The Shadow Order

‘One year on from the day the shadows shifted and began to show, not people’s shapes but their real selves, best friends Teddy, Betsy and Effie plan to risk all and watch the winter sun rise over Copperwell, in defiance of the Shadow Order.

But from their hidden vantage point the three shocked friends witness a mysterious woman shout a dire warning, before being arrested, beaten and dragged away in handcuffs.

The event leads them on an extraordinary series of dangerous adventures as they discover more about the disturbance in the natural world surrounding Copperwell, battle to save their city and start to recognise their truest selves.’

Rebecca F. John was born in 1986, and grew up in Pwll, a small village on the south Wales coast. She holds a BA in English with Creative Writing and an MA in Creative Writing from Swansea University, as well as a PGCE PCET from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

Her short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4Extra. In 2015, her short story The Glove Maker’s Numbers was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. She is the winner of the PEN International New Voices Award 2015.

Her first short story collection, Clown’s Shoes, was published through Parthian in 2015.

Her first novel, The Haunting of Henry Twist, was published through Serpent’s Tail in July 2017. It was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award.

She has recently published two more books for adults – The Empty Greatcoat (Aderyn Press) and Fannie (Honno Press.) The Shadow Order (Firefly Press) is her first children’s book.