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The Ghost of Ivy Barn Launch – Watch it on Youtube…

I’m still buzzing from an amazing launch event at Waterstones in Canterbury last night. It was wonderful to see so many people turn up in person and online, and it was great to finally launch one of the Woodville books in person (the first came out during lockdown, and I had Covid for the second). It was all such a blur. Catching up with old friends — including one of the teachers who inspired me to write — and making lots of new ones. My thanks to all of you for coming and I hope to see you all again soon.

We live-streamed the event thanks to some technical wizardry from filmmaker Douglas Ray. We had some mischief switching between live and pre-recorded feeds with our ghost towards the end. You can watch it here…

My thanks to all at Waterstones, Canterbury for making us feel so welcome, to Douglas, Kai, Emily, George, Claire, Emily Bracknell and our wizards and witches.

My teacher, Miss Molony!
Andy Bowden who designs my short story covers and animations.
Old pal Phill Bingham who worked on my first plays.
Magic with Wizards and Witches!
A ghost!
Boo!
“Screams!”

Book Review: The Ghost in Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

kakenzieblog's avatarThe Enchanted Emporium Bookshelf

The staff at the Enchanted Emporium were thrilled to discover an advanced copy of the third book in the Witches of Woodville series on the bookshelf, thanks to Random Things Tours. Arguments ensued about who would be the first to read The Ghost in the Ivy Barn but Willow won. There are advantages to being the boss.

Scroll down to see if this book matched the joy of the previous books, The Crow Folk and Babes in the Wood.

Book Review: The Ghost in Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

Book cover for The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay. Predominately blue cover of a rural village landscape with a bright light coming from a barn.
The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

Title: The Ghost of Ivy Barn

Author: Mark Stay

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA, fantasy, witchlit

Release Date: 7th July 2022

Blurb

August, 1940.

As the Battle of Britain rages overhead, a warlock leader from the Council of High Witches comes to Woodville with a ritual to repel the imminent…

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#TheGhostofIvyBarn by @markstay

pamelascott30's avatarThe Book Lover's Boudoir

August 1940

As the Battle of Britain rages overhead, a warlock leader from the Council of High Witches comes to Woodville with a ritual to repel the imminent Nazi invasion. The only catch is it involves full-frontal nudity on the White Cliffs of Dover. The Witches of Woodville are having none of it, but when more witches arrive they realise they might have a spy in their midst, and it’s up to Faye Bright to uncover the traitor. But she’s got enough on her plate already with the ghost of a Polish Hurricane pilot who may hold the key to the truth.

***

The Battle of Britain continues to rage, with Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain, Operation Sea Lion, reliant on the destruction of RAF Fighter Command.

AUGUST 1940

***

(@simonschusterUK, 7 July 2022, ebook, 429 pages, #ARC from the publisher via #NetGalley)

***

GET A COPY

***

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Crikey, just two months till THE GHOST OF IVY BARN is published…

I know, I’m just as stunned as you are. The third of the Witches of Woodville books arrives on 7th July 2022, and we’re having a special launch party at Waterstones, Canterbury and you’re all invited. There will be cake, real witches and wizards, free wine and did I mention the cake? Tickets are a fiver, but that comes off the RRP of any books you buy on the night, so that’s a pretty good deal. You can grab tickets here.

The proof cover arrived this week and… Well, I know I’m biased, but it’s a thing of beauty. Harry Goldhawk‘s artwork is as spectacular as ever, and there are some lovely quotes and possibly the first blurb to ever use the phrase, “The ritual must be executed in the nuddy.”

The book will be available as a paperback, eBook and audiobook read by Candida Gubbins. You can pre-order them all right now, and there are some handy links here if you need them.

I’m also running a reader survey. I’d like to know more about my lovely readers, including what they like/dislike about the books, the other stuff they read, and what sort of Woodville merch/swag they might like. If you’ve read the books, do please complete the survey. It’s all GDPR-compliant, so your personal data will be safe, and you can be entered into a draw to win one of five 100g bars Ghost of Ivy Barn-branded milk chocolate (see below).

