Castle Silverhill
The Persistence of Poison cover thumbnail

Category: Books

  • Grimmon’s New Book Covers

    Grimmon’s New Book Covers

    There’s a bone-aching chill in the air as I stare at the landscape over the battlements of Castle Silverhill. It isn’t a pleasant sight, what with a blood moon coating the surrounding dunes in crimson and burnishing the still surface of the moat gently eroding the castle’s foundations.

    I don’t like the look of the desert, and I haven’t been outside during the day since the castle materialised here. The heat makes the stones groan worse than usual.

    The section of moat I can see when I lean over the wall looks like it might clot at any moment. Even the swirling wavelets caused by a tentacle breaking the surface roll away like they’re thicker than water.

    Only a handful of stars glitter in the velvet sky. I turn away and brush my fingers over the mortar, loosening a fist-sized chunk which falls on my foot.

    I hadn’t meant to do that. I know the ancient masonry is slowly crumbling, but that doesn’t make the pain in my injured toe any less acute.

    I yelp, and with a low rumble, a chimney stack in the distant east wing topples onto a rooftop.

    It wasn’t always like this.

    When my great-great-great-great-grandfather built the place, the castle used to stay in one spot, as large, fortified buildings tend to do.

    According to legend, a century after the castle was built, the lord of the castle at the time, Geoffrey, stole a book of spells from a wizard named Wenzel who had stayed overnight while on his way to Tintagel.

    Geoffrey wasn’t known for his caution, and despite his less-than-firm grasp of thaumaturgic principles, couldn’t wait to try out one of the many spells between the book’s covers. While leafing through his ill-gotten prize to choose a spell he liked the look of, a word or two from each page caught his eye. Not being the most literate of readers, he mumbled them out loud.

    Forty pages in, he’d said enough to inadvertently cast a spell.

    One that had never been cast before because it hadn’t existed until Geoffrey accidentally created it.

    And what a spell it turned out to be.

    It cursed the entire castle to an endless existence of world hopping. Every fortnight, more or less, the castle – and everyone in it – moves to another world.

    As you can imagine, the nomadic nature of Castle Silverhill has its drawbacks. For example, it makes catching a bus home rather awkward. Well, that’s if we’re in a world where there are buses.

    And don’t get me started on postal services… To my boundless annoyance, the only letters that get pushed through my letterbox are tax demands, invoices, and bills. Some clearly have been in the postal system for hundreds of years, written as they are by hand on folded parchment sealed by large blobs of red wax imprinted with coats of arms.

    But, I suppose, the biggest issue is that not all worlds are friendly. Some are downright hostile. You never know what the next world is going to be like, so it’s not like you can prepare.

    Apart from being too hot, the desert world we’re in at the moment hasn’t come up with any nasty surprises.

    Yet.

    We’ve only been here two days, after all.

    I sigh and trudge down the spiral stairs to my studio.

    Grimmon’s there, waiting for me. His pointy ears quiver when I walk in and make my way to my desk, pretending I haven’t seen him. Goblins hate to be ignored, Grimmon more than most.

    “I’ve finished changing the book covers,” he says. I suppress a smile at the testy note in his voice.

    “What?” I say, raising my eyebrows as though seeing him for the first time.

    His cheeks flush a dark shade of green. He slaps a leather folder on my desk and stalks out of the room, scuffing his boots on the rug as he goes. He knows that gets under my skin.

    I wait until he’s left before I eagerly grab the folder and view his handiwork.

    And here they are. New covers for the books so far in my Hollow series:

    Grimmon's Hollow Series Covers
  • The Hounds of Magic

    The Hounds of Magic

    Daphne Mayne and the Hounds of Magic cover

    Just when Daphne thought she could forget about magic, that it had nothing more to do with her, an elf crashes into her life and turns her world upside down.

    The elf – a girl Daphne’s age – needs the power of the Wightstone to save her people.

    Reluctantly, Daphne agrees to help, but their journey quickly becomes treacherous. Pursued by the Consistorium’s Hounds of Magic, the two girls face danger at every turn.

    To make matters worse, the Wightstone loses its power, Daphne’s magic disappears, and she falls ill with a mysterious sickness. The pair rely on their courage and wits to survive as Daphne’s condition worsens, and the hounds of magic draw closer.

    Now, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of an elf whose strength and intelligence are all that stand in the way of the forces of evil. Will she save both Daphne and her people, or will darkness triumph?

