Welcome to my Blog!

If you’ve found your way here, thank you. I’m Miles Darby, a storyteller from the Darwen in the North West of England with a soft spot for market halls, mystery, and the odd cup of builder’s tea. This space will be my writing home: a mix of updates on works-in-progress, behind-the-scenes notes, and the messy, brilliant business of turning ideas into books.

If you want to say hello, collaborate, or chat about books, email me anytime at info@milesdarby.co.uk.

What I write (and why)

I’m drawn to ordinary places that hum with hidden stories—market stalls, library stacks, old mills with dust in the rafters—then I peel back the wallpaper to see what’s been scribbled underneath. Expect:

• Mystery & suspense set in the North West. Think small-town secrets, historical threads, and people doing their best in tough corners of life.
• Real-world grit with heart. The characters I love most carry humour and hope with them, even when they’re backed into a corner.

Current projects on the desk

Here’s what I’m working on right now:

• Darwen’s Echoes: The Mill’s Grasp (novel). A mystery that unspools through archives, alleyways, and a tangle of old family ledgers. It’s about what towns remember—and what they’d prefer to forget. Available now here!
• Next book in the Darwen Echoes series (currently unnamed). The story continues, deepening the secrets of the town and the legacy of the Ainsworth family.
• DI Mallory series in development. Two titles are currently in the works:
  
• The Girl in the Red Coat
• Black Brook

What you’ll find on this blog

• Progress updates. Where each project is up to, from first draft to final polish.
• Behind-the-scenes posts. Research notes, character sketches, and the odd rabbit hole I disappear down (old maps! municipal records! wonderfully cranky minutes from long-forgotten committees!).
• Writing craft notes. Structure, pacing, and how I keep tension simmering without boiling the pot dry.
• Reader extras. Early chapters, cut scenes, and bonus material when I can share it.

A small-town lens with big stakes

I love stories where the setting is practically a character. Mill towns, market halls, cobbled backstreets—you’ll see them again and again in my work. The stakes might not always be “save the world,” but they’re everything to the people at the centre of the story. That’s where the heartbeat is.

How you can get involved

• Tell me what you’re reading. I’m always looking for recommendations, especially British mysteries, community-rooted dramas, and anything with a strong sense of place.
• Ask questions. Curious about process, publishing, or research? Fire away.
• Say hello. Whether you’re a reader, bookseller, blogger, librarian, or fellow writer, I’d love to connect.

You can reach me at info@milesdarby.co.uk — I read every message.

Thank you for being here

First posts are funny things: a blank page you fill by simply starting. So here’s the start. I’m excited to share these stories with you and even more excited to hear yours. Let’s build something warm, witty, and a little bit mysterious together.

See you in the next post.

— Miles