I’m absolutely thrilled to bits to be able to share both the title and the cover for the first book in my brand new LOWTOWN series with Piatkus Books, due out later this year.

Meet Nate and Ember… and welcome to HAVEN:

I do hope you like it! I think Piatkus have done an exceptional job. They’ve captured the essence of the story and characters beautifully in this cover.

I’ll have more information to share about it in the forthcoming weeks, including the blurb to give you a sense of what the story is about. I’ll also have details about pre-orders.

Until then…

Ever since I announced earlier in the year that I was writing a spin-off series, I’ve received a lot of questions about it. So, I thought it would be useful if I posted a list of FAQs based on the questions I’ve been asked the most. As always, feel free to get in touch if there’s something you’re desperate to know that I haven’t covered.

THE LOWDOWN ON LOWTOWN

IS LOWTOWN A SPIN-OFF TO THE BLACKTHORN SERIES?

It is!

Lowtown is the neighbouring district to Blackthorn so will already be familiar to Blackthorn readers. However, up until now, the goings-on there have been peripheral to the main focus of the Blackthorn story. Each Lowtown book will focus on the plight of those living there and the challenges they face. Basically, Lowtown will provide an even fuller view of the world Blackthorn readers have come to know.

If you want to know a little more about the set-up in Lowtown, don’t forget you can read about it here.

CAN YOU READ ONE SERIES WITHOUT THE OTHER?

Yes. There’s no co-dependency between Lowtown and Blackthorn. A reader will be getting a richer experience of the worldbuilding though by reading both.

WILL THE LOWTOWN SERIES HAVE AN OVERARCHING PLOT AS THE BLACKTHORN SERIES DOES?

No. All the books will be standalones. There’s no continuing storyline and no cliffhangers. Readers will be able to dip in and out of Lowtown books in any order. The only aspect that binds the books together is that they centre in the same district.

IS IT A SERIES FOR ADULTS? 

Most definitely. As with Blackthorn, it contains themes and scenes suitable for a mature audience only.

WHEN IS THE LOWTOWN SERIES SET IN RELATION TO BLACKTHORN? SAME AS NOW? OR IS IT A PREQUEL, SUCH AS WHEN THE SEGREGATION WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED? OR MAYBE A SEQUEL?

All Lowtown books will be set either prior to or during the events that occur in the Blackthorn series. I can’t stress enough that Lowtown won’t be expanding on the Blackthorn story or its characters – it’s an independent series in its own right.

Despite knowing how many of my readers would love a sequel (who doesn’t want to see Tuly all grown up and fighting challenges of her own?), now is not the right time for me to dive straight into one. I would never rule it out but if I ever did one, it would be much further down the line. For now, the Blackthorn story needs to end where it ends.

HOW MANY LOWTOWN BOOKS WILL THERE BE?

I have signed two initially. Because they’re standalones, Lowtown books have huge flexibility in terms of the number (and premise) of its stories. I certainly have ideas for several more and am also open to hearing about aspects of the world that my readers are desperate to know more about (the angel mythology of Blackthorn seems particularly popular in queries). To be completely honest though, further books will come down to how my readers respond.

WILL THERE BE THIRD AND FOURTH SPECIES IN THE SERIES OR WILL IT HAVE HUMAN CHARACTERS PRIMARILY?

Although Lowtown is a district predominantly occupied by humans (as opposed to Blackthorn being a third species locale), third species do co-exist with humans there so they’re guaranteed to play a significant role. I definitely want to retain the paranormal element in Lowtown.

As for the fourth species, they’re more relevant to the Blackthorn story, but I won’t rule out that there’s always scope for them to appear! You know what they’re like. 😉

IF IT’S A SPIN-OFF FROM BLACKTHORN, WHY IS IT BEING CALLED URBAN FANTASY AND NOT PARANORMAL ROMANCE? IS THERE NO ROMANCE IN LOWTOWN BOOKS?

For many readers, there’s a fine line between the two genres anyway. Due to the various cross-genre elements to the books, Blackthorn has been referred to as urban fantasy, dystopian fantasy, Gothic romance, paranormal romance, paranormal suspense as well as a paranormal thriller. Ultimately though, the developing romantic relationships always take centre stage in the Blackthorn series which is why it sits firmly within PNR.

Lowtown books will all have romance in them but the parallel plot carries equal (or greater) weight in the books – hence why it’s being referred to as urban fantasy. Expect all the familiar Blackthorn trademarks though such as the dark and atmospheric backdrop, gritty issues, twists and turns, and intricate plots.

WILL SECONDARY CHARACTERS (such as Alexander) BE FEATURED AS MAIN CHARACTERS IN LOWTOWN?

The aim of Lowtown is to be a spin-off from the worldbuilding and not a spin-off from already familiar characters, but you will come across familiar names if you’ve read Blackthorn. A lot of people seem to want an Alexander story though! I love that kind of feedback so I won’t say never.

WILL WE SEE SOME GLIMPSES OF THE BLACKTHORN GUYS?

I know this is what a lot of my readers are hoping for. All I’ll say is the locale is a small world so, when you have key players like the main characters in Blackthorn, it’s hard not to give them a mention – and there’s always the potential for paths to cross.

AND WHAT ABOUT BLACKTHORN? WHAT’S HAPPENING THERE?

Rest assured, everything is equally underway with our Blackthorn finale in the background too. I promise it’s not being neglected. I hope to have some updates for you over the summer.

More news soon! Have a great weekend! <3