  • The Goblin Quest

    The Goblin Quest

    Daphne Mayne and the Goblin Quest cover

    Desperate to save her dying brother, Daphne enters a forbidden forest to find rare berries that were said to hold a cure.

    But her mission of mercy takes an unexpected twist when she is seized by goblins who force her to join them on their secret quest.

    Daphne struggles to keep hope alive as she and her kidnappers clash with trolls, slavers, and monsters. Escape isn’t easy. Even less so when the goblin’s quest takes her into caves filled with deadly traps.

    With her freedom slipping away at every step, and her brother’s life hanging in the balance, Daphne tries to cope with a bewildering magic power emerging inside her, and to find the strength and courage to prevent the goblins fulfilling their evil quest.

    Fans of Magemother, His Dark Materials, and Eragon will love this coming-of-age, epic fantasy featuring fast-paced action, magic, mystery, and adventure.

  • Hollow Book 3!

    Hollow Book 3!

    A Taste of Steel cover

    It’s taken longer than it should have but, finally, it’s here: The third book in the Hollow series, A Taste of Steel, is finished and ready to purchase.

    In this book Drome gets caught up in a mutiny against the queen of Kyro – the country neighbouring Glaskwall – and is soon up to his neck in hot water (literally!), threats, plots, executions, revenge, murder and a host of other nasty business.

    It’s not that he wants to be involved, but he just can’t help rubbing people up the wrong way.

    What a shame he boasts to the leader of the mutineers about how much steel there is in his village. It’s not as though he didn’t know that metal is scarce in Hollow… but sometimes his mouth says things before his brain catches up.

    He’d better hope that Neve can help out, because if she can’t save his skin, then no one can.

    As for his village, Amblesby, with three armies on its doorstep, all there because of a slip of his tongue and all wanting the precious steel lying around, what chance of survival do the villagers have?

    Dive into the book

    A Taste of Steel is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple, Scribd and others.

  • A Taste of Steel

    A Taste of Steel

    A Taste of Steel cover

    What would you do if you let slip information that could start a war?

    What if the person you divulged said information to is a rebel queen with a thirst for blood?

    In a world where metal is rare, you probably wouldn’t make matters worse by revealing a map showing the location of the hoard of steel you just told her about.

    Steel she could turn into swords, spears, and axes. Steel that will destroy her foes with their pathetic hardened glass weapons and leather armour.

    Unfortunately, Drome isn’t the most gifted of people when it comes to discretion. Or thinking things through.

    The consequences hurl him down a path riddled with folk keen to boil him alive, stick pointy objects in his tender flesh or blow him into tiny pieces.

    With the real queen gunning for him too, Drome reluctantly embarks on a secret mission to fix the mess he started.

    The civilised world depends on him. All he has to do is end a savage war.

    With a princess and a sorcerer on his side, what could possibly go wrong?

    If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Joe Abercrombie, you won’t be able to put down the compulsively addictive Hollow series.


    You can buy A Taste of Steel from loads of online book stores (click for the complete list):

    Book stores logos

    There’s also a paperback version available for purchase on Amazon UK or Amazon US.

  • The Books

    The Books

    Chronicles of Wydoria Series

    A young adults fantasy series brimming with magic and danger.

    Daphne Mayne and the Goblin Quest cover
    Book 1: Goblin Quest

    When Daphne left home that morning, she did not know her world would change forever. No idea how dangerous it would become.

    Daphne Mayne and the Hounds of Magic cover
    Book 2: Hounds of Magic

    An elf seeking Daphne’s help throws the two of them into peril. With the Consistorium’s hounds after them, it will take more than courage to survive.

    Phantom Queen cover

    Coming soon!

    Read more about Daphne’s world:


    Hollow Series

    A humorous fantasy series for adults set in a quirky, magical hollow world

    Flight of the Gazebo cover
    Book 1: Flight of the Gazebo

    Kidnap, murder, duels and pirates in a quirky hollow world.

    Dangerous Ideals cover
    Book 2: Dangerous Ideals

    Danger, pursuit, betrayal. The adventure continues.

    A Taste of Steel cover
    Book 3: A Taste of Steel

    Queens, war, treachery and wizards. Greed is so motivational.

    The Persistence of Poison cover
    Prequel: The Persistence of Poison

    Witchcraft, portals, death, and magic. Vester’s back-stabbing rise to power.


    The Unfumbling coming soon

    Hold on to your hat!

