Ben Jeapes
@benjeapes.bsky.social
160 followers 240 following 180 posts
Husband, stepfather, ghostwriter and author whose work spans two millennia.
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No pressure, then. But maybe get some help if it all seems too much. #ghostwriting #WritingTip #GetPublished
GHOSTWRITING NOVELS: A GUIDE FOR GHOSTWRITERS AND THE GHOSTWRITTEN.
www.ghostwritingnovels.com
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'gold' #BookQW
You can save yourself some money with this month's Kindle ebook offer for The Green Man's War.
Dan Mackmain's a peaceable chap, but after his experiences in last few years he's ready to meet trouble head on.
www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Mans-W...
Cover art by Ben Baldwin shows a lethal, pale-scaled serpent-dragon or wyrm lurking in woodland. It looks straight at you as its forked tongue flickers between open, sharp-toothed jaws.

Book extract reads: ‘This is some place.’ He stopped on the gravel to admire the manor.
He’s right. Blithehurst’s not huge but it is impressive. The limestone masonry has weathered over the centuries to soft grey or gold, depending on whether or not the sun is shining. The two floors have tall leaded and mullioned windows which look out over ornate gardens at the front, and across the valley to the wooded pastures on the other side of the river at the back. The steep roof has russet tiles which run down to fake battlements along the tops of the walls. Those are purely for show. This house was built to impress, not to be defended in battle.
The Roundheads had thought that meant they would easily seize the house from Eleanor’s Royalist, Catholic ancestors in the English Civil War. They were in for a surprise. The dryads got them so thoroughly lost that they never arrived. Not that any of the attackers could know what had really happened.
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Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'gold' #BookQW
Money couldn't buy the sort of security that keeps Blithehurst House safe from treasure hunters while Dan Mackmain goes on his holiday.
From Wizard's Tower Press on 30th October 2025 - Preorder links here www.wizardstowerbooks.com/shop/the-gre...
Cover art by Ben Baldwin shows a creature crouching in a low tunnel entrance lined with grey stones and partly hidden by green undergrowth and white flowers. The creature has pale skin covered in sparse black hair and it looks a bit like an ape, a bit like a bear, and completely unlike either of those.  

The county archaeologists were worried about treasure hunters prowling the estate with metal detectors and stealing whatever they found. Eleanor and I knew any thieves wouldn’t find more gold, but they’d get a whole lot more than they expected once they met the dryads and the black shuck who lives in those woods. We didn’t need that sort of trouble.
As the landowners, the Beauchene family’s share of the hoard’s value would make a useful contribution to the business’s financial reserves in these increasingly tough times. The manor house’s visitor numbers, and what people spend in the cafes, the gift shop and the garden centre, prove the cost of living crisis is nowhere near over. Eleanor would never say so, but I knew she’d be glad to add the cottage in the woods to Blithehurst’s holiday lets as well.
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
It's Book Quote Wednesday & this week's word is GOLD. In Cursed Under London, alchemists abound, even though they're a bit pathetic since they're still banned from making gold after that one time Mansa Musa accidentally crashed the Egyptian economy. Buy here farragobooks.com/book/cursed-... #BookQW
A quote from Cursed Under London. Quote reads: ‘Excuse me, officer?’
Lazare elbowed Fang in the rib to alert him. The guards were still trying to keep an eye on the group, but the man was loudly distraught and doing a commendable accidental job of distracting both guards, as well as a considerable number of passers- by. Lazare noticed the man was wearing the particularly shiny cloak of an alchemist. Maybe they weren’t quite so useless after all, even if this one’s usefulness was by no means deliberate.
‘It’s my purse, it’s been stolen,’ wailed the man. 
Lazare nudged Amber with his foot to turn her back towards New Cross tube. Nell was already walking quickly, quietly and purposefully, straight at the tube entrance.
‘Can’t you just make some more gold?’ asked one of the guards.
‘I’m not allowed, you know we’re not allowed to make gold, do you mock me, Officer?’
‘I do not mock you, Master Alchemist.’
‘Alchemists accidentally crash one regional economy one time and we never hear the end of it!’
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
#BookQW
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word this week is gold, apparently
www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1H1964
A section of Reality But More Fun including the word gold
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
#bookqw word: Gold
#booksky #writingcommunity
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
It's Book Quote Wednesday! Today's word: GOLD. #Excerpt is from BETWEEN LAND AND SEA. #paranormalromance #mermaids #bookqw
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It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is GOLD.

