It is 1660, and a middle-aged Welsh tailor called Arise Evans sits down to write a book on his profession. But his dutiful attempts to instruct the reader in the making of gussets and plackets are constantly interrupted by reminiscences of his life as a prophet during the Civil War years. He has flown over the mountains and seen the sun dance, been threatened by an angel and fed by God in a rainbow cloud. He has survived two prison sentences to become the trusted advisor of Oliver Cromwell, and received the King's healing touch on his fungous nose. Now all he wants is to finish his book and to reach some kind of truce with his alarmingly independent wife and annoying Puritan son. As the climax of his story approaches, Arise must reluctantly tear himself away from his obsessions and fantasies, and strive for the restoration of his own family.  My second novel, The Book of the Needle, was published by Cinnamon Press in 2014. Read an extract here.

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"Arise, a real historical character ....  came from that fascinating period of 20-odd years when the world turned upside down, when kings and bishops were executed, women could become preachers and a tailor like Arise, asserting the gift of visions and prophecy, could meet and speak with the mighty of the land and be taken seriously by them. Though he is very much, and very believably, of his own time, he is continually coming close to us, suffering the same minor embarrassments. After reading this novel, I felt I knew Arise, and the characters in whose orbit he moves, very well. I also cared about them. …Readers [will] be informed, entertained and fascinated by him and his world." (Sheenagh Pugh)