Professor Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist , atheist and all-round spoilsport has declared that telling and reading traditional fairy tales to our children is harmful. Not only harmful, but pernicious! He said, ‘ I think it’s rather pernicious to inculcate into a child a view of the world which includes supernaturalism.’

I can only imagine the barrenness of a childhood without magic, without elves and shoemakers, without magic porridge pots and kitchen maids losing a shoe at the ball. I remember the sparkle in my own children’s eyes as they heard about a young boy felling a nasty giant at the top of the beanstalk. And the satisfaction at Hansel and Gretel sticking it to the wicked witch.

He seems concerned, bless him, that children may actually believe a prince could be turned into a frog despite the fact that it’s ‘statistically improbable’. No? Really? Give our kids some credit.

Surely these stories fire the imagination in a way that his suggestion that children should be ‘taught scientific rigour from an early age’ cannot?

He’s taken a great deal of stick since making the statement and has tried a U-turn on twitter. Well, half a U-turn. He said, ‘It IS pernicious to inculcate supernaturalism in a child. Do Fairy Tales do that? Probably no.’ Wow, I’m shocked at that revelation!

Fairy Tales did no harm to my children, who both grew up into sensible well-grounded adults. As for me – I have a firm grip on reality. My unicorn said so, this morning!

I had some great news. Amazon has selected the first three of the Mike Travis Paranormal Investigations series to feature in their Monthly Deals. Starting today all three are on offer for the princely sum of 99p each!

And for those who have been waiting patiently for the next one The Merlin Manuscript is with the proof reader and should be out in the next two weeks.

Paranormal Investigator Mike Travis’s day is about to get way past difficult. His friend, Jack Carter, has been kidnapped, and it all revolves around an old manuscript that was supposedly a copy of one made by Merlin himself before he was magically cast into a crystal cave by his lover and student, Nimue.
Who has Jack? And where is he? The trail leads Mike to the Inquisition, alive and well on the fringes of the Vatican, with their reaches in his own neighbourhood. They want the manuscript and what it refers to – Merlin and Excalibur. And they’ll do whatever they have to, to obtain their ends.
To save Jack, Mike has to journey back through the veil to Avalon accompanied by Benjamin Lovecraft, ex Catholic Priest and Exorcist, to claim Excalibur and find Merlin. The worlds of magic and legend collide to draw Mike into a quest that leads him to find more than a magician and a sword.
Meanwhile, something scary is happening to his infant daughter Adain. And Avalon seems to hold answers for her too.
Avalon lies mirrored through the veil behind Glastonbury, a mystical land of ancient worship and magic, lost in the mists of what was called long ago The Severn Sea, and Mike must find his way there to rescue Jack and help Adain.
Why not keep him company?

People ask me if Mike Travis is based on a real person. Well, I suppose he is in a way, or rather a composite of several people. Both my husband and I are ex-RAF, and so I do have a good insight into service life and the after-service life, which is handy when it comes to putting Mike in harm’s way and seeing how he deals with it all. There is possibly some of me in Beth, his wife, although I’m nowhere near as brave as she is. I don’t think I would have survived Crowsmoor!
It is interesting as an author to watch and listen to people, stopping short of blatant eavesdropping! Sometimes. And it is very difficult to resist putting someone you know directly into the story. But we all have very distinctive traits and characteristics which provide plenty of material for forthcoming characters. As they say, names and places have been changed to protect the innocent!
Mike had a whole lot of trouble recovering from serious injuries following his helicopter crash in Afghanistan, and to make it worse, something strange happened while he was clinically dead for several minutes. When he regained consciousness after extensive surgery, he discovered his problem. He could see spirits. And I don’t mean the kind that comes in a glass.
I can only imagine how such trauma would affect someone, and the terrifying possibility that you may be losing your mind. Thankfully, he gets his head around it and in true character decides to use the gift, rather than fear it. He’s big on duty and survival, which is an accurate assessment of most serving personnel.
As Mike’s investigations have progressed, and readers have come to know him and his family, I have introduced other issues that affect us in life. Some of the issues have been challenging to write, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a big problem for many of our servicemen and women returning from war zones.
I am currently writing the seventh book in the series, (number six, The Merlin Manuscript, is out very soon) and over that time I have come to know Mike and his family well. I know how he walks and talks, his likes and dislikes, his friends and family, and I was delighted to read a recent review from a reader who said that she was now invested in the welfare of him and his family. This kind of feedback makes an author very happy, because it means that the character is as real to the reader as he or she is to the author. I think I stop short of talking out loud to them, but can’t be too sure!
It’s true to say that Mike does often wake me up at night, especially when I’m coming towards the end of a book, and the only thing to do if I want to get any sleep, is to get up and just write. Many authors say that their characters take on a life of their own and that they insist on behaving in a way that is far from the intended plot. Mike is like that, but his friend Jack Carter is the more impulsive of the two and the more inclined to give me this kind of hassle!
So, if you’re out and about, minding your own business, and you see someone watching you carefully, and apparently listening to your conversations, it’s probably not MI5, more likely just an author that has seen a potential new character. Or they may just like your coat. It’s all in the detail.