In THE SECOND STONE, Book 3, Hans doesn't have money for passage to Sordan... but he does have a holy medal given him by a devout shaman. Maybe that will do.
#bookqw #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #epicfantasy
Left side of image is book cover of THE SECOND STONE, Book 3 of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Cover shows two young men on a sailing ship approaching a distant fantasy city. 

Right side of the image is a text excerpt from THE SECOND STONE. In the snip Hans offers a religious medal to the captain of the ship, hoping it will pay for his passage. 

       “I wish I had some money, or something, to give you.” Hans felt in his clothes, but all he had was his dagger and his empty purse—and the medal for Saint James. Gold over enamel, with dots of brilliant color, it was at least pretty. He cradled it in his fingers before extending it to Ezhno. Would Felicia mind? He didn’t think so. “Take this,” he said. “It is a token of protection.”
        Ezhno examined the piece, then shook his head. “You will need protection more than I. This is a symbol I dare not offend.”
       “It is?”
       “A Highborn prince with a flaming sword? No symbol is more powerful than that.”
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Zuri is tempted by the susurrous woods…
link-->https://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Algebra-Haunting-Pinedale-High-ebook/dp/B0FGGGZYL8
#horrorbooks #yabooks #bookworms #booksky
#bookqw
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It is Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'gold'. The colours of Verantha are green and gold. In this extract from Chaz Brenchley's Of The Emperor's Kindness, Vivi is waging war through fashion. #BookQW
wizardstowerpress.co...
Tonight the sun was barely down and already Vivi was home and here, in their suite, and all Vivi’s people were fussing about the pair of them, dressing them, dressing their hair with jewels. Even Vivi’s toes were adorned tonight with green and gold lacquer, where they peeped out from her sandals. She’d offered the same to Malance, and laughed at her when she declined.
   “Vivi, I can’t! I have to be all dignity tonight. You can make mischief, and needle people as you like. Not me.”
   “No, you’re right. Fine. You be the spirit of Verantha, solemn and suffering and proud; I’ll be the spirit of the empire, courteous and contemptuous and savage as necessary. Help Clath understand what she’s facing here, and what she could bring down on herself.”
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
#BookQW Leah gazed into her sister's face, a face that mirrored her own. Here, in the dream world, Rebecca had the same dark brown eyes and long GOLDen hair, the same heart-shaped face. SEEIING THINGS https://books2read.com/Seeing-Things #psychicconnection #paranormalromanticsuspense #booksky
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It is Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'gold'. In 'The Sheltering Flame' by Ruthanna Emrys in Wiz Duo 3, the house gets a dangerous visitor. #BookQW
wizardstowerpress.co...
The person at the door is tall and lean, wearing a cloak that seems entirely unnecessary even on a day dimming toward thunderstorm. They pull back their hood to reveal anime-sharp cheekbones and piercingly violet eyes, and hair swept back in colors like peacock feathers. Tiny gold chains drape the edges of their elegantly pointed ears. They look like they checked “yes, please” under Gender, and I want to run my fingers along those earlobes, to feel the contrast between smooth warm skin and delicate links of cool metal. I want to taste the lightning on their breath, and the only thing that stops me is the house’s anger pouring through from the other direction. I open my mouth, and emit a low growl that’s only technically mine.
   I will think about all this later.
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
It’s Book Quote Wednesday, and today’s word is “gold.” www.brianandersonmysteries.com www.amazon.com/stores/autho... #BookQW #wrpbks #mystery #BookSky
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Today's #BookQW word: Gold(en)

Looking for a great new read?

