Quests and Heirs

ADVENTUROUS QUESTS

I like to travel in time occasionally, and I hope to encourage my readers to do the same. The Quest novels (Adventurous Quests) are set in the 1950s. I find this an interesting era to write about. Although I admit to being old enough to remember certain aspects of that time, I am not really nostalgic for it, because from the perspective of the 21st century I can see the advantages of the greater freedom that arrived during the 1960s, particularly for women.

I write about this era partly for the challenge of going against 21st century stereotypes in characterisation, and partly because the background of World War II can provide all sorts of secrets and motivations that affect subsequent events, while the start of the Cold War and the general unease about the international situation makes it easier to incorporate thriller elements in the stories. I also enjoy writing about important British events such as the Festival of Britain and the Coronation, and because of my own past career, about the early days of computing.

THE LION AND UNICORN QUEST

Can people learn to leave the past behind them, and move on? Flora has tried hard to do this but her wartime past as a secret agent just won’t let go of her.

 THE FOUR SEASONS QUEST

Apparently random acts of violence directed against people Oliver and Flora hold dear start to form a pattern of obsession and vengeance that grows more complicated with each season of the year.

THE CORONATION QUEST

Flora and Oliver are planning their wedding, but what with storms, traitors and the search for the perfect house with its own studio, it seems that getting married is the least of their worries.

A QUEST FOR CLEMENCY

This story begins when Oliver’s sister Clemency encounters a mysterious stranger on the train to Cambridge. The repercussions of the meeting eventually affect her work in a computer laboratory, and her relationship with more than one of her colleagues.

A QUEST IN BERLIN

Clemency’s friend Andrew disappears without warning, and she finds herself travelling across Europe in search of him.

QUEST FOR A FATHER

This time Clemency insists she should travel with Andrew when he sets off to Spain following a mysterious letter received by his mother.

 

BRIGHTON HEIRS

After some decades of enjoying historical novels set in Regency times, I have embarked on a series set in and around Brighton in the early 1800S. As I have found I can’t really write romance, or at least not in any serious way, these tend more towards mystery and adventure. They start with two foster-brothers who are brought up in Brighton by a fisherman and his childless wife, but whose destinies take them much further than they could possible have expected.

These books are only available on Amazon via Kindle Unlimited (you can borrow or buy them)

THE HEIR TO MARSHINGDEAN

THE FRENCH HEIR

THE HEIR TO NOTHING

THE UNWILLING HEIR

And now for the 5th in the Brighton Heirs series (published September 2023)

THE RIVERTON INHERITANCE

MISPLACED HEIRESSES

 A second short series set around Regency times, Misplaced Heiresses, is now available. There are three books so far: The Heiress is Not at Home, The Elusive Widow and Heiress in Exile. If you’ve read the Brighton Heirs novels, you will come across a few familiar characters.

Other books available for Kindle and Smashwords:

THE GREAT CALAMITY

This novel is set on a fictitious timeline that diverges from reality during the reign of Queen Victoria, not long before the death of Prince Albert. A disaster occurs that changes the course of British history for ever, and which will have many and varied knock-on effects across Europe and elsewhere.

A sequel is planned which I hope to write during 2026.

MURDER IN THE MIDI

A stand-alone romantic thriller set in the south of France.

TWO EDWARDIAN ADVENTURES

Two novellas set in Edwardian times. The central characters are Betsy, Kirstie and John Martin from Edinburgh, and the action is set in 1908 during the Scottish National Exhibition, and 1909 around the time of the big suffragette march along Princes Street.

SHORT STORIES (2025 update)

I’ve also written quite a number of short stories, many of which have been published as part of collections. I have unpublished the collections for now, though I plan to produce one larger collection which will include some new stories as well as the ones previously published. This probably won’t happen until around the middle of 2026 as I am working on a couple of novels and I have another one planned for mid to late spring.