My second horror novel, ‘Nevermere,’ features a family of five who move from London to the Cotswolds.

Douglas Ashbourne finds himself made redundant at Christmas from his project management job. His wife, Elizabeth, convinces him to start a new career at her late grandfather’s cottage. A career that involves him turning his hobby into a full-time business.

What is the hobby?

Meadmaking!

This story was a great joy to write, as it includes two of my favourite things:

1. The Cotswolds – A place where I have spent considerable time over the years.
2. Making meads, melomels and country fruit wines.

The oldest alcoholic drink – 9,000 years from archaeological evidence, mead has gained increasing popularity of late. This is due in no small part to works of fantasy fiction entering the mainstream as hit television shows.

The images in this post feature some of my own meads and melomels from this past year (though there were many more).

The word ‘Honeymoon’ derives from a tradition of giving newlywed couples enough mead to last an entire lunar cycle. This was thought to bring good luck to the marriage, aid fertility and virility.

Cheers!