Phill Featherstone was born and brought up in West Yorkshire. After several years working in Education, he and his wife, Sally Featherstone, set up an educational publishing company. They ran this from 1998 until they sold it in 2009. It wasn't until then that Phill found the time to fulfil his long term ambition to write fiction.
Phill's first published book was Paradise Girl, which tells the story of a worldwide pandemic and its effects on a family living in the remote hills of northern England. A sequel, Aftershocks, followed, and the series concludes with Jericho Rose.
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 that go with it?
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, who 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 ruthless criminals. Can Beth can use their amazing gift to find him? And if so, at what cost?
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 of that name, Lucia and Harry are an unlikely couple. She’s an innocent girl from an impoverished and sheltered background, he is the worldly heir to a fortune and a title. 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.
In Tideswell. Holly, a gifted amateur artist, vanishes from the seaside village of Tideswell. A year later 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 a monstrous figure that rises from the sea. As Alice digs deeper the Tideswell community turns against her and violence erupts. She escapes, to be cared for by Simon, her seemingly devoted husband, but 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 currently completing his 12th novel, a sequel to The God Jar. Publication is planned for late Autmn 2026.
Phill studied English Literature at Cambridge, and Education at Leicester universities. When he's not reading or writing, he alternates between drinking coffee and playing the saxophone (badly) - not always in that order. He enjoys live music and visiting galleries and museums. He lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England with Sally, his wife and partner of more years than either of them can count.
