Roz Maclaren

Teen Fiction with a Dark Twist

Roz MacLaren

Release date reveal: The Boy With Wings For Hands takes flight this month

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The Boy With Wings For Hands, my latest YA standalone sci-fi novel, takes flight this month!

I’m so excited to reveal that my book will soar on 27 February 2026.

Here’s the blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Sparrow has never known freedom. An alien from the planet Mykzon, she’s caged and forced to perform in Obsidian’s Travelling Show of Rarities and Fascinations.

That is, until Felix crashes into her world. He’s human, reckless and has wings where his hands should be. And when Felix’s arrival attracts powerful enemies, Sparrow’s world is thrown into chaos.

As Sparrow is drawn into a rebellion she never asked for, she must choose between staying hidden or risking everything to fight back.

Because Obsidian doesn’t just want the spotlight.

She wants the world.

Are you ready to join the alien circus? Find out on 27 February.

The real-life locations that inspired The Ruined Skye Trilogy

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My upcoming novel, Forgotten Skye, is the first in my Ruined Skye trilogy. Like the name suggests, all three books are set on the Isle of Skye – but it’s probably a little different to the island you know and love.

Skye is consistently romanticised in fiction – and why not? It’s visually stunning, geographically spectacular and incredibly beautiful. But I wanted to do something different. So my futuristic Isle of Skye? It’s been devasted by a radiation leak in a terrible time period known as the Changing. Humanity has split into two groups; Radions, mutated beings with powerful abilities; and Blands, normal humans who weren’t affected by the radiation.

Here are the real-life locations you can go and visit, all of which make an appearance in my books.

Portree

Visit Portree in peak tourist season, especially when a cruise ship is in, and it’ll feel like a world apart from life after the Changing. In my world, the streets are overgrown with weeds and trees. Rusty cars lie decaying. The houses and shops have all been looted, anything of value taken a long time ago.

Portree Forest

As far as I’m aware, this is the correct name for the lovely forest behind the Isle of Skye Candle Company. In Forgotten Skye, Vesper considers the forest to be hers. Her parents built a cabin, nestled close to the top of the treeline, and she is extremely territorial. As you would expect, given most people she comes across want to kill her.

Take a walk in the forest and you’ll be immersed in Vesper’s world. She loves the feel of seclusion and safety, being surrounded by trees. This is her safe place. Will it stay that way? You’ll have to read the book and find out.

The Fingal Centre

Portree’s sports centre and library make an appearance in the first book. It’s the setting where Vesper and Hunter, two bookworms, first meet. Naturally, it’s been completed trashed and most things of valuable taken away years ago. But rumour has it you can still find the odd book more or less in tact if you look hard enough…

The Lump

Home to the Apothecary’s Tower (which really needs to appear in the trilogy at some stage!), The Lump comes to life every August for the Skye Highland Games. It also makes an appearance in my stories (but I really can’t say too much more as it would spoil the story!)

Dunvegan

Currently, Dunvegan attracts a ton of visitors – exploring Dunvegan Castle, travelling through en route to Neist Point or simply exploring the village. But in the year 2227, my reimagined Dunvegan is home to Creyta, Radion Queen and devoted destroyer of Blands.

Dunvegan Castle

When I was much younger, my uncle and aunt took me around Dunvegan Castle. My favourite part (I was a macabre child) was the dungeon, essentially a hole in a rocky floor. Back in the day, the hole wasn’t covered over, allowing young me to feel the icy cold air. The dungeon was located next to the kitchens, where the smell of food would waft through to the prisoners. The dungeon features heavily in my story.

I’ve since been to the castle multiple times and it forms the inspiration for Queen Creyta’s home and where Hunter and Pep grow up.

The gardens are beautiful and, in my head, are the setting where [SPOILER] something extremely traumatic happens to Hunter as a child.

Currently, as there are no evil Radion queens and vicious Blandhunters in the area, you’re free to visit the castle and take a ride on the seal boats.

Sligachan

Writing this trilogy made me see Skye through new eyes. It really is quite something that the island’s main road takes you past such incredible scenery.

The Cuillins

The Cuillins make quite a major appearance in the third book. They’re the setting for an epic showdown and the trilogy’s finale. And what a setting they are.

Forgotten Skye comes out this summer with Evernight Teen. I can’t wait to transport you to a futuristic version of Skye that you’ve never seen before.

Why you’re in the wrong place if you crave happy endings

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I get it. I really do. You read fiction for escapism, not realism. You yearn for justice and a world that rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. Where the good guys are guaranteed a win and the bad guys get their just desserts.

I don’t write that sort of book. You won’t turn the last page and find a happy ending, wrapped up neatly with a pretty bow, just for the sake of it. But nor do I write a sad ending just for the shock factor or to subvert expectations.

Welcome to my world. Here’s what you’ll find if you choose to stay.

“Oh, that’s dark.”

Forgotten Skye, my upcoming novel in my YA romantasy series, The Ruined Skye Trilogy, is an example of me unleashing my full darkness on the world.

It’s perfect if you love:

  • a FMC who stabs first and asks questions later
  • flawed, messy characters
  • an eerie setting where the Isle of Skye feels like a character in its own right
  • charismatic villains
  • an ending that hurts in the best way

It’s NOT perfect if you love:

  • a happy ever after
  • redemption for the villain
  • a comfort read

Case in point: Mirrordom

I don’t write cosy fantasy. I write books that challenge the perception of who is really good. In The Mirrordom Legends, I have the perfect playground to explore that question. In this world, everyone is born Good, with all the constraints and stereotypes that brings to mind. But everyone has a Mirror twin, with no limitations on how they can and cannot act. The entire series asks the question what really makes us good? Who decides the standard for goodness? What happens when a Good person does something terrible?

There are no easy answers. And no redemption. (Unless we’re talking about Cobalt. And even then I haven’t quite decided.)

Fable and Cobalt from Fable and Legend. Art by Anna Ry.

What will the future hold for Cobalt? Find out when Quiver and Arrow releases later this year.

Exceptions to every self-imposed rule

It’s quite hard to talk all things ending without giving away massive spoilers. However, I will say if you are looking for something a little gentler among my books, The Boy With Wings For Hands probably* won’t wreck you emotionally. It’s due out this year.

Something for everyone?

For me, creativity means experimentation. Having the privilege and the freedom to try new things.

One of my novels, Funeral For A Robot, comes out this year and, in it, I do something I’ve never done before. There are two different endings and it’s up to the reader whether they want to read the second one or not.

I also like this idea because it gives the reader a sense of agency. You get to decide whether you want to turn the page and gamble with your emotions. You get to decide if the lure of the unknown beckons you onwards.

I’m so grateful to Fire and Ice YA for giving me the creative freedom to do something bizarre.

So what will you get from my books?

I know I’m in the minority when I believe that some happy endings are an insult to the characters and the reader. Equally, so can be an ending where everyone dies. Unless handled carefully, both of those opposites can feel like a cop-out. (Note: I am in no way saying this kind of writing and the readers who enjoy it are “wrong”. These are my personal opinions and I’m sharing them with you so you can make an informed decision about the books I write.)

For me, the sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle. An ending where survival comes at a steep price. Where the main characters get what they wanted, but it wasn’t what they expected. Where the story surprises you with one final, lingering twist.

In other words, if you pick up one of my books, you can expect:

  • Endings that feel more like a gut-punch than a cosy hug
  • Relatable villains, who may or may not be alive and thriving at the end of the book
  • A rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in an ending that will make you feel something. (And if that something is that you want to hurl the book across the room, stamp on it eight times, burn it with fire and then come and have stern words with me, then I consider that a job well done.)

If you’re a reader, what do you prefer when it comes to endings? If you’re an author, what do you find most satisfying to write?

*Disclaimer: there are no absolute guarantees you won’t be wrecked emotionally by my books.

Further disclaimer: all thoughts above are my own opinions. I mean no disrespect to any other reader or author who loves happy endings – and my post is not intended as an attempt to convince you to read anything that makes you uncomfortable or unhappