Phill Featherstone has a BA in English Literature from Cambridge, and followed this with a Masters in Education from Leicester. He has been a teacher, education adviser and publisher, and now alternates between writing, drinking coffee, and playing the saxaphone (badly) - not always in that order. He lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England with Sally, his wife and partner of more years than either of them can count. He is the author of eleven novels and a book of short stories.
Phill's first published book was Paradise Girl. It came out in 2016 and tells the story of a worldwide pandemic and its effects on a family living in the remote hills of northern England. A sequel, Aftershocks, was published in 2017 and the story concludes with Jericho Rose, which appeared in 2020 just as the 'real' pandemic struck!
Phill's fourth novel, The God Jar, is a tale of magic and mystery which straddles 16th century Europe and 20th century England. John Dee, Elizabethan sorcerer and mystic, comes upon a jar which contains a powerful force. England is in danger and Dee must sacrifice his find to save the country and his Queen. 400 years later the jar resurfaces when a pair of holidaymakers salvage it on a diving trip. But have they found the jar or has it found them? And how do they avoid the dangers it threatens?
In What Dreams We Had a group of young people leaving school are wondering how to spend the summer when they receive a surprise invitation to stay at a celeb's villa in Italy. They will live in luxury and all their expenses will be paid. Where’s the catch? In finding out, they are forced to confront uncomfortable truths about who they are and what is important to them, and to wonder whether many of the things they thought were true, actually are.
I Know What You're Thinking tells the story of Beth and Cameron. They share a remarkable ability: each can see into the mind of the other. This is a fun trick, until it becomes serious when Cameron is seized by criminals who are harvesting organs to sell to wealthy transplant patients. His only chance of survival is if Beth can use their amazing gift to find him.
Leopard's Bane is a three volume fantasy saga: The Poisoner's Garden, The Rhymer's Daughter, and A Hanging Moon. In an ancient city run by corrupt rulers, two sons vie for their father’s patronage and wealth. One is a cruel bully, the other is a thinker and a poet. There’s a scheming stepmother. Oh, and a poor girl from the slums whose passion is to see wrongs righted, and who possesses special gifts. The three books tell their stories and follow their ups and downs, their crises and their struggles, their journeys and their lost wanderings, until at last all come together under a hanging moon.
Butterflies are brief, elusive and beautiful. In Phill's novel Butterflies, Lucia and Harry are an unlikely couple. She’s an innocent girl from an impoverished and cloistered background, he is the worldly heir to a fortune and a title. They meet at university, and after a whirlwind romance they marry. But the Harry that Lucia marries turns out to be different from the Harry she fell in love with. Matters come to a head with the cot death of their newborn son, which brings Lucia to the verge of a breakdown. She travels to a remote retreat where she hopes to get help managing her grief. Instead, in a breathtaking climax she is taken to places she'd never imagined.
Phill's most recent novel is Tideswell. Holly, a gifted amateur artist, vanished from the seaside village of Tideswell a year ago and her older sister, Alice, arrives to settle her affairs. It should be straightforward, but it's not. Conflicting accounts of Holly’s behaviour twist through the village, and paintings found in her studio reveal dark visions of witch trials and of a monstrous figure that rises from the sea. As Alice digs deeper, she uncovers disturbing truths, and the Tideswell community turns against her and violence erupts. Alice escapes, to be cared for by Simon, her seemingly devoted husband. However, even there appearances are deceptive. Torn between truth and illusion, family secrets and manipulation, Alice must summon the courage to reclaim her life before she, too, is drowned by Tideswell’s shadows.
Undiscovered Countries is a collection of 11 short stories, ranging from the spooky to the humorous to the downright bizarre. All have contemporary resonances and are designed to pose questions for the reader.
Phill is now working on a sequel to The God Jar.
He has also co-authored several books on education, published by Bloomsbury.
