How I came to write Secret of Heathcote Manor

The internet can be a great source of inspiration. It's particularly useful when researching information for a novel.

Back in 2015, I was browsing the web when I came across an article about an incident which had occurred in 1648 during the Second English Civil War. As I read on, an idea for a story formed in my mind.

Within a few days, I'd written the first few chapters, but then I put the manuscript aside for the next four years.

In 2019, I decided to apply for a review on Litopia's Pop-Up Submissions, and sent off a short blurb and the first 700 words. My submission was accepted and a recording was made. On the 13th of October 2019 my submission was one of five which featured on the programme. To my delight, it won.

Encouraged by this success, I decided to finish writing the tale and submitted it to a handful of literary agents in 2021. It was the first agent I approached who ultimately offered representation.

Whilst the manuscript was in fairly good shape, it was by no means perfect. Fortunately, one or two of the editors who my agent submitted to offered some useful advice. I then set to work to iron out the imperfections and eventually produced something publishable.

In 2022, Level Best Books offered to buy the publishing rights and set a date of 19th December 2023 for publication. We didn't quite make the target release date, but Secret of Heathcote Manor was available for purchase by the end of February 2024.

It is currently available from several retailers in paperback and as an ebook. These include Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca Amazon.com.au, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.br, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, AppleBooks, Kobo and Bookshop.org.

I hope you will enjoy reading it.