As Halloween settles over the Lake District, old stories stir back to life. The Custodian’s Cottage was one of my earliest tales, a ghost story born from the mist and ruins of Furness Abbey, where memory endures and the past never truly rests.

This morning is shaping up to be an exciting one. I will be appearing on BBC Radio Cumbria just after 10:30, where I will be talking about the release of my debut novel, The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier. For those of you who are new to my blog, the book is a dark historical fantasy set in a reimagined Lake District, blending mystery, desire and the haunting presence of something stirring beneath the surface.

It is finally here! The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier is released today. After years of work, the story is ready for you to step into Mereland.

It is finally here! The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier is released today. After years of work, the story is ready for you to step into Mereland.

The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier has been featured in both the North West Evening Mail and The Westmorland Gazette. With the book going live tonight, the timing couldn’t be better. Read the full story here.

The next book trailer for The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier explores the story’s emotional heart; love, desire, and the dark consequences of devotion. Following earlier trailers on separation and beauty, this one reveals the romance at the centre of the novel.

Pulled from Death is the first poem ever written for The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier. It captures the tone of the series with mystery, desire, and the pull between duty and fate. The verse offers a glimpse beneath the surface of the story. Inspired by the haunting legend of the Claife Crier and the wild beauty of England’s Lake District, it hints at what is still to come.

The next Mereland Chronicles book trailer is out now. Inspired by the haunting legend of the Claife Crier, it blends the natural beauty of the Lake District with the darker world of The Crier.

The Claife Crier is one of the Lake District’s most haunting legends. A ghostly cry said to echo across Windermere from Claife Heights. In this post, I explore the 19th-century origins of the tale, from the 1852 Kendal Mercury account to Harriet Martineau’s Guide to the English Lakes, and how this eerie folklore inspired my novel The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier. Perfect reading for Halloween and for anyone who enjoys stories of betrayal, mystery, and the darker side of Lake District history.

The proofs are done and it’s full steam ahead for The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier. Pre-orders are live, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who’s already ordered. If you haven’t yet, now’s the perfect time to join in. This journey’s just getting started! 👀

The restless spirit of a monk still haunts the legends of Windermere. Ghosts, folklore and Halloween tales linger in the Lake District, and my novel The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier explores the haunting origins behind the Claife Crier.

What do abbeys, algorithms and novels have in common? More than you might think. From coding Z80 assembly on a ZX Spectrum to writing The Mereland Chronicles, I’ve learned that patience, structure and resilience are what keep both code and stories alive.

The first proof copy of The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier has arrived. After years of late nights and spare hours outside work, the official pre-order announcement is coming very soon! Thank you all for the incredible support.

Some writers spend their weekends outlining chapters. I spent mine being flung off a mountain bike in Grizedale Forest, gathering footage for the first book trailers of The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier. Bruises aside, the results were worth it, and soon you’ll get to see how those moss-thick forests shaped the trailers and the story itself. 📖 The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier, Available on Amazon October 16, 2025, with pre-orders opening a few weeks earlier.

Why I didn’t even try traditional publishing. For me, self-publishing was about control, sustainability, and sharing The Mereland Chronicles on my terms.

Step into Mereland with the official map of The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier, inspired by the Furness Peninsula in Cumbria. Blending real Lake District geography with older place names like Ulverstone, Daltune, and Baarrai, the map highlights a world where history and fantasy meet.

The Mereland Chronicles – The Crier is set for a Summer 2025 release, as the author prioritizes quality over haste. Amid life’s demands, significant improvements based on feedback are being made. The delay reflects deep care for the story and its readers, promising an exciting adventure worth the wait.

By PJ Scribbans One of the quiet decisions every novelist faces might seem trivial from the outside, but it can shape the entire reading experience: Should you use chapter titles… or not? When I began writing The Mereland Chronicles: The Crier, this question lingered in the background as I crafted the plot. Some authors prefer a clean, minimalist approach — simply numbering their chapters. Others (like me) see chapter titles as an opportunity: a subtle form of storytelling that happens before the reader even begins a scene. In the end, I chose to use both chapter numbers and titles.