NOVELS
Feldman in Love
To be published 29 January 2026 by Lendal Press.
Morton Feldman, musical pioneer with a genius often derided in his lifetime, left a remarkable sonic legacy when he died in 1987. 'Feldman in Love' tells the story of his tumultuous relationship with another great artist, Philip Guston. The Lower East Side of New York in the 1950's bristles with the electricity of the creative Bohemians that peopled its streets; Ginsberg, Pollock, de Kooning, John Cage and Charlie Parker. This melodious novel reverberates with the cacophony of a fractured and failed friendship, whilst celebrating and illuminating the life of a great man whose influence still echoes through the songsheets and rhythms of music to this day.
"Beautifully written ... completely seamless and fascinating."
Gavin Bryars
"A profoundly moving and engaging tale of a friendship between two men, bonded by ambition and doubt. One wrestles with colour and form, whilst the other speaks of sustained tones and silence. Through the fragile space where loyalty collides with artistic truth, we swim in the avant-garde of New York's past.”
Robin Rimbaud - Scanner
The Alum Maker's Secret
At the inception of the industrial era, Ana, daughter of a widowed Spanish urine trader, complains she feels 'bartered like a Moor' to procure work for her father in a desolate and inhospitable region of northern England.
Making alum, a beautiful translucent crystal, essential to the dyeing of cloth, has been a lucrative business for centuries, however, its obscure and obnoxious manufacture, burning rocks and stirring together urine and seaweed, dominates a remote part of eighteenth century Britain.
Ana is put to work with the inheritor of the 'alum-makers secret', manager Robert, and witnessing the almost alchemical rituals of his work, an attachment starts to form. Shortly after her arrival a canny scientist-on-the-make arrives from London's Royal Society to investigate a disturbing discovery in a quarry rock fall.
"A rich tapestry, from many fascinating threads woven together by an energetic and brilliantly original poetic language, full of startlingly beautiful descriptions and metaphors."
Chris Villars
"This is a very atmospheric historic novel which conjures up amazing images and smells. Gripping plot and interesting period detail."
Helen Hughes
Guardian Northerner Blog: Alum
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2013/nov/20/alum-makers-secret-north-east-manufacturing
In Progress
Stephen's third novel is underway with a target publication date of December 2027.