Ripples of Blaine Iridescence of a Raven

  Character Spotlight: Ewan “I am Ewan . I’ve been a doctor a long time, and I’m a father of three. My granddaughter, Grace, is the apple of my eye. So, imagine the bile that rose in my throat when I saw the state of that girl. My daughter, Ava, asked me to check on Autumn. A fourteen-year-old should be fighting for her independence, back-chatting, and growing into herself. Instead, she’s just lying there, wrapped in a bathrobe, shivering after a cold shower she forced herself to endure. She’s been conditioned . I shudder to think what she’s been through. I’ve already decided to call in a specialist—a psychiatrist friend of mine. I can treat the burns on her leg and the cut on her arm, but the mind? That's his field. Those marks on her skin... they aren't just injuries. They look like possessive, blood-binding spells. I nearly flipped out when I saw them; I’d have killed Daniel with my bare hands, but he was already dead, No wonder Alex is wild with fury. The girl is skin and b...

  Character Spotlight: Alex Character Spotlight: Alex (The Guardian) “I’m Alex . I work as a GP, but after rescuing my niece from that hellscape, the medical world felt a million miles away. I felt a pang of guilt for my regular patients, but I knew they’d be safe in Ewan’s hands. He’s my mentor, my friend, and my father-in-law—I respect him too much he wouldn't have ordered me to take time off if I didn't have to. I wasn't myself that night. I hadn't even begun to process Daniel’s death. All I could see was Autumn: neglected, underdeveloped, her hair matted and her spirit crushed. She’s fourteen, but she looks like the seven-year-old I said goodbye to years ago. She was dissociating, talking to 'people' who weren't there, mimicking their voices with a chilling accuracy. Was she channeling them? Was she possessed? I don't know. All I know is that she looked into my eyes and saw the same terror she had just escaped. When I found her in the ice-cold water ...

  Character Spotlight: Ava “My name is Ava . Bringing Autumn home was the best thing we ever did, though my heart breaks for how troubled she is. People ask why we never visited her before... the truth is, we never knew where she was. We watched Daniel—Alex’s half-brother—disappear with her while he was still drowning in grief for her mother. We honestly thought they were building a happy life. We sent gifts to Zachary, hoping he’d pass them on or tell us where they were hiding, but it was like shouting into a void. When I finally saw that poor girl sitting on a police station bench, I knew something was horribly wrong. She was wearing a white satin dress, smoke-stained and ruined. Her arm was bleeding; her leg was charred by fire. We had just walked past the smouldering ruins of a building... had she been rescued from that ? They told us Daniel was dead and said we needed to 'collect' her. Collect her! As if she were a piece of lost luggage left at a station. No wonder Alex w...

Character Spotlight: Autumn “Hi, my name is Autumn . I’m a character from the first series of Ripples of Blaine —the one you’re reading right now. You already know I’ve had a few tough years. You know I don’t really talk. I think when I channel Mum and Dad, I scare my Aunt and Uncle. How far have you gotten through the book? It’s better if you finish it before you read our blog, otherwise, you might not understand. You’ll learn that they are terrified I might be just like my mother. That’s because Mum... well,” Autumn pauses, a shadow crossing her face, “she’s not here anymore.” She shakes her head. “'Dead' sounds so final, doesn't it? But when she was alive, she could change into a jaguar! A massive, silent killer with midnight fur and piercing blue eyes.” She giggles, a small, hollow sound. “Can you imagine it? Me! Turning into that and hurting the people who are trying to protect me? I tried to show them in school, but they doped me. It was awful; my brain turned to ...

 This is my character Autumn Blaine, this is a brief prequel to Ripples of Blaine Iridescence of a Raven they we are working on. Capture this notion. "Sitting here in my favourite corner of Malcus Academy, the silence feels heavy. I’m waiting for them, and though I can’t put a name to the dread, I know something terrible is coming. I am utterly alone. I try to hold onto the memory of him—his promise that tonight would be different, that I’d finally have a good time. I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my face into my hands to recall the ghost of his smile. But he isn't here. Where is he? And what is waiting for me in the dark? Nothing good, I'm certain of that."

🌑 2026: New Year, New Ripples (and a Rail-Replacement Nightmare) Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. Can we just take a moment? It’s 2026 already—how on earth did that happen? I feel like I blinked and the calendar did a full-scale transformation on me! I hope your Christmas was full of light and perhaps a little bit of that "happy chaos." Mine was a bit of a whirlwind, culminating in a journey from "Dark Durham" back to the North West that I can only describe as a true test of authorial endurance. Between a dodgy leg and a change at Leeds that we won't speak about (writers' gold, perhaps, but a logistical nightmare at the time!), I finally made it home. I almost said I reached my "final destination," but let’s not tempt fate just yet! 📖 The Book is Out! For those who haven't seen yet, the paperback of Iridescence of the Raven is officially live! You can grab your copy via the link in the sidebar. To those of you in the US (especial...