    Everything you ever wanted to know about the world of Hollow but never got around to asking:

  • The Persistence of Poison

    The Persistence of Poison

    The Persistence of Poison cover

    Prequel to the Hollow series

    Can you trust a sorcerer who tries to kill you…

    …but shoves you both into a strange world of magic, greed, and conflict instead?

    Vester doesn’t have a great deal of choice. Far from home, the only way he’s going to stay alive is to bury the hatchet.

    At least for a while.

    But even with a sorcerer on his side, carving a niche for himself in the treacherous politics of the imperial city of Skarnelm isn’t easy. Especially when he makes enemies who’ll sink to the lowest depths of slyness and duplicity to stop him.

    The only way to survive is to sink even lower. To do the unthinkable.

    If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Joe Abercrombie, you won’t be able to put down the addictive Hollow series.

    The Persistence of Poison ebook is available from a veritable plethora of online book stores:

    Book stores logos

    Or get it free by joining Kent Silverhill’s newsletter! Hit the “Join Now” button at the top of this page.

  • Dangerous Ideals

    Dangerous Ideals

    Dangerous Ideals cover

    It isn’t easy to survive in a weird hollow world, riddled with magic and stuffed with hostiles.

    Drome should know. In the days since he was kidnapped, he’s come close to death a little too often for comfort.

    Luckily, the common sense and skills of Nev, his fleshless fellow fugitive, have got him out of difficulty every time up til now.

    But there’s something bothering him about his feelings for Nev… And he can’t admit that to anyone, least of all himself.

    When he stalks off alone in a huff and walks wide-eyed into yet another sticky situation, he only has his own wits to rely on.

    Shackled to a wall and about to be put to death in the most horrible way imaginable, he’s beginning to wish he hadn’t alienated his only friend.

    Then there’s the warning he’s supposed to give to his fellow villagers. With him dead, they’ll be sitting ducks for the deathly force heading their way.

    Dammit! He needs a plan.

    And maybe a bit of help. But definitely not from a certain living skeleton with an attitude problem.

    “It would make a great action movie” – “A pure joy!”*

    If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Joe Abercrombie, you won’t be able to put down the addictive Hollow series.


    Dangerous Ideals is available to buy from loads of online stores (click below for the complete list):

    Book stores logos

    There’s also a paperback version available for purchase on Amazon UK or Amazon US.

    *Taken from reviews on the Amazon UK store

  • Flight of the Gazebo

    Flight of the Gazebo

    Flight of the Gazebo cover

    It isn’t easy when you find yourself lost and alone in a strange place.

    It’s even trickier when that place is a different world, and you have no idea how you got there.

    Drome’s top priority isn’t to figure that out. It’s to avoid getting himself killed. But his talent for making enemies as he flees the villainous courtiers who took him hostage, really isn’t helping.

    He’s in an unfamiliar city, in a bizarre hollow world, and he only has one friend. Well, that’s if he can call a snarky living skeleton with a penchant for stealing royal jewels a friend.

    What with every palace guard and a crazed assassin after the pair, the odds are stacked against them.

    Running out of time, luck, and options, it’s touch-and-go whether they’ll make it to Drome’s village and warn them of the horror coming their way.

    And then there’s the wizard. If only Drome hadn’t angered him too…

    So, is Drome in trouble?

    Yup. He’s screwed.

    If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Joe Abercrombie, you won’t be able to put down the addictive Hollow series.


    Get Flight of the Gazebo FREE! Available from loads of online stores (click for the complete list):

    Book stores logos

    There’s also a paperback version available for purchase on Amazon UK or Amazon US.

  • Here be Dragons: 5 Best Dragons in Literature

    Here be Dragons: 5 Best Dragons in Literature

    Centuries ago, maps labelled the unknown with “Here be Dragons”. We fantasy readers love dragons. After all, who can resist the majesty, power and cunning of an oversized, fire-belching, winged lizard? In modern tales dragons tend to be intelligent, magical, powerful, rather fond of gold and big. I mean really big – big enough for one to carry you on its back while it flies over your enemies and razes them to ashes.

    Here be dragons
    Albrecht Dürer – Saint George Killing the Dragon

    It wasn’t always that way.

    Early dragons, like the one in the illustration of St. George killing a dragon, aren’t that impressive to our eyes today. St. George’s dragon isn’t particularly intelligent or magical, it just enjoyed eating maidens.

    It certainly isn’t like the modern day big as buses, fire breathing beasts we’ve grown used to.

    For comparison, below is a much scarier, scalier and altogether nasty fellow from the Game of Thrones TV series.

    Here be dragons in Game of Thrones

    Daenerys Targaryen with Drogon in a scene from the 'Game of Thrones' HBO TV series (photo by HBO)

    I think it’s safe to say nowadays we’re more likely to be awed by Daenerys Targaryen’s majestic, powerful dragons than one being speared by a bored-looking chap on horseback. Saint George’s reptilian adversary doesn’t look large enough to eat a fish and chips supper, never mind a strapping princess. And don’t get me started on its tiny wings which, let’s face it, wouldn’t lift a small tub of margarine.

    For our purposes, we’re going to concentrate on dragons in literature from the last hundred years or so. What follows is a list of book titles and the dragons contained in their pages.

    1. The Hobbit

    JRR Tolkien's original painting of Smaug in conversation with Bilbo Baggins
    Tolkien’s painting of Smaug talking to the invisible Bilbo

    Although Tolkien wasn’t the first twentieth-century writer to feature a dragon in his stories, Smaug from The Hobbit has to be the earliest dragon to set pulses racing. He’s cruel, vicious, magical and has a hoard of treasure which the other characters in the story are keen to get their hands on. It’s interesting how the 2012 – 2014 Hobbit movies (directed and written by Peter Jackson) make Smaug much bigger than he was in the original illustration painted by Tolkien himself.

    2. The Earthsea Cycle

    Ursula K. Le Guin's The Books of Earthsea book cover

    Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books portray more than one dragon. They go from cruel, greedy hoarders of treasure, similar to Smaug, to more noble beings who speak the ‘Language of Creation’. They even share their ancestry with humans and, it turns out, certain humans (women only) can turn themselves into dragons. The eldest dragon is called Kelessin, but there are many others in the books. They are ancient, wise, selfish, capricious, terrifying, beautiful, and powerful. Not only that, but the series also deals with patriarchy, rites of passage and how not to be a bad person. Go on, dive into the series to learn more.

    3. Dragonriders of Pern

    Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight book cover

    Strictly speaking, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books are more in the realms of science fiction than fantasy because the dragons are genetically modified fire-lizards. Let’s not split hairs. They’re dragons and they do all the dragony things we expect. The humans in the novels are descendants of interstellar colonists from Earth, with all the foibles we suffer in our societies today. Without giving too much of the plot away, the dragons are the only means by which humans can survive the attacks inflicted on them by the worlds in which they live.

    The Dragonriders series isn’t where it all ends. McCaffrey went on to write many more books about Pern and Dragons. You can find a list of them here.

    4. Discworld

    Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards! book cover complete with tiny swamp dragons jetting across the scene
    Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards! is the first book in the Discworld series to describe swamp dragons

    There are several types of dragon in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series – such as the fire-breathing, nasty and untrustworthy Noble Dragon (Draco nobilis) – but the ones that make the greatest impression are swamp dragons (Draco vulgaris). Unlike other dragons on this post, swamp dragons are small and fly badly. They also have a tendency to explode if they suffer indigestion – a not uncommon ailment in these creatures due to their complex digestive systems. The upper classes of Ankh-Morpork breed swamp dragons and enter them in competitions. For sheer silliness, swamp dragons deserve a place in our hearts.

    Note: The large dragon featured on the Guards! Guards! book cover is a Noble Dragon. The little ones streaking past are Swamp Dragons.

    5. Realm of the Elderlings

    Robin Hobb Fool's Fate book cover

    When it comes to constructing the entire life cycle of dragons, none does it better than Robin Hobb. In her Elderlings series, the dragons have an extraordinarily complicated existence. They hatch and spend their larval stage in the sea. At the beginning of the series humans call the dragon larvae sea serpents and don’t know that, given the right conditions, a sea serpent will mature into a dragon complete with ancient knowledge. No dragons have matured for centuries because a natural disaster has changed the landscape. The larvae can no longer find the river they need to swim up to where they build their cocoons in order to metamorphose into adults. Hobb’s dragons are as scary, intelligent and unpredictable as we expect. And they are not all fond of humans even though, in the distant past, dragons and humans coexisted and even mixed their essences which resulted in scaled humans known as Elderlings.


    The five above are my personal favourites. Let me know what your favourites are in the comments.

    Don’t forget to celebrate Dragon Day on January 16 every year. And I mean DON’T FORGET. If you annoy a temperamental fire-breathing creature, it can really ruin your day.

    Dragons haven’t got around to appearing in my books. Yet. Hold on to your hat.