I dream inPugin

In pursuit of my dreams, I headed for the hills of the beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands and to the most magical place I know, Alton Towers. Now living close by, I count my blessings each time I hear the roar of the roller-coasters from across the valley. For nowhere am I more inspired as I experience the lift hills, dive drops, and corkscrews of the ride - that is, writing my first novel.  ​

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I am, however, not the only one to have been spellbound by Alton. my hero, architect Augustus Pugin, whose work has left a permanent legacy on the landscape, was also very much enchanted by it. In fact, I think Pugin said it best when he once wrote to the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury“For I am nowhere so happy”.

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Originally born in East Anglia, I grew up on a haunted farm in the dark depths of Norfolk where an early encounter with one of its former residents inspired a lifelong curiosity for all that is strange and unexplained. As a result, I spent much of my childhood exploring the local churchyards where I exchanged ghost stories with my friends and developed an early love of Gothic.

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My curiosity for all that is strange and unusual has never waned and I find myself still fascinated by anything that challenges my perception of the world. This curiosity is at the heart of the stories I love to write and the subjects I love to explore.​