For a few years now, the Green Man has sent Daniel Mackmain to resolve clashes between ordinary people and the supernatural world. Dan has found allies among folk from myth and met other humans who can see the uncanny.

He has also made dangerous enemies. Someone has decided to put a stop to this interference once and for all. Dan and his friends are about to find themselves in the firing line.

Purchase links and ISBNs below. Published 15th November 2024.

ISBNs
Paperback: 978-1-913892-90-6
Hardcover: 978-1-913892-91-3
EPUB: 978-1-913892-88-3
MOBI: 978-1-913892-89-0

You can buy paper editions from:
The Wizard’s Tower Press bookstore – (UK only) includes free ebook
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon DE
Barnes & Noble – USA only
Waterstones – UK only
You can buy ebook editions from:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon AU
Amazon DE
Barnes & Noble (Nook) – USA only
Kobo

The annual challenge as I write these books is finding a fresh challenge for Dan, with unexpected twists and turns. Ever since my first novel was published, I’ve been determined not to repeat myself. It turns out elements that have been embedded in these stories are helpful. I decided from the start that Dan’s life would be grounded in everyday reality. That means a year or so between each story sees a year or so pass in Dan’s life. His relationships develop and his priorities change, making new demands on him and offering me new ways to threaten him.

These books are rooted in the vast and varied resource of British folklore. The more I read, the more I find to spur my imagination. I don’t necessarily find complete stories though. Most local legends are single incidents, tied a landscape feature or an old building. Many are very similar, even set hundreds of miles apart. As I read these variations, I see common threads to weave stories into the underlying mythology that’s evolving through this series. Where I find contradictions and exceptions, I can use those to remind the reader not to take anything for granted. Where mentions of a monster are little more than fragments, I can devise something that’s both familiar and wholly new.

As I gather assorted, apparently unrelated ideas from folklore, from places I visit, from conversations with like-minded friends. I also make note of news stories about modern rural life and concerns which will affect Dan and his friends. Then something will show me a way to tie these elements together. The story starts to take shape. Its internal momentum shows me where and when to bring another idea in. I can be well into writing the novel before I see the ending come into focus ahead. This is very different to the way I write epic fantasy novels, and the experience is as exciting as it has been unexpected.

So what was the catalyst for The Green Man’s War? When we were visiting Burford one day last winter, my husband saw a small bronze statue of three dancing hares in a jeweller’s shop window. Regular readers will understand why that caught his eye. We went in to buy it, only to discover the shop door should have been locked and the ‘Closed’ sign put up. A distracted member of staff had followed the usual routine on auto-pilot. The manager and staff were in the shop that morning to compile an insurance claim after being robbed the week before. A gang of men armed with hammers and knives had ambushed the keyholder outside, forced their way in, and stripped the shelves and display cases bare. The nice people in the shop were happy to sell us the little statue, once they had told us all about it.

That got me thinking. What would Dan do, faced with that situation? Why might something like that happen to him? I’d read a few myths that mentioned jewellery. Ideas started coming together…