as from the supernatural forces she encounters.

Ghosts of Alice & Standalone Chillers

I’ve always loved horror films, especially the eerie, psychological kind. In 2019, I published my first adult ghost story, The Boy in the Burgundy Hood, introducing Alice Deaton – a young woman with a mysterious connection to the dead. The idea came from my wife’s interview at a medieval country house run by a heritage trust, where the previous owners still lived in a private wing. It was the perfect setting for a ghost story. The book became an international bestseller on Amazon, and I’ve since written four more in the Ghosts of Alice series. While Alice’s story unfolds across the books, each one stands alone.

Beyond the series, I’ve written three standalone chillers: the novella The Man in the Woods, and two Christmas ghost stories – Black Beacon, set on the snow-swept Sussex Downs in the 1970s, and The Old Man of the Black, where two strangers become stranded in a haunted Highland mansion during a blizzard.

Inspiration & Interests

I now work part-time for a charity in London and write whenever I can. I’m a voracious reader, drawn to modern ghost stories (Michelle Paver, Stephen King, Susan Hill).

I live in the Surrey Hills, a beautiful stretch of rolling, tree-clad countryside, with my wife and two sons. I love hiking, horror movies, and going to indie gigs with my old school friends – the ones who once starred in those first stories…