Although the view was the same, there seemed to be a different atmosphere hanging over the cove. The sky wasn’t the brilliant blue it had been when King Neptune appeared; it had a darker reddish glow, which felt a bit threatening. The waves were churning roughly in the distance before crashing onto the shore. ‘It looks like there’s a storm in the air,’ said Joe, who was used to going to sea in all weathers. ‘We’d better hurry up and try out the kite before we get caught in it

After heading to the harbour to find Joe the children made their way back to the woods behind Aunt Alice’s house, searching all the while for the posts marking the entrance to the cove. Freddie was the first to spot it. Here were the silvery trees and the bluebells, just as they were before. They hurried past them and out to the cove, which was glowing with a magical, welcoming light. They clambered down towards the giant rocks. Close-up they made the children feel like dwarv

Today I can confirm that all going according to plan, The Enchanted Cove should be available by the First week of April 2016.

The question everyone has been asking me recently are "where did you get the idea?" The answer is that it came from a trip I took to Cornwall whilst researching another book, a biography I wrote in 2013 of a favourite actor of mine, the rogueish British film star Robert Newton. Newton was born in the West country and spent some of his childhood in Newlyn and Lamorna, due to his painter father being part of the artistic scene that developed there in the late 19th and early 20t

Happy to learn that the last edits are complete! The manuscript is in the hands of the printers so not long to go...

‘You know…I think we should build a den around here,’ suggested Rose, one hazy afternoon, as the children sat on the dusty grass of a clearing in the forest. ‘Oh that’s a marvelous idea Rose, it could be our secret place!’ cried George, jumping to his feet, ‘what about in there?’ he continued, pointing to some large bushes, ‘we could clear out some of the greenery and make it into a sort of hut?’ The others agreed that this was a good suggestion and they all set to work trans

Rose Cottage was a long, low building made out of large pale stones of an irregular size. The front of the cottage was partly overgrown with the climbing roses that gave it its name and sheltered by a group of large ancient trees. Inside the house almost every wall was covered by Aunt Alice’s collection of paintings. At the top of the cottage was an attic, the floor splattered with a rainbow of paint where a half-finished picture sat on an easel. Unlike their orderly London h

Delighted to receive the final PDF of The Enchanted Cove today, due for publication this year–final date to be confirmed. So to get in the mood, here are a few extracts from the book... Chapter 1 How It All Began About 100 years ago, in a quiet part of London stood Number 43 Hanwell Street. It was a tall narrow building, part of a long terrace of smart red brick houses with whitewashed steps up to the door and pink geraniums bursting out of their window boxes. The pavement ou