As tomorrow is Halloween, I have published a short ghost story for inclusion in my anthology Seeds. I have been collecting material for a medieval fantasy novel for more years than I care to remember which included a guidebook as reference material for Warwick Castle. The Castle has a wonderful history and is an inspiring place for ideas – it’s also riddled with intrigue, treachery and ghosts. I have tried to start my fantasy novel many times. It’s a story of epic proportions that needs to be written in a style that allows the reader to believe in the ‘fictional dream’.

The Lady and the Poet short story gave me the chance to write a test piece to explore the language, its rhythm and the terminology, important in immersing the reader in the period. There are risks in this approach – boring the pants off the reader… for one. I will soon find out whether you made it to the end!