Paula Brackston (aka P. J. Brackston, P. J. Davy, and Mabli Roberts) is the ''New York Times'' bestselling author of ''The Witch's Daughter'' and other

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

novels. She also writes the fantasy crime

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

Mystery series under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

P. J. Brackston.

Life and writing career

Prior to solidifying her career as a fiction writer, Brackston worked as a groom on a racing yard, a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, and a goat herd. She attended Lancaster University, where she received her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in creative writing. Brackston is also a

visiting lecturer In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at the

University of Wales, Newport The University of Wales, Newport ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd), was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerle ...

. She was born in

Dorset, England Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , D ...

, and grew up in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, where she now lives with her partner and their two children. She has lived in

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...

in Wales, where ''The Winter Witch'' takes place, and spent six years in central London near

Fitzroy Square Fitzroy Square is a Georgian square in London. It is the only one in the central London area known as Fitzrovia. The square is one of the area's main features, this once led to the surrounding district to be known as Fitzroy Square or Fitzro ...

, where ''The Midnight Witch'' is set in seventeenth-century England. Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, the main character of ''The Witch's Daughter'', lived in Brackston's hometown of Dorset. Brackston's debut novel, ''The Witch’s Daughter'', was originally published in February 2009 under the title ''The Book of Shadows'' and was intended as the first book in the proposed Shadow Chronicles series, followed by ''The Winter Witch''. However, each of the novels are standalones that explore witches and their experiences through different times and settings. ''The Witch’s Daughter'' spawned a sequel titled ''The'' ''Return of the Witch'' in 2016. In ''Lamp Black, Wolf Grey'', Brackston introduces Merlin as one of the main characters in the story.

Bibliography

As Paula Brackston

Found Things * ''The Little Shop of Found Things'' (2018) * ''Secrets of the Chocolate House'' (2019) *''The Garden of Promises and Lies'' (2020) *''City of Time and Magic'' (2021) The Witch’s Daughter * ''The Witch’s Daughter'' (2011, originally titled ''The Book of Shadows'' and published by Snowbooks in 2009) * ''The Return of the Witch'' (2016) Short Story * ''The Witches of the Blue Well'' (December 2012, prelude to ''The Winter Witch'') Standalone Novels * ''The Winter Witch'' (2013) * ''The Midnight Witch'' (2014) * ''The Silver Witch'' (2015) * ''Lamp Black, Wolf Grey'' (2015, first published by Snowbooks in 2010) Nonfiction * ''The Dragon's Trail: Wales on Horseback'' (1999) Anthologies * ''In Her Element: Women and the Landscape'' (2008) * ''Front Porch: American Athenaeum'' (2013)

As P. J. Brackston

Brothers Grimm Mysteries * ''Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints'' (2015) * ''Once Upon a Crime'' (2015) * ''The Case of the Fickle Mermaid'' (2016) * ''The Sorcerer’s Appendix'' (2017)

As P. J. Davy

* ''Nutters'' (2009) * ''Village Fate: A Country Tale of Cooks, Crooks and Chickens'' (2010)

As Mabli Roberts

* ''God's Children'' (2019)

References

External links

Paula Brackston official websitePaula Brackston on Macmillan Publishers website

P. J. Brackston official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brackston, Paula Living people 21st-century British women writers British women novelists Pseudonymous women writers Alumni of Lancaster University Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century pseudonymous writers