Fi Phillips's Blog

Six years ago today, my debut novel Haven Wakes was published by the lovely people at Burning Chair Publishing. After teasing readers about the book launch for weeks, I spent the first day of October 2019 as gleeful and excited as a toddler in a sweet shop, or a ball […]

When I first started writing the Haven Chronicles, I knew I wanted to create more than just a magical story. I also wanted to set the series in a world that readers would enjoy investigating and be keen to return to. That had to include the physical landscape we find […]

My last quiz – Discover your Magic Type – went down so well with readers that I’ve written another one. This time round, I thought it might be fun to find out which of the main Haven Chronicles characters you’re most like. Are you inquisitive like Steve, a ruler breaker […]

When I originally wrote the second book of the Haven Chronicles, I envisioned a very different ending to the one that appeared in the published novel. It was darker, more isolating for the main characters, and left readers guessing how Steve and the darkling could possibly escape to safety. I […]

Do you ever find yourself browsing endless fantasy book lists and shelves, unsure of what to read next? Should you choose dragons, wizards, chosen ones, or epic quests? Are you more of a medieval castle fantasy reader or do you prefer urban battlegrounds? That book choice overwhelm can easily stop […]

One of the joys of writing fiction is the characters you meet along the way. I’m not talking about the real-life people you come across, although I’ve met some brilliantly talented and wonderfully helpful bookish folks as a result of writing the Haven Chronicles. No, in this instance, I mean […]

From writing the very first pages of the Haven Chronicles, I’ve immensely enjoyed creating the world of this futuristic fantasy series and populating it with a generous mix of characters, both magical and mundane. I’m still enjoying it as I work on the fourth book in the series and I […]

Last week, I deactivated my author X account and I’ll be honest: it felt like a massive relief. I’ve always enjoyed posting content to the slew of social media platforms I’m active on and building communities there too. But since the rebranding of Twitter to X, my enjoyment of that […]

The first draft of book four is well under way. With several chapters under my belt, I thought it was time to share all the juicy topics I’ve been researching this time around. Druids Book four introduces you to a new ‘organisation’ who are briefly mentioned in Haven’s Deceit. Without […]

Last year I set myself a reading challenge of twelve books. In the end, I read sixteen. Encouraged by my 2024 success, this year’s reading challenge is to finish, and possibly review, twenty books in 2025. Last year, I got into the habit of taking myself to bed a little […]