Breaking My Own Mould as a Fiction Author, Writing Out of the Shadows, and Gwain's Giving Personality.

Out of the Shadows is a story I was not expecting to write. The idea just came to me and – as is my way – I jumped on it impulsively and went with it. But Katherine Green is not an easy character to get to grips with, and what she goes through is so intimate, intricate, and terrible that it was important I wrote it well so that it would not come across as gratuitous, but would come across as in-depth. I definitely think I've succeeded.

If you've been following me a while, you'll know I've in the past been known for writing sex scenes in an explicit, raw way, especially associated with romance scenes (although just as much when writing dark, horrific scenes that are certainly not romantic). I really do love writing those scenes, but stories need to be written in a way to suit the characters and feel of the overall book, and the fear I've had is that I would find it hard to break out of that reader expectation when I wanted to write something that couldn't include those scenes at the risk of ruining the needs of the story itself.

This book has eradicated that fear. I can do it, and I did it. And I think I did it well. If you're new to my work, you may find Out of the Shadows to be explicit in places. Long-time readers will know it’s nowhere near as open-door as the kind of scenes I have written before, but I promise you, every scene is just as emotionally raw. "Rawness" will always be in my books – that's just how I write.

Katherine's story is one where her psychological and emotional state needed to shine. She is a character that needs emotional intimacy far, far more than she needs any other kind of intimacy. It was important the story showed that.

I'm incredibly happy with how this story turned out. Writing it was not exactly a pleasure – I very much struggled with an important and big scene two-thirds of the way into the book and had to take a month away from it – but now that it's about to be published, I feel pleasure. There is the usual high in feeling like you've written something worthy.

Readers can also pick up two mini-companions (image above) that act as character guides and connect events of Out of the Shadows with events of The Witching Pen Series. These will be free to download from this link from 27th August 2026. Please read these after you've read Out of the Shadows, as there are spoilers galore.

One guide I have not written is the one for Gwain. His character is so vast and pretty well defined throughout all books. But in Out of the Shadows, I think we really get that sense (always insinuated; never stated) of how much he loves humanity and the earth plane, how empathetic he is with the human struggle, and how he is just the most giving person when human beings need help. He forgives easily because he understands pain. One day, I want to write The Gwain Chronicles (working title). I've had this idea since 2013. I just need time – lots and lots of time.

Read more about and pre-order Out of the Shadows.