LAUCHING NEW BLOG 3-2-1 ….!

Hi there,

Not only is this a new blog, but it’s from a new blogger. I’m very excited about being able to keep in touch with all the lovely people that have read and liked my books, and indeed, those who have maybe just popped by out of curiosity!

I hope all my loyal readers will forgive the delay in creating the blog; I am computer illiterate in extremis! Until very (and I mean very) recently, a tablet was something you got from the doctor, the net was something on the end of a bamboo cane to go fishing for tiddlers, twitter was a pleasant sound in the garden and … well, you get the picture. So here goes, fingers crossed, salt over my shoulder, and hope that as the weeks go by, this will become a half decent blog. So it’s with a big thanks to Dave Lyons here at Raven Crest Books for all the support in getting this up and running.

For those who don’t know me from Adam, or more accurately, Eve, I am an author of paranormal fiction, published here at Raven Crest. I have loved all things ‘spooky’ or paranormal from first being able to read big words. I was often called to account for reading Dennis Wheatley when I should have been reading Enid Blyton, apparently (and quite honestly, the latter scared me more!), so it was ‘no contest’ when it came to deciding what to write about. The Mike Travis Paranormal Investigations have a considerable and loyal readership, and I am looking forward to being able to share news and chat with all of you. If you enjoy paranormal fiction and haven’t met Mike Travis yet, why not try Beginnings, which is a collection of five short stories to introduce him. If you want a longer read, the first in the series is The Crowsmoor Curse.

The world of the paranormal is vast, so it offers rich pickings for the author, and I love nothing more than delving into the dark regions of this world, as well as its lighter side. Yes, it does have a lighter side, and some down right funny, but maybe I’ll save that for another time.

One thing is obvious; since the dawn of time, the paranormal or supernatural have played a huge part in our psyche, whether it comes out in Stone Age burial practices or local folklore, past and present. The massive interest in ghost hunting programmes on the box shows that the curiosity into this realm is alive and well. So I hope that you enjoy the Mike Travis Paranormal Investigations and the articles and posts that will be forthcoming in this blog.

Please take the time to subscribe to the blog, I’d love to hear from you and maybe get to know you. If you have had any paranormal experiences to share, that would be cool. Who knows, they may find their way into Mike Travis’s investigations? I’d love to hear from you.

Back soon.

So. .. blogging. What’s it all about? Well from what I can see, it’s writing down what’s on my mind. That’s a scary thought in itself. It scares the hell out of my poor husband for a start. The phrase ‘I’ve been thinking’ creates a condition in him whereby he sits on his wallet. In fairness, over the years, that simple phrase has usually cost him more than a few quid. So … I’ve been thinking.

I’ve been thinking all night, but this time, I’ve been thinking about evil. What defines it? Is it present from birth, or is it acquired? Nature or nurture? Do life events influence it or is it right there in a person’s DNA? And how fine a line is it between madness and evil? Some people do not have a psychological disorder to explain away their behaviour. Are some of the people, who society may call mentally ill, just plain evil? And further, does evil continue to exist after physical death?
I don’t have any answers, if I did, I’d be writing this from a yacht in the Bahamas. Neither do psychologists, ancient or modern, hence the yacht in the Bahamas being the prize for the right answer.
Why debate the whole thing with myself in the middle of the night anyway, you may ask. Seven years as a hospital chaplain in a forensic psychiatric unit would be part of the answer. And the fact that as a writer, evil often features large in my books, whether it be physical or spiritual evil. So I guess it’s fair to wonder about its nature.
It’s a debate that will continue to rage among mental health care professionals for a long time to come because human beings are all unique. We are born unique, and our life experiences are unique, so how can there be a blueprint for evil? How the question is approached is why one becomes a psychiatrist and another, a priest. It’s the same question however it’s approached and it really doesn’t have an answer. But it’s a question that provides inspiration for writers the world over, provoking thought, fear and sleepless nights.

