Ah, the seaside! Such a lovely place. We are fortunate to live within driving distance of many beautiful, sandy beaches along the British coast.

I find endless inspiration for my stories when I visit the beach. Looe Beach in Cornwall inspired my #RedcliffeNovels series. Blackpool beach provided the scene for a first meeting of the vampire and the vampire hunter in “Vampire of Blackpool.”

In this article I talk about our favourite beach to visit in the UK as a young family with a dog.

Inspired by the Seaside for LGBT Fantasy Books

Our favourite family destination is Talacre Beach in North Wales. It is dog friendly all year round, there is a quirky old lighthouse that always fires my imagination, and the beach is surrounded by sand dunes to explore. Every time we visit, I come home feeling refreshed and invigorated. Wading into the shallow waves along the shore, feeling the cold sea water wash over my feet, I drink in the natural healing powers of the ocean. And then I walk across the soft sand, allowing it to warm my feet and tickle my toes. Bliss!

It is no surprise that most of my novels are set in seaside locations. The Redcliffe novels, for example, are set in a fictitious holiday town in Cornwall. The location was inspired many years ago when we used to holiday down there at a friends’ hotel. I spent many hours wandering along the beach, exploring the working harbour, and climbing higher up to look out over the bay, all the while picturing my werewolves and vampires hunting around the area.

More recently I turned my attentions to a classic Victorian seaside holiday destination. Blackpool is a town with a chequered past, to say the least. It was established by the Victorians as a place to visit the sea, take in the fresh air, and revive the senses after long, hard days spent working in the industrial factories of the North of England. Nowadays, Blackpool draws in crowds of families, and it is a popular destination for hen parties and stag parties (I had my hen weekend there, years ago!). Read “Vampire of Blackpool“ for my take on contemporary English Gothic, and see what you think.

Download your FREE copy of LGBT fantasy short story It’s Complicated (The Redcliffe Novels) and meet the werewolves of Cornwall, England.  Click here.