You can complete the survey here. To ensure that you’re entered into the draw, the survey needs to be completed by 1700 BST on 15th May 2022.

The terms and conditions for the giveaway are here.

And my privacy policy which ensures the safety of your data is here.

Prompety Prompt and my 200-word Story…

I was delighted to be asked to be a guest on the wonderful Prompety Prompt podcast… then I realised I had to write a 200-word story based on the prompt “The Tear in her Dress”, and then write live against the clock! It was the single most terrifying writing experience of my career… and a ton of fun. Dave (Stephen) and Letty are brilliant hosts, and I was able to share my terror with fellow writer and splendid fellow Ian W Sainsbury. You can listen to the whole podcast here and on all the usual pod-dispensers. And here’s my 200-word story, which came to me at four in the morning on the day of the recording, and was inspired by a dinosaur dress that my daughter wears…

Here’s the story text…

Luna wasn’t going to the school prom. Mum and Dad wouldn’t allow it. They’d gone all funny after she got her first period this week. She thought they’d be happy — she was the last in her year to get it — but it triggered whispered conversations behind closed doors.

Luna bought a dress for the prom. It had a dinosaur pattern and practical pockets. She loved it and she was going. She clambered out of her bedroom window while Mum and Dad argued downstairs.

Prom was a disaster. They laughed at her dress with the dinosaurs and the pockets. They laughed at her glasses and braces. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Stephanie Leigh was the first to notice the tear in Luna’s dress. It happened as the clouds parted, revealing a full moon through the school hall windows. They stopped laughing after that. They screamed instead. Screamed as Luna grew a snout. Screamed as her braces pinged off her fangs. Screamed as she bit down on Stephanie Leigh’s throat. Screamed as she feasted on their intestines.

Mum and Dad arrived soon after. Both lycanthropes. They consoled their pup, then went hunting rabbits and worrying sheep.

Luna had a ball.

How was 2021 for you…Mark Stay

The Rock 'N' Roll Oatcake's avatarThe Rock 'N' Roll Oatcake

Author, scriptwriter, podcaster & more…Mark Stay gives us the lowdown on his year and plans for 2022, plus some music, film & book recommendations…

The highs & lows of 2021…
The highs… Going back to the movies has been great (even if we’re often the only people in the cinema wearing masks). We kicked it off by seeing the Lord of the Rings trilogy on the big screen, which our kids had never experienced before. Just magical.
Also managed to write more this year than any other. A couple of books, a few short stories, and a bunch of screenplays, and there’s also a TV thing happening that I can’t talk about. It’s been a productive year. I prefer to keep my head down and write rather than wail on social media these days. That’s where the lows are.

Read any good books lately…
The audiobook of Rutger Bregman’s…

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EVERYDAY KINDNESS is out now!

The Everyday Kindness anthology is out today. Collated by the amazing LJ Ross, this features over 50 stories to brighten your day.

I was delighted to be asked by Louise to contribute, and my story TWO CHICKENS FOR LAURA LONG ARMS is a Witches of Woodville tale where Faye Bright discovers that a little kindness can go a very long way. The story was edited by Julian Barr before I submitted it to the anthology and as always it was vasty improved by his input.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Shelter, so Grab your copy here.

Signed Book and Chocolate Giveaway

I’m running a signed book and chocolate giveaway over on Twitter here…

Full Terms and conditions can be found here.

How To Get Published – Saturday October 30th – 10-11am

Venue: Rock Paper Scissors, Stour Street, Canterbury

Publish or Self Publish? That is the question that three Canterbury local authors will discuss, and at the same time offer insights for anyone thinking of taking the plunge or simply curious about the business of getting your book out there. 

Mark Stay, Raoul Morris, and GC Fisher, will spend a happy hour analysing the pros and cons of each path to getting your book to your readers.

Get your tickets here.

Come and see me in Conversation with BEN AARONOVITCH…

I’ll be in conversation with the amazing Ben Aaronovitch at Waterstones, Canterbury on Friday 29th October at 6:30pm. A splendid time is guaranteed for all, though space is limited so grab your tickets here now.

One of the many times Ben has “encouraged” me to write…