60 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.27

Alec’s Year In Books

Alec’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Alec’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Alec’s 2025 Year in Books

Alec Hepburn’s Followers (7)

Alec’s Bookshelves

to-read (1)
currently-reading (0)
read (60)

Alec’s Friends

Alec hasn't connected with his friends on Goodreads, yet.

Alec Hepburn

Goodreads Author

Born

in Exeter, The United Kingdom

Website

https://www.inthedarkwriting.com

Twitter

Alechepburn

Genre

Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Member Since

December 2018

edit data

Alec Hepburn was born in Exeter in 1973, something that he doesn't readily admit to as he's fond of the green and white of another city in Devon. After spending his younger years in a haunted house, nurturing his love of horror movies, books and short stories (at an age that was far from acceptable and would horrify modern parents), he moved to the Devonshire countryside, to a small village that seemed far removed from civilisation. As a child he regularly enjoyed writing stories that were too long and too detailed, traits that followed him into adulthood. Upon leaving school in 1990 and in the years ahead he made the enormous mistake of accepting various offers of employment in retail, which proved immensely difficult to break free from wh Alec Hepburn was born in Exeter in 1973, something that he doesn't readily admit to as he's fond of the green and white of another city in Devon. After spending his younger years in a haunted house, nurturing his love of horror movies, books and short stories (at an age that was far from acceptable and would horrify modern parents), he moved to the Devonshire countryside, to a small village that seemed far removed from civilisation. As a child he regularly enjoyed writing stories that were too long and too detailed, traits that followed him into adulthood. Upon leaving school in 1990 and in the years ahead he made the enormous mistake of accepting various offers of employment in retail, which proved immensely difficult to break free from while still writing for fun as an escape from failed relationships and broken hearts.

Alec finally absconded from the thankless grind of shop management in the mid-2000's to stay at home and enjoy the trials of parenthood. A career in cricket coaching provided a welcome distraction before returning to writing and finally finishing his first horror novel, while continuing to write poetry, short stories and other projects.

Stand Against The Dark, the first in a series of novels, is a tale of ancient evil that spans the First and Second World Wars, events at the turn of the last century and Christmas 2017 in a remote Devonshire village. One of the main characters, Danny Anderson, has a diagnosis of autism and a fascination with monsters, science-fiction and the supernatural.

Other interests for Alec include music, sport and lying awake at night thinking of all the things he should be doing. As well as further novels in the Stand Against The Dark series, Alec is also planning a run of children's novels, a book detailing the history of the cricket club where he plays and coaches, more short stories along with a poetry collection when time and circumstances allow. He is also a fan of having ideas for stories while on the school run, losing important pieces of paper, making inappropriate jokes at the worst moments and trying to squeeze more than 24 hours worth of work into one day.

Alec currently lives in West Sussex and would like a room of his own to write in as he is not very good at concentrating when other people are having conversations while he is trying to work. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Alec Hepburn questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Alec Hepburn For me, the minute that something isn't working on the page, it's a sign that I need to step away. It doesn't necessarily mean that I stop thinking ab…moreFor me, the minute that something isn't working on the page, it's a sign that I need to step away. It doesn't necessarily mean that I stop thinking about what's happening in the story, I just let it play out in the back of my mind while I get on with other things. If I'm struggling to get my ideas down, it means they're not ready and they need more time. It took me a while to be ok with this approach and it might not be something that comes naturally to a writer.

I think it's also worth remembering that it's ok to have writer's block. It's easy to spend time fretting about not writing or all of the things that you need to be writing about rather than allowing the ideas time to breathe and giving your subconscious mind time to fill in any gaps. As bizarre as it sounds, I have my best ideas when I'm on the school run in the morning (or afternoon), when I'm focussed on driving and I'm just playing around with plots or characters in the back of my mind. Don't underestimate how important it is to have mental space - as important as your story is, it doesn't have to take over your life.(less)

flag

like
Comment

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Alec Hepburn Find what works best for you. Advice from other writers can be helpful but can also make you feel under pressure to either achieve something that is u…moreFind what works best for you. Advice from other writers can be helpful but can also make you feel under pressure to either achieve something that is unrealistic or that you are in some way inferior for not being able to do what others do. Write when you can write and if you can't, try to find a way to be ok with that - flexibility is important.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See all 5 answers from Alec Hepburn…

Combine Editions
Alec Hepburn’s books

Average rating: 4.24 · 17 ratings · 6 reviews · 8 distinct works

	Time Scope 2020 by Matthew Rimmer (Editor), Linda Puchala, Katy Manning 3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2020	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stand Against The Dark (The Ivyford Chronicles Book 1) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Time And Time Again (The Ivyford Chronicles Book 2) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Time and Time Again 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Strange Tales of Australia 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	True Australian War Tales 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	STRANGE TALES OF AUSTRALIA 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twice Upon a Time Scope by Alec Hepburn (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Matthew Rimmer (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Alec Hepburn…

1 post
Alec Hepburn's Blog

Stand Against The Dark

Hello! I seem to start a lot of these posts with the observation that it’s been a long time since my last piece. This time, there has been a different reason for the break – I have been working on and consequently have finished my first novel, Stand Against The Dark.
I finished before Christmas and released it in the Amazon store as an Ebook. I’m currently exploring printing options, although I’m f Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 07, 2019 12:05 • Tags: autism, horror, novel, stand-against-the-dark, writing

rss
Alec’s Recent Updates

Alec Hepburn rated a book really liked it The House of a Hundred Whispers by Graham Masterton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This was the first book I've read by Graham Masterton and I didn't really know what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised to find my attention held from start to finish. The story itself is interesting and the fact that it's set in the South West ...more
Jan 06, 2026 01:47PM · like · see review