This month I’m delighted to let you know I feature in the Brighton & Hove Independent talking about my debut novel ‘The Black Lion’. The same interview also features in the Sussex Express, Eastbourne Herald and West Sussex Gazette, just to name a few. It’s so important for local Sussex writers to be featured in the press with the hope people will buy and enjoy reading their books so I’m very grateful. In particular, I would like to thank journalist Phil Hewitt for putting the interview into their papers, just in time for Halloween!

“The book will appeal to many people who live locally and love local history. It will also appeal to people who like supernatural books, everything which has to do with ghosts, and the LGBTQ community as I’m an openly gay author and there are strong links in the book.”

“The significance of the book to me is that Deryk moves to a new place and, building a new life for himself. I think he was heroic, and people still consider him to be some kind of hero.”

The temperature’s dropping, the nights are growing longer, and carved pumpkins are at the doorsteps wherever you look. With a spooky full blue moon approaching on 31st October, the Black Lion is the perfect book to read at Halloween. Nearly five hundred years ago, Deryk Carver, owner of the Black Lion pub in Brighton was arrested on All Hallow’s Eve. When successful solicitor Matt spots a medieval cottage up for sale, he gives up his career to rent it out as a holiday-let. Set in the heart of the old town of Brighton, the step proves to be fruitful as the bookings come rolling in. But the cottage has a dark secret: its guests are haunted by ghosts from the past. When one guest hands Matt a medieval hat found in the ‘Underworld’, it occurs to him that past and present are intertwined. Every sign seems to lead to Deryk Carver, the owner of the Black Lion pub who met a terrifying end in the sixteenth century. Desperate to find the truth, Matt embarks on a journey on ‘All Hallow’s Eve’.

The audio book is in the making and I hope to release it before the end of October.

Happy Hallowe’en! 🎃

Amazon reviews

Great story, well researched. A fascinating page turner! “I really loved the book. The story is excellent but far more than a thriller or a ghost tale. There is history and anything you need to refuse to put it down until you reach the end.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A fascinating read! “Richard certainly did a lot of research in to the writing of this fascinating and enjoyable book. I loved the mix between ancient and modern times. A very good read.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A fascination book! “Richard has cleverly combined the past and present into an intriguing mix of ghosts, love and religious persecution. ‘The Black Lion’ is set against a well-researched background of Sussex folk lore and is filled with excellent descriptive passages of places my local area.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

An exciting book. A real page turner! “Wow!!! “A very well written book. A real page turner. I’m difficult to please, but this author really has a great talent! I was sorry when I turned the last page. Love, the past, ghosts of the past. The past and present intwined, As I’m certain they are. All the things I love to read about! Excellent ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Restless spirits of the past reach out to the living in present-day Brighton! “Anyone who loves Brighton and Hove will be drawn to this book, which uses the real-life story of Deryk Carver, one of seventeen Protestant martyrs burned at the stake at Lewes between 1555 and 1557, as the starting point for the exploration of a number of local ghost stories. When Brighton solicitor Matt decides to buy and rent out Black Lion Cottage, Deryk’s former home situated in the oldest part of the city, he little knows that he’s involving himself, all unwittingly, in a love story nearly five hundred years in the making – Deryk’s love for fellow Protestant martyr John Launder, executed at Steyning days after himself. Meanwhile, as the bookings come in, it seems that every guest staying at the Cottage has a lesson to learn, and a ghost to encounter, during their exploration of the city and surrounding areas. The injustices of times past, and the spirits of both perpetrators and victims, have not been laid to rest – and it falls to the living to listen to their stories, and bear witness to their final resolution.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The history and present of Brighton intertwine in this beautiful historical romantic thriller. “What a wonderfully written book!
Even though I have visited Brighton several times, this book makes me want to go back there, preferably to the past of Brighton’s 16th century.
The author brings Brighton’s past to life in such a way that I could almost touch, taste, and smell it. The beautiful, exciting, mysterious, and romantic storylines, both from the past and present, slowly become intertwined in a mysterious way. . Very clearly, extensive historical research has taken place prior to writing. I look forward to the next book !!” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️