So … blogging …

Huge thanks to Aneesh and his team for producing this trailer. They are:

• Jeff Pruce as Mike Travis
• Rok Gjoni as Charlie Paynter

Special thanks to:

• Michael Hoang
• Kaberi Chatterjee
• Aniruddha Chatterjee

Directed by: Aneesh Chatterjee

Discover for yourself the latest mystery from Bodmin Moor.

Buy the Crowsmoor Curse on Amazon NOW!!

I am pleased to announce that I have added my new website crowsmoorcurse.com.

If you haven’t read The Crowsmoor Curse yet, then what are you waiting for? Head right over to crowsmoorcurse.com and catch the latest action.

My follow up novel to The Crowsmoor Curse will be ready for publication later this year. Entitled Long Shadows, it continues the adventures of paranormal investigator Mike Travis. Expect more spooky happenings as Mike battles against evils of the past – you’ll be looking over your shoulder for weeks to come!

So what are you waiting for? Get over to crowsmoorcurse.com now!

Hi and welcome to my web page.

Amazon’s Kindle and other e book readers have opened up a whole new world, not only to readers but authors also by offering opportunities previously prevented by literary agents who only want to deal with known authors or celebrities, knowing that their sales are guaranteed regardless of quality.

Midnight Wine and later, The Crowsmoor Curse, received excellent reviews from unbiased sources but couldn’t get past the agents as an unknown and therefore the publishing houses too. Thanks to this opportunity from Dave at Raven Crest, Midnight Wine and The Crowsmoor Curse are ‘out there’.

Incidentally, so are the vampires!

The front door stood open despite the hammering rain. Lane entered quietly, listening and sensing for sounds of occupancy. By rights she should be able to detect two heartbeats but only one came back to her. There was grief and tragedy in the air, and something else. Someone lost and in despair.

 She had followed the girl from the nightclub after seeing her leave with the masked one. She was afraid for her and her fears had fulfilled their potential as she found her lying dead and cradled in a man’s arms. He was kneeling on the hall floor, her head on his thighs, blood was everywhere and he was crying. And praying. Though she knew the girl was beyond the help of even the divine, she had to stay and watch. She had to be sure there would be no rising. And if there was, she would have to deal with it.

 The man looked up at her, not comprehending. He was covered in the girl’s blood and her heart went out to him. If what she believed was about to happen actually did, then this was only the beginning. Lane locked into his thoughts and read him. The girl was his sister, Grace. And he … he was a priest, Father Beckett. She frowned. It would complicate things. He would be harder to convince about the reality of what had happened to Grace. In her experience priests were resistant to the concept of vampires.

 “I’m here to help you, Father.”

“Are you the police?”

“Something like that.”

 She was in fact a member of the Vampire High Council and it was her job to police the behaviour of the vampires in her area. The majority of who were content with the Sanctuary, a place where they could feed from donors without harming any other human. Those that flouted the High Council’s edicts regarding the taking of life were outlawed and it was Lane that hunted them down and killed them, a ‘Catcher and Despatcher’.

 She lay a gentle hand on the priest’s arm, reaching into his mind, calming and soothing him, preparing his mind for the knowledge that was to come. That his sister had been attacked by a vampire and left to die. That she too, was likely to rise from death, reanimated by what now coursed through her, the essence of the vampire. And that if she rose, Lane would have no choice but to take care of her.

 For hours she talked to him although he remembered nothing of it later. All

he would remember was what took place after the first infinitesimal movement of the sheet with which Lane had covered Grace up to her shoulders.

At first he wasn’t sure if he had seen it at all, he was tired and his eyes stung. He held his breath, trying to hold time in a frame that would remain unchanged, becoming unaware of anything outside the arena of Grace’s bed.   

The atmosphere changed subtly. The temperature dropped and the air seemed rarefied, his chest was tight and his lungs struggled for essential oxygen, making him feel dizzy and disorientated.

He felt Lane tense, on the alert after hours of waiting. Whatever it was that she waited for was about to happen.

There was a heavy silence and then Grace’s lips parted and her left arm began to move under the sheet. In what was a fraction of a second but in what seemed like an eternity to Beckett, Grace brought her arm from beneath the sheet and turned her face to look at Beckett.

And he knew.