Douglas Bruton is the author of five previous novels: The Chess Piece Magician (2009), Mrs Winchester's Gun Club (2019), Blue Postcards (2021), With or Without Angels (2022) and Hope Never Knew Horizon (2024). Blue Postcards was longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021. His short fiction has appeared in various publications including Northwords Now, New Writing Scotland, Aesthetica, The Fiction Desk and the Irish Literary Review, and has won competitions including Fish and the Neil Gunn Prize. He lives in the Scottish Borders.