34 ratings | 20 reviews | avg rating:4.47

D.J.’s Year In Books

D.J.’s 2025 Year in Books

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

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D.J. Swales’s Followers (16)

D.J.’s Bookshelves

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D.J.’s Friends (125)

Library of a Viking

434 books | 771 friends

Pete Jeffrey

416 books | 83 friends

Candy Ting

1,077 books | 159 friends

Barba Mundial

18 books | 185 friends

David

624 books | 610 friends

Diego Fernandez

283 books | 23 friends

jason Landsperg

340 books | 148 friends

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1 book | 111 friends

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D.J. Swales

Goodreads Author

Born

in Belfast, The United Kingdom

Website

https://linktr.ee/djswaleswritesbooks

Twitter

djswaleswrites

Genre

Horror, Humor and Comedy, Poetry

Influences

Naguib Mahfouz, Jane Bowles, Anne Rice, Koji Suzuki, Stephen King, Cli ...more

Member Since

November 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/djswales

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With over a decade spent traveling alongside "Letitia", a remarkably roomy suitcase bursting with books, D. J. Swales, a bestselling author and poet, can often be discovered plotting his novels in the same medieval Worcestershire taverns that once welcomed J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Alternatively, he might be peering from a window in Hertfordshire's verdant Sarratt village, where spy thriller maestro John Le Carré chose to set his secretive spy-training centre.

The grandson of an Irish folklorist, D. J. shares his family name with Dracula's first Whitby victim. Like Bram Stoker, his fellow Irish author, D. J. 's pen was fated to find words whispered in the dark, often inspired by the Celtic fairy tales of his youth. D. J. 's passion for With over a decade spent traveling alongside "Letitia", a remarkably roomy suitcase bursting with books, D. J. Swales, a bestselling author and poet, can often be discovered plotting his novels in the same medieval Worcestershire taverns that once welcomed J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Alternatively, he might be peering from a window in Hertfordshire's verdant Sarratt village, where spy thriller maestro John Le Carré chose to set his secretive spy-training centre.

The grandson of an Irish folklorist, D. J. shares his family name with Dracula's first Whitby victim. Like Bram Stoker, his fellow Irish author, D. J. 's pen was fated to find words whispered in the dark, often inspired by the Celtic fairy tales of his youth. D. J. 's passion for folklore extends beyond the 12 countries and 3 U.S. states he has called home. As an “international tumbleweed” his stories weave experiences, histories, and myths from 120 countries and 45 U.S. states. Many tales were spun in haunted hotels, bustling railway stations, and cosy cafés.

How to begin your literary voyage with D. J.'s bookshelf? For aficionados of sagas like Game of Thrones, The Witcher, and Penny Dreadful, the unmissable BARATANAC TRILOGY (Book One of the Fitzmarbury Witches) beckons. This trilogy promises spine-tingling occult horror and captivating dark historical fantasy. "A vanished London author's hard drive surfaces in Barbados, unveiling a disconcerting draft trilogy that delves into the origins of London's foremost witch and her infernal legion. As pages turn, Carthaginian religious sects of antiquity weave their influence, corrupting the witch's youthful innocence and casting malevolent shadows across the shores of ancient Spain and distant Britain." Devotees of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Alma Katsu should not miss this literary journey.

For enthusiasts of heartwarming and enchanting magical realism, discover D. J. 's latest fabulism novel—PEOPLE OF BLOOMSBURY. Influenced by the whimsical allure often found in Japanese popular literature, this book invites you to meet your eccentric new London neighbours. D. J.'s pen blends cozy fiction, magical realism, suspense, and uplifting quirkiness to craft a tale that will make you smile, chuckle, and perhaps even shed a tear. Within this debut novel from the Curled Up and Cozy Collection, D. J. has spun an experience that echoes the likes of Richard Osman, Hiromi Kawakami, Beth O'Leary, Sayaka Murata, Armistead Maupin, Sophie Kinsella, and Marian Keyes.

HIT PODCASTS: Embark on audio fiction adventures with FITZMARBURY WITCHES and PEOPLE OF BLOOMSBURY, available on all major podcast platforms (anchor.fm/djswales).

POEMS: Dive into D. J. 's nomadic verses within LOVE IN AN ISIS TOWN (a Kindle No. 1 bestselling poetry book), an exploration of transient life on the open road. Drawing inspiration from poets like Charles Bukowski, Bashō, and Seamus Heaney, these verses resonate. MIDNIGHT'S TWIN offers a delve into the Gothic and macabre (also featuring selected excerpts from LOVE IN AN ISIS TOWN).

OTHER BOOKS: Don't overlook the compelling LIONS OF UTICA (A Fitzmarbury Witches Ghost Story), an enthralling paranormal thriller set in ancient North Africa. Additionally, brace yourself for the spine-chilling short story PARIS: A CURSE IN THE CITY OF THE CATACOMBS (soon to be adapted into a screenplay).

UPCOMING CREATIONS: The next addition to the charming and whimsical CURLED UP AND COZY COLLECTION is in the final stages of editing, accompanied by D. J.'s enthralling psychological thriller, NIGHT TRAIN IN MOROCCO (also adapted for the screen).

Anticipate the spine-tingling supernatural suspense of GOLEM OF NAGASAKI, masterfully set amidst the locales of London and Japan, soon to be followed by its prequel, RADISH (both poised for the screenplay treatment)

STAY CONNECTED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: Catch the latest from D. J. Swales on TikTok & IG: @djswaleswritesbooks ...more

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D.J. Swales's Blog

A Happy Dracula Halloween!

Have a great spooky season all!

Thank you, to all my current and future readers of my Fitzmarbury Witches dark fiction series and my upcoming quirky feel-good novel, People of Bloomsbury (preorders now available on Amazon https://geni.us/1mUB4tC)

Here is a poem and some light distortion pictures from the wildly Gothic environs of Whitby Abbey (so beloved of Bram Stoker) and the graveyard where Swal

Combine Editions
D.J. Swales’s books

Average rating: 4.31 · 97 ratings · 18 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Christmas Carol (Illustrated & Luxe Typography): A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens, D.J. Swales (Goodreads Author) 4.09 avg rating — 949,762 ratings — published 1843 — 10116 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
	The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, D.J. Swales (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.83 avg rating — 677,718 ratings — published 1886 — 8672 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
	FITZMARBURY WITCHES: Baratanac Trilogy (Part I) 4.37 avg rating — 19 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
	BARATANAC: Book One of Fitzmarbury Witches (Combined Ebook Parts I,II, & III) 4.13 avg rating — 15 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
	Paris: A Curse in the City of the Catacombs: A Short Story of the Macabre 4.29 avg rating — 14 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
	Lions of Utica 3.23 avg rating — 13 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
	FITZMARBURY WITCHES : Baratanac Trilogy (Part III) 4.50 avg rating — 8 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
	Midnight's Twin 4.38 avg rating — 8 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
	FITZMARBURY WITCHES: Baratanac Trilogy (Part II) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 6 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
	Love in an ISIS Town it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 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 D.J. Swales…

D.J. is Currently Reading

D.J. Swales is currently reading

The Book of Five Rings

by Miyamoto Musashi

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Feb 02, 2026 08:27PM

D.J. Swales is currently reading

2666: An Expansive Literary Novel of Disappearance, Violence and Obsession

by Roberto Bolaño

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Jan 23, 2026 04:19AM

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The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies

by Robert Kirk

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Jan 21, 2026 09:41PM

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D.J. Swales is currently reading Dirt Music: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize by Tim Winton	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
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