"With page-turning twists and a love story for the ages, LAIRD OF LIES is a wonderful diversion from day-to-day life and a great book to get lost in."

amzn.to/4cBvWD6

#romanticreads #HistoricalHighlands #swoonworthyromance #BookSky
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It's Book Quote Wednesday and today's word is 'gold' #BookQW
In the throes of her possession, Rachael is helpless against the demon's assault on her mind ... She parted her lips, but the daemonium sensed a shift in the power. It slithered through her memories to distract her, firing a montage of images into her brain. Helpless against the onslaught, all she could do was ...
… remember …
Her father stood in her bedroom door, a swath of moonlight illuminating his naked body … she burrowed beneath her covers and feigned sleep, but his hand found her breast and … Tanith came close, whispering of traitors and monsters in the night … do not fear them, they are not here, but … Mastema’s eyes are full of poison, don’t look in his eyes, never look in his eyes … where cracked mirrors fell from the walls, shattered and broken like her faith … and John stood over the Eucharist, stained-glass light bathing his robes in shades of azure, crimson, and gold … and he spoke of God, of God, God, God, God …
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
#Bookqw 'gold' from my novella Star Cruise Lucky Charm in the PETS IN SPACE 10 anthology #scifiromance #romancelandia #booksky www.amazon.com/Pets-Space-1...
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'gold' #BookQW
Sometimes doing the 'right thing' is a terrible burden for someone. For Gaspard Atarex, it is almost impossible to bear.
#writingcommunity #scifi #SpaceOpera
 Gaspard looked up with blurry eyes. “Yeah? What is it, oh, grand Mercedes Solari? Want a drink?”
 “No. I wanted to see you.”
 “You’ve seen me. That’s all sorted. Hey.” He seemed struck by a thought. “I didn’t ever get to see the penal mine shafts. They always told me there was gold down there. Never got to find out. Heh. Laughable.”
 He struggled to make a sound like laughter, then burbled and hid his face. Mercedes struggled to hide her disgust at his condition.
 “You seem more than distressed. I would think you were glad to leave that place.”
 Gaspard answered dryly, his voice slurring, his blurry eyes staring directly at Mercedes. “Oh sure I’m distressed. That place was one of the only jobs I could get along with scraping out engine coils. I’ve thrown it up, let my co-workers die, helped some Kavki bitches kill my superior. Then there’s you, a prisoner for whom I gave up more than she’ll want to know to survive that hell. And here I am, drinking shit and getting hollow sympathy.”
 “You might not be as drunk as you seem. I know that defense. Cruel 
words may be taken lightly when spoken through a fog of alcohol.”
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Where is Julie Morgan? lindagriffinauthor.com/morgan_s_lan...
#BookQW #Mystery #SmallTownLife #MissingPerson
Red book with JM in gold on the cover and a pen lying across it. "Jim took the diary, noting the JM in ornate gold script on the cover."
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is GOLD. Ted is surprised to find himself the owner of a genuine, old fashioned bona fide spellbook - with a mind of its own. #bookqw #yafantasy www.benjeapes.com/index.php/th...

Hear me read a longer version at benjeapes.substack.com.
How did I acquire several photos of the knees of a celebrity client (not this one) in the process of making author corrections? Check out Chapter 6, "Someone wants to Hire Me!", GHOSTWRITING NOVELS: A GUIDE FOR GHOSTWRITERS AND THE GHOSTWRITTEN. #ghostwriting #WritingTip www.ghostwritingnovels.com
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
#booksky #bookqw word: STRONG.

Fairy-smith John meets Toby, a boy considered by his neighbours to be 'touched' because of a fey encounter.

In other news, I come from a neurodiverse family.

Buy here: tinyurl.com/nvvetupj
John drew forward again. He was listening hard now, trying to feel the air. There was something around Toby, a – what was it? A fluster, a tumbling disorder. The boy was fast and strong, there was no question about it, but it was as if the normal pull of the earth didn’t operate on him. Something was blowing him about, gusting him this way and that faster than a common man could follow.
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'strong' #BookQW
Dan Mackmain's physically fit and mentally tough. That means nothing in this situation. Want to find out what happens next?
The Green Man's War is a 99p Kindle UK deal for October.
www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Mans-W...
Cover art by Ben Baldwin shows a lethal, pale-scaled serpent-dragon or wyrm lurking in woodland. It looks straight at you as its forked tongue flickers between open, sharp-toothed jaws.

Book extract reads:  The man by the door with the mattock said something I didn’t catch, but he was obviously warning the others. Sledgehammer guy looked around again. His mate with the pickaxe took a couple of steps towards a jewellery seller at the other end of the barn. She was tiny, wearing a long black dress, with purple hair that matched her lipstick and eyeshadow. If she was next on their list, there was nothing I could do.
I’d have to take that sledgehammer off the short-arse in front of me, then get past his mate with the mattock. No chance. My mother’s a dryad, but that doesn’t give me superpowers, not really. A dryad’s daughters take after their mothers and live for centuries in the unseen world alongside normal life. I’m tall and strong and hardly ever get ill, but I’ll grow old like my dad.
Billhook guy called out. I realised I hadn’t misheard mattock man guarding the door. Whoever these thieves were, they weren’t speaking English between themselves
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
More places to pre-order this title coming soon. Meanwhile check out this #BookQW extract by @epiphanyferrell.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is STRONG. #BookQW #BookSky
Hiding Under the Leaves is launching at World Fantasycon on Friday 31st October. Release date 3rd November. Pre-order now Amazon/Barnes and Noble: ISBN 9781738426867
“What the fuck, man, what are you doing in my house?”
Mateo roared, his voice scratchy and raw.
He sprang out of the bed straight at Jimmie, fast as a
coiled snake. Mateo caught Jimmie at the waist, his strong
arms holding him in a bear hug. Jimmie beat him with the
dead rabbit, pummelling so hard with it for a moment he
thought it, too, had come back to life.
The two men crashed to the floor. Mateo was bigger and
stronger, but Jimmie was meaner. And Mateo’s legs were
tangled up in bed sheets. Jimmie rolled away from Mateo,
got to his knees and swung the rabbit at Mateo again and
again. He’d forgotten what he held in his hand, only feeling
that it was a weapon. He lost his grip on the rabbit, and it
smacked against the wall. Mateo reached up with his hands
for Jimmie’s throat. He was on his back, Jimmie with a knee
on either side of him. Jimmie dropped down onto Mateo’s
stomach. Mateo grunted, the air driven from his lungs and
his grip on Jimmie weakened.

Epiphany Ferrell - Muddy Water  - Hiding Under the Leaves.
Forthcoming from theslab.press 3rd November 2025


Book details: Black cover with red leaves and white badger skeleton
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Today's word: STRONG. Excerpt is from my paranormal YA novel OUT OF BODY.
#bookqw #yalit #yabooks #kidlit #paranormal #outofbody #bookstagram
Reposted by Ben Jeapes
Book Quote Wednesday's word is 'strong' #BookQW
Dan and Fin know there's a threat out there, but it really would help if they knew what they were dealing with...
From Wizard’s Tower Press on 30th October 2025
For preorders, check your preferred retailer
www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Mans-H...
Cover for The Green Man's Holiday by Juliet E. McKenna. Artwork and layout by Ben Baldwin.

A mysterious animal with very sharp teeth peers out from a hollow in a pile of grey stones. Green foliage and white flowers surround it.

Book extract reads: ‘I don’t think we should split up. Not now. Not if there’s any chance that beast-thing will turn up again.’ I couldn’t decide which possibility worried me more: coming face to face with it on a hillside on my own or being away from the cottage when it smashed its way in and attacked Fin.
‘I agree.’ She sounded relieved.
We carried on stripping fibres from the nettles. We soon had enough for me to plait bundles of three or four into longer lengths. I could have made a much stronger, twisted cord, but I didn’t want to tie anything around these trees that would stay there long enough to damage them.
When Fin had finished stripping the last few stalks, I fetched the bucket from the shower room and filled it from the kitchen tap. I grabbed the cleanest-looking tea towel and picked up the tyre iron from the kitchen counter. I gave the tyre iron to Fin as she handed me a last handful of damp nettle strands.
We walked down the garden.