Big Books of 2026

Ask the Author: Mike Mannion

“I'll be answering questions over the next few weeks about my Ravensmere trilogy. Feel free to ask me about how I wrote it, the characters' backstories, and what I have planned for the future!” Mike Mannion

Answered Questions (10)

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?
Mike Mannion I woke up one day in a strange bed, in an unfamiliar room, and I couldn't for the life of me recollect my name. Then I realised I was Bill Blackthorne, living in the opening paragraph of the Secrets of Brimstone Manor.
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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?
Mike Mannion This may sound unexpected, but I would travel to the James Herriott stories of a vet's life in Yorkshire and go with him on his rounds. It doesn't sound thrilling, I know, but the books are wonderful.
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What books are on your summer reading list this year?
Mike Mannion The best book of the year. James by Percival Everett.
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What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book?
Mike Mannion My aunt and my brother both claimed psychic abilities. They told me impossible things and saw a few hair-raising visions. My brother, always the joker, promised to come back and haunt me when he died, for a laugh, but both these people have passed away, and I have seen nothing. Maybe it's just me.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?
Mike Mannion The Bill Blackthorne Chronicles is inspired by those old Hammer and Amacus horror films - that 1970's grooviness mixed with Victorian high camp Gothic. Also, and this is not a very literary answer, by Scooby Doo -- I love the idea of a gang of kids solving a mystery in a camper van!
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How do you get inspired to write?
Mike Mannion Interesting things happen in real life, on the news or in a book or film and suddenly I make a connection and have a eureka moment.
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What are you currently working on?
Mike Mannion A new fantasy novel that will hopefully blow everyone’s socks off!
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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Mike Mannion Work on it every day and keep going! Believe in yourself and what you want to say. It's a craft that takes graft!
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What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Mike Mannion Best thing about being a writer is creating worlds that people read and hopefully come to love.
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How do you deal with writer’s block?
Mike Mannion I write every morning as soon as I get up and make a cup of tea. This keeps the flow going and eventually things get done! No email checking or web browsing before a session is complete.
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Mike Mannion
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