Raven Dane's Blog

I cannot believe it has been so many years since updating my blog! Life and a great deal of writing has clearly got in the way. To make things simple here is my latest CV. that lists all the new books.

Raven Dane is a UK based author of dark fantasy, alternative history, steampunk novels and horror short stories. Her first books were the dark fantasy Legacy of the Dark Kind trilogy. These were followed by a High Fantasy spoof, The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire. Her steampunk novels are the award winning Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron and Cyrus Darian and the Ghastly Horde. She has had many short stories published, including one in a celebration of forty years of the British Fantasy Society and in many international horror anthologies. These have included Crystal Lake’s Tales of the Lake 2 and Shallow Waters Volume 2. She also had a story in Frightmare –Women Write Horror which was shortlisted for a prestigious Bram Stoker award in 2016. She also has short stories in anthologies in the Gruesome Grotesque series published by TK Publishing and in a range of anthologies edited by Dean M Drinkel.
In 2013, she was signed up by Telos Publishing for her collection of Victorian ghost stories, Absinthe and Arsenic and in 2015, the alternative history/ supernatural novel, Death’s Dark Wings. All the Cyrus Darian books are now with Telos. The third book in the series, Cyrus Darian and the Wicked Wraith was launched in August 2019 by Telos.
A lifelong Dr Who fan, Raven was delighted to be part of the script team on a spin off film, The Daemons of Devil’s End by Reeltime Pictures in 2017. She also contributed to the novelisation of the film, published by Telos.
Raven brought out a horror novella, The Bane of Bailgate in 2018.
Her novella set in a chaotic, dystopian future, The House of Wrax was launched by Demain Publishing in 2020 to enthusiastic reviews from Science Fiction critics.
Also with Demain Publishing, Raven was honoured to be chosen to have a short story in an anthology based in the grim world of the Quiet Apocalypse novellas by celebrated author Dave Jeffreys.
Her scurrilous parody of High Fantasy, The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire was republished in 2022 with a beautiful new cover.
Raven is currently working on a prequel to the Legacy of the Dark Kind trilogy, The Blood of Kings and a novel set in Cyrus Darian’s dystopic, haunted Victorian London.
A republished edition of Blood Tears is now available with an amazing cover. This will be followed shortly with Blood Lament and Blood Alliance

I have two new book with Telos Publishing.

My well received collection of spooky short stories all in a Victorian or Steampunk setting - Absinthe and Arsenic...


And now Telos have brought out my very alternative history/ supernatural novel -
Death's Dark Wings.

1066 was never like this!

My latest novel...a steampunk adventure called Cyrus Darian and the Technomicron has had its first reader review on Amazon. And what a stonkingly good review it is!



'I hate demons, faeries, mages, necromancers, the works! Hate 'em. It's lazy fiction as far as I'm concerned. Fantasy is an emotional desert to me, irrespective of whether your fantasy happens in the ruins of Minas Tyrith or along a Steampunk Embankment circa 1862. I-just-can't-be-bothered.

Until, of course, I decided to read this book by Raven Dane.

The one paragraph pitch: Cyrus Darian desires to find the ultimate source of occult and actual power: the Technomicron. He enlists a rag tag group accomplices including the most brilliant inventor of his age, a half human shape shifter and his on/off squeeze, Belial the Prince of Hell! Their quest is constantly threatened and thwarted by an unholy legion of varied, imaginative and well-realised foes.

Raven's character Cyrus is about as far from a sympathetic character as is possible to get. This philandering, nonchalant, kleptomaniac, ghost-conjurer lives possessed by L'esprit de l'escalier - in short, he will always have the last word and usually at everyone else's expense. You'll love him.

The writing is taut and efficient something of an unexpected bonus (I really did have a low opinion of fantasy writers!). The plotting is both in the great tradition of thrillers and affords us a generous number of witty asides that keeps the entire business of reading a treat.

Remember that? A book that is actual fun to read?

Raven displays her vast knowledge of thing occult, spiritual, ancient religion and demonic as well as technological, physical and biochemical without creating a confusing mish-mash that puts the reader off. Her feel for the pretentions of the mid-industrial age is spot on whenever she names a mechanism devised by Hardwicke, the inventor and it sounds just like the advertised inventions of the day.

Steam punk has a new fan and it's all Raven Dane's fault, blame her.

I thoroughly recommend this wonderful novel to you. It took me a total of 46 hours to read. '

Anyone looking for a good read for your Kindle and Smashwords that won't break the bank?

A newly edited version of my first dark fantasy novel 'Blood Tears' at a special price of only 73 pence! And now the second in the series, Blood Lament is available as an ebook. Blood Alliance to follow soon.

Any existing paperback copies of my Legacy of the Dark Kind series are out of print despite what Amazon may say! My new publishers, Endaxi Press, are preparing wonderful new editions which will be available soon as books and on Kindle.


Also available on Kindle and as a paperback, my funny fantasy 'The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire.' Perfect gift for fans of Blackadder, Monty Python or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I am delighted to announce my funny fantasy, The Unwise Woman of Fuggis Mire is to be published by Endaxi Press in spring 2010.

‘Vampirism at a deliciously literary level
Dark fantasy at its best!’
(Author Gary Power)

Internationally acclaimed dark fantasy author Raven Dane lives in the beautiful Chiltern Hills in Bucks, UK. She comes from a lively, creative Celtic family of Irish and Welsh blood.
The first three books of Raven’s Legacy of the Dark Kind saga have an enthusiastic worldwide following, starting with Blood Tears, then Blood Lament, published in March 2007 with the eagerly awaited third book, Blood Alliance released in November 2008.
She combines a quiet life, combining looking after her young son with writing dark tales of beautiful, amoral blood drinkers. The only Wiccan ‘Gothmother’ at the school gate, her family and friends have now accepted that a published writer of dark fantasy is allowed to be a little eccentric at times!
Raven is in demand as a speaker on panels at Sci-Fi and Fantasy conventions in the UK, Eire and Holland and has toured book clubs with her talk; ‘the deadly allure of bad boys in fiction and cinema.’
Since the start of planning the Legacy of the Dark Kind series in the mid 1990’s, Raven has cut herself off from the risk from any outside influence, spurning all vampire films and novels. The result is a series that has been described many times as ‘beautifully written’, ‘refreshingly different’ and ‘original’.
Raven’s interests include enjoying writing and the company of her family and friends, breeding pure bred Spanish horses at her small stud, music and cinema.
And what of the future? Raven is working hard on the rest of Legacy of the Dark Kind series and hope many more people will enjoy their visits to the Land of Secrets and Shadows.
Raven has recently finished a humorous fantasy novel called ‘Quest’ and has started work on her first high fantasy/sci fi novel ‘Safire’
Like many authors she would love to see the vivid, very visual world she has created up on the big screen.