#QueerLitLoft

On a recent trip to London I visited the renowned Leake Street Arches, an underground walkway dedicated to graffiti artists and their work. As I had hoped, there were some stunning pieces of art, many of them thought provoking for one reason or another.

Ambling along and taking pictures one piece of art caught my attention, not so much because it was significantly more alluring than any of the other pieces, but because as soon as I saw it my first thought was:

‘Remy, I could see Remy heading into a club with that sign above the front door’.

So, who the hell is Remy I hear you ask.

Remy is a handsomely hot vampire in Brey Willows’ latest release, Dark Haven. Now, technically speaking Remy likes to keep herself to herself in the off-grid vampire community she’s built BUT, as soon as I saw this piece of art I couldn’t help imagine this to be somewhere that Remy would head to blow off some steam. I don’t know if it’s the words, the style or the colours but I got a whole vampire nightclub vibe as soon as I saw it.

Which brings me to the question – what makes a great book? What ticks your boxes?

For me, it’s the characters. The writing has to be of the highest quality and the plot has to be good enough to hold my attention, but the hook is always the characters. I read across many genres, but the deal breaker regardless of genre or trope is do I put down a book already missing the characters? Do I wonder what might have happened next for them? Or as in this case, do they randomly make themselves known in the most ordinary, if not bizarre of ways? Did they and their story mean enough for me to carry a little piece of them with me, or am I happy to put them to bed? The difference is that between just a good book and a great book.

If you haven’t guessed by now, Dark Haven is a great (insert any other positive descriptor of your choice) book, with characters that will absolutely stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

If you want to get in on the action and see what you’re missing (you’re missing a hell of a lot), Dark Haven is out 1st July on KU and physical formats – you can pre-order your copy here: