Chapter 13 The manorial court rolls in medieval times mentions Jacob’s Acres as common land used by villeins to raise cattle, sheep and grow cereals. Under the feudal system they paid dues every year to the Lord of the Manor. When the Enclosure Act came into being in the early 1700s land was parcelled up, […]

The Return Chapters 7-9 Chapter 7 ‘Hello, what can I do for you?’ Ask the Rector, as she is about to put on her blue clerical blouse and collar. A man has emerged silently through the vestry door into the robing room of St Mary’s. He is dressed as a clergyman in an old fashioned […]

Chapter 4 Sir Shackleton Huntswick is feeling out of sorts. The last council meeting had been perfectly satisfactory although there was worry that the planned housebuilding on  Jacob’s Acres would do untold damage to the fabric of the village. Fifty new houses was a lot to absorb. The open pasture and burial mound held a special […]

Chapter 4 Sir Shackleton Huntswick is feeling out of sorts. The last council meeting had been perfectly satisfactory although there was worry that the planned housebuilding on  Jacob’s Acres would do untold damage to the fabric of the village. Fifty new houses was a lot to absorb. The open pasture and burial mound held a special […]

Author’s Note:  This is a Novella, only 15000 words.  The chapters are deliberately short. The following 3 installments will appear in another week. The Return: Chapters 1-3  Chapter 1 Dr. Kirsty Daventry slams her cottage door and on hearing the reassuring sound of the lock click into place, she places her hand into her wax […]

Preamble: I wrote this piece for my ‘Radio for the Blind’ recording on 01 November, my predictions appear to have been prescient as we had a heavy fall of snow this week.  Well we are heading for it now. The clocks have turned back and I have lit my open fire, as I write the […]

From the early stages of writing my first novel I had decided on the name, ‘The Windelton Absurdities.’ I felt it accurately characterised the absurd, outlandish and hilarious roll call of inhabitants and place that is the imaginary, small Yorkshire town of Windelton. So why did it end being called ‘Hidden Lives’ you might ask? […]

It is stating the obvious that different subjects will require different pace and tone; writing about an insurance policy needs a more serious treatment than say, a pair of Levi’s (although some may disagree), but understanding the motivations of your audience remain paramount. It is all too easy to forget when messaging, whether it be […]