It’s almost here!

My name is Raven, and I have always loved writing. I was born in South Shields, and ever since I was a small child, I have been writing stories. At first, it was just little things written in a child's pencil scrawl— fairy stories about knights and monsters— but things really took off when I got my first typewriter at the age of seven. I used to write non-stop, crafting my own covers and gluing all the typed pages together to make my own little books. 

It wouldn't be until I was thirty, however, that a chance meeting led me to Newhaven Publishing, who took on my trilogy of gritty novels set around the punk scene. I was, at the time, in a punk band called Raven and the Radicals, so the books drew on some of my own experiences, and I really admired Newhaven's DIY spirit, which would set perfectly alongside my punk ethics. 

I had a good run with my trilogy of punk books, but I parted ways with Newhaven and released my psychological thriller 'The Society' on Burdizzo Books, where it still has a home.

Fast forward 10 years, and I have found myself living in rural Cumbria on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, far from Glasgow's punk scene. I've traded my place as front woman of a punk band to that of cornet player in a brass band. The members of Kirkby Stephen Silver Band have been incredibly kind and supportive of me as I learn my new instrument, and they inspired me to write my latest book, Blood and Brass, which brings my two musical worlds together. My return to writing about music felt like a natural one given it has always been a huge part of my life, and I was delighted to also return to Newhaven Publishing this year.