Netherweird began life somewhere around 2004, when I first scribbled down an idea for a paranormal story set in what was then a fictional town called Millhaven (named after a Nick Cave song).
The only issue with this fun new project of mine was that it was terrible.
I wrote, deleted, and re-wrote this puke-tastic word-salad over many years, until it was finally legible enough to put in front of my kind-hearted (and long-suffering) friends. To my surprise, every last one of them immediately recognised Millhaven as actually being Liverpool. I’d been so worried about potentially effing up my most beloved city that I’d hidden it behind a pseudonym – not very successfully, as it turned out.
So, I decided to lean into it. I fixed the stupid story, fixed the stupid characters and jumped full throttle into my favourite place on earth. The rest, as they say, is history.
RED & DEAD – book one
“I gobbled this book down in one go. Warm, funny, spooky and totally alive (which, considering the subject matter, is quite a feat). I loved it.” Tracy Whitwell, author of The Accidental Medium.
Lili O’Reilly and her beloved cat, Grimm, live happily together on a quiet Liverpool back street above the coffee shop Lili runs with her best friend, Izzy.
But everything changes the day Lili wakes up with a sore head and no pulse. When she accidentally murders someone—not a very nice someone, but a someone all the same—Lili has to consider that maybe she’s no longer entirely human. And as the inhabitants of the city’s underworld start taking an interest, Lili is forced to fight for her (after)life.
Discover a magical world hidden in plain sight—a world where immortals jostle for power, and history tangles with mythology. A world in which the spirit of a city is the highest power of all.
THE HIGH GATE – book two
“I’m being stalked by a vengeful half-witch, my love life’s deader than I am, and now there’s a runaway vampire in my spare room. Eternity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Lilith O’Reilly just wants to be left alone to run her coffee shop on a quiet Liverpool back street. But you don’t choose the undead life—the undead life chooses you.
There’s something strange going on in the local cemetery, and it’s not just the sharply dressed ghost who likes to practise his stage moves amongst the gravestones. The local pharmacist is suspiciously interested in Lili’s vital signs and her cat is developing unnervingly human abilities.
And now there’s a voice in her head—a voice that definitely isn’t her own…
LARK RISING – book three
“My cat’s learned how to use the remote control, vampires keep ambushing me and I just kicked one of the most famous kings in history in his soft and squidgy bits. So much for resting in peace.”
Lilith O’Reilly might be dead, but that hasn’t stopped life throwing problems at her. An entire city is living rent-free in her head, and her favourite mermaid is hoarding things she probably shouldn’t in the dark depths of the Mersey.
And then there’s Liam. He might be the first man in a long time to stir Lil’s undead veins, but is Mr Tall, Dark and Gruesome really all he seems?
Lilith’s got some serious decisions to make if she’s going to survive the afterlife without losing what’s left of her undead mind. Unseen forces want her gone for good—and it’s a race to see who gets to her first.
CITY OF GHOSTS – book four
“The city keeps dropping people into the past, big cats are prowling Toxteth, and riding the Albert Dock carousel is now considered a dangerous sport. If things don’t calm down soon, I’m going to start banging undead heads together.”
Lilith O’Reilly would find eternity far more peaceful if people would just, well, leave her in peace. Instead, she’s been declared (reluctant) queen of all she surveys, the spirit of the city is going through an existential crisis, and Time itself has gone rogue and decided the laws of physics are for losers. Oh, and her cat’s getting weirder by the day (which is saying something).
Can Lilith figure out how to put things right without making other things go wrong? Do immortal kings ever make good boyfriend material? Is it possible to survive a bombing raid when you haven’t even been born yet? And does anyone really understand quantum?
THE DREAM THIEF – book five
“There’s a corpse on my doorstep, a were-cat on my sofa and I’m being stalked by the assassins division of the local Women’s Institute. I’m going to need a lot more coffee.”
Lilith O’Reilly might be queen of the netherworld, but she’s determined to live a normal (after)life. All she has to do is figure out which of her admirers wants to kill her, whether it’s possible to date a mortal without injuring them, and what’s really going on in Chester.
Being human is difficult when you’re a danger to everyone—including yourself.
Book five in the bestselling Netherweird Chronicles series, THE DREAM THIEF is a fast and funny urban fantasy about loyalty, friendship and the desire to cling on to humanity—against all the odds.
DARK WATERS – book six
“My cat’s learned to talk, my best friend’s acting even weirder than usual and there are corpse stains on the carpet. Again. And the next person to curtsey at me gets fed to the mermaids.”
All Lilith O’Reilly wants is a quiet life with her cat in her flat above the cafe she runs with her best friend Izzy.
But it’s not that easy when you’re the reluctant heir to an undead realm. Rivals want her out of the picture, her would-be suitors are being even more devious than usual, and the Mersey’s getting itchy. Oh, and the locals keep trying to worship her. Which is embarrassing.
Lil would very much like to pretend none of this is even happening. But the Holy Grail has gone missing in Liverpool, and it’s down to her to find it before all hell lets loose—literally.
Book six in the bestselling Netherweird Chronicles series, DARK WATERS is a fast and funny urban fantasy about learning to live life your own way—even when you’re dead.
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