Let It Snow ...

Most of my books are set during the summertime. I write romances and it's easier to get your characters out of their clothes when the weather is hot; you have to be a lot more creative when the temperature plummets! But I've always wanted to write a book set in winter, with frost and ice and lots of snow. I expect this is because of the kind of books I liked to read as a child, such as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Can there be anything more magical than stepping through an old wardrobe and into a world where it's always winter?



I'm also a huge fan of fairy tales, and there is one part of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe which always reminds me of Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen. In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Edmund meets the White Witch in her sleigh and she enchants him with Turkish delight. Whereas in The Snow Queen, Kai falls under the witch's spell when she kisses him after he's hitched his sled to her sleigh (that's not an euphemism!). There's probably a moral in there somewhere, about keeping well clear of women in sleighs, but what struck me about both stories is how the snow is considered to be A Bad Thing. In Narnia it is 'always winter and never Christmas', and in The Snow Queen Kai becomes obsessed with snowflakes. And this contributed to my inspiration for Something Wicked.

I grew up on the south coast of England where we never saw much snow. I'd watch movies and read books where the characters had snowball fights, went sledging and got snowed in - it sounded like a lot of fun! The first time it snowed properly I was thirteen and I went completely mad. I built a whole family of snowmen and even an igloo for them to live in. The next time it snowed I was a lot older and supposed to be going on a hot date with a new boyfriend. I was totally unimpressed - both with the snow and, as it turned out, with the new boyfriend.  Then I married and moved to Wales, where it seemed to snow every winter.

Our first house was in the Conwy Valley and there was a hill directly behind it, which turned out to be perfect for sledging! When you see other people sledging, and think what fun it looks, it's easy to forget the slightly more important stuff. Sledges don't have brakes and sometimes seem specifically designed to dump you upside down in a snow drift, or worse still, a freezing cold stream. Being caught in a blizzard is pretty much the same as being caught in a heavy downpour, except you end up being half-frozen as well as absolutely soaked. And being snowed in isn't quite so romantic when the pipes begin to freeze over. Lots of inspiration there for a story about snow, right?

Hmm ...

Writers are always told 'write what you know'. Personally, I think it's a lot more fun to make it all up! When I began writing Something Wicked I thought I'd be able to put everything I knew about snow into my story. Except I didn't. There isn't any sledging. No one gets snowed in and the pipes are just fine. But I remembered how magical it is to watch the snow fall, to see those flakes whirl about, to watch patterns form and for all kinds of things to take shape.

And how, if you stare at the falling snow for long enough, you can almost imagine ...

Something Wicked

Katrina Davenport has opened a coffee shop and bookstore in the notorious Raven’s Cottage, once the home of a 17th century witch known as Magik Meg. The locals have told Kat stories, of how the cottage is haunted by the witch and her demon lover, but Kat doesn’t believe in witches, or ghosts, or anything that goes bump in the dead of night. Every strange thing that happened since she moved in must have a perfectly logical explanation.

Unfortunately it doesn’t really matter what Kat believes, because something wicked has returned to Raven’s Cottage.

And this time it’s come for Kat.

To read an extract, click here:

Something Wicked: Behind the Scenes

Related Posts:

Beyond the Bridge: A post about Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, the inspiration for Raven’s Cottage.

Music: Wings to the Mind: How music inspires me and influences my writing.

Dear Diary: How I love using diaries to tell a story

Five Books Which Chilled Me

Sometimes my choice of book to read can be completely random. I can also be completely predictable. If there is one thing I love, it's reading scary books at Halloween. What do I like to read? Well, I'm a bit of a wimp, so nothing too terrifying! I love ghost stories, particularly the classic haunted house kind and I've a soft spot for vampires. So here, in no particular order, are my favourites.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

When Jonathan Harker visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula purchase a London house, he makes horrifying discoveries in his client's castle. Soon afterwards, disturbing incidents unfold in England: a ship runs aground on the shores of Whitby, its crew vanished; beautiful Lucy Westenra slowly succumbs to a mysterious, wasting illness, her blood drained away; and the lunatic Renfield raves about the imminent arrival of his 'master'.

I've always been familiar with the Dracula story but I hadn't actually read the book until I saw the Francis Ford Coppola movie. (My copy has the movie tie-in cover!) I absolutely loved the story, particularly the racing back and forth between Dracula's castle and England and I felt desperately sorry for Dracula, even though he was a monster. Indeed, I much prefer my vampires monstrous, rather than the kind which walk around in daylight.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose.

Well, this book just plain frightened the life out of me! It has everything I love in a ghost story - a beautifully gothic setting, an old mystery and plenty of shocks. If you enjoy this, you might also like Susan Hill's other novellas, The Mist in the Mirror, The Small Hand and Dolly.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Ben Mears, a moderately successful writer, returns to 'Salem's Lot to write a novel based on his early years, and to exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since childhood. The event he witnessed in the house now rented by a new resident. A newcomer with a strange allure. A man who causes Ben some unease as things start to happen: a child disappears, a dog is brutally killed - nothing unusual, except the list starts to grow.

Another book which terrified my teenage self. In fact, it made such an impression, I've been too frightened to read it again in case it didn't live up to my memories!

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much - not because she's not pretty. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he's tall, he's dark and he's handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting all her life for - but Bill's a vampire ...

I LOVE the mix of humour, mystery, suspense, horror and romance of this series. It was made into a TV series, True Blood, and now I'm going to be one of those boring people who go on about how the books are much better than the TV/movie version. But they are. And you should read them! There are thirteen books in the series.

Haunted by James Herbert

Three nights of terror at the house called Edbrook. Three nights in which David Ash, there to investigate a haunting will be victim of horrifying and maleficent games. Three nights in which he will face the blood-chilling enigma of his own past. Three nights before Edbrook's dreadful secret will be revealed.

Another traditional haunted house story, beautifully told, although the twist is perhaps a little predicable now. This is the first in the series featuring the character David Ash. The others are The Secret of Crickley Hall, The Ghosts of Sleath and Ash. I can't decide which is my favourite, between The Secret of Crickley Hall and The Ghosts of Sleath. If you have seen the TV version of The Secret of Crickley Hall, the plot is slightly different.

Well, that's five books which certainly terrified me! They are all now classics of their kind, so you've probably heard of them already. So I've listed a few more below, some of which are more suspense than traditional ghost/horror stories, but they should certainly keep you out of mischief until the 1st of November!

Happy Halloween!

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

The Séance by John Harwood

The Leper House by Andrew Taylor

The Greatcoat by Helen Dumore

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Don't Look Now (and other stories) by Daphne du Maurier

Read More:

I have a list of my favourite books over on Pinterest

Alternatively, read about my real-life ghostly experience
Or find out which five books influenced me as a writer

Things That Go Bump ...

In the tradition of All Hallows' Eve, let me tell you a spooky story - or two. And yes, everything I tell you is completely true.

 

 

Part 1

 

I grew up in a house which, although supposedly Victorian, had parts that seemed much older. It was a wreck when my parents bought it and, because our family never do anything by halves, we had great fun buying up fixtures and fittings from other old houses in the area which were being demolished. There were the 300-year-old oak beams from the retired Admiral’s house, as well as a Tudor fireplace and an iron-studded door, which looked as though it had already withstood several sieges.

 

It was during these renovations that strange things began to happen. The house would creak and groan in the middle of the night, almost as though it were alive. We’d hear footsteps upstairs, when no one was there, doors would open by themselves and light bulbs would pop out of their sockets. Strangest of all, was hearing the piano playing when no one was in the room - although it would stop as soon as anyone approached the door.

 

Of course, all these things can be easily explained. The light bulbs were the ‘bayonet’ type, which could easily spring out if not pushed in correctly. All old houses make strange noises at night. Floorboards slope, walls and doorways are not always straight - meaning a door can quite easily swing open by itself. Curiously it was always the same door that opened - a door that did have a latch - the same door which led to the room with the piano.

 

Whatever the cause, as soon as the builders finished, the strange occurrences stopped too.

 

(Not my actual house!)

Part 2

 

Several years later, when my husband and I moved into our first home, I woke in the night to see a fairly solid-looking figure in a hooded robe materialise through one wall, walk right across the bedroom and disappear through another wall. My husband was not at all pleased when I woke him up to tell him this. He pointed out that it was extremely unlikely the ghost of a monk would choose to haunt a 1960s bungalow.

 

It was only later we discovered the ruined castle down the road was actually an abbey, and that the estate we now lived on had been built in what had once been the grounds.

 

But I still don’t believe in ghosts!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Related Post:

Five Books Which Chilled Me - My recommended reads for Halloween