The Dark Beginning....

It's only a few months now to the launch of the first book in the Aucourte Series.

In the meantime you can now get to know a major character. Not the romantic leads, but the Earl mentioned in the first in series title: The Earl's Daughter.

The Earl is a good, but troubled man and in the first of a set of back-story-bonuses, you can find the reasons why.

A Boy Alone is part 1 in a serialised short story introducing Lord David Aucourte which you can receive as a thank you gift for joining the readers'club. Here's the link. 

If you are uncertain and want to know more read on for more about A Boy Alone: On his eighth birthday, David Aucourte should be blowing out candles at a children’s party.

Instead, he’s left behind at Rawcliffe Hall — a bleak Yorkshire boarding school.

The family carriage vanishes into the mist, taking his mother and father away, and David is alone.

What follows is no ordinary education. It’s a brutal initiation into a world where cruelty wears the mask of discipline.

A Boy Alone is a haunting prequel to the Aucourte Series.

A character study that traces the early life of the boy who will become the troubled Earl in The Earl’s Daughter, the first book in the series which will be available for pre-order from January 2026.

Gentle by nature, David must learn to survive. But survival comes at a cost.

Dark, atmospheric, and honest, this short story explores the harsh realities of Victorian boarding school life — and the emotional toll of transformation.

Perfect for readers who love:

•      The gothic shadows of Jane Eyre or Oliver Twist

•      Historical fiction that dives deep into character

•      Stories of survival, resilience, and emotional complexity

A Boy Alone is part 1 in a serialised short story. Sign up for the newsletter and receive a free copy. Parts 2 and 3 will be available as download links from future newsletters soon.

First Back Story Bonus