The Witchfinder's Mark

A devilishly dark folk horror novel set during the English Civil War. Samuel Hawke is a charlatan. His lucrative career as a witchfinder is built on fabricated evidence and forced confessions. His guilt grows with each innocent person he condemns and his only remaining motive is the financial rewards his profession offers him.

In Beckborn, Lancashire, two girls are accused of witchcraft. Samuel travels to the isolated village for an investigation which may pay enough to be his last. He finds a community torn apart by fear and paranoia. His hopes of a simple examination are dashed when the mystery of the two girls unravels in a deadly way.

Rescued by another, actual, witch-finder, Samuel is plunged into a world of the supernatural and the occult. Strange people with immense power lurk on the fringes of society, hiding behind the veil of superstition and belief, causing chaos in war-torn England. Samuel must find the sister witches, before he is hunted down and destroyed, whilst navigating through the violence and suspicion of a country ravaged by war.

About the Author

Born and raised in the North-West of England, Paul now lives in Auckland, Aotearoa Paul graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, then became a Historian for 20 years, teaching History at several schools and universities in the UK, USA and New Zealand. He recently completed the circle by returning to his love of writing. He writes flash fiction, short stories, screenplays and novels. Paul also run workshops for any age group to get people fired up about writing and to give them a toolbox to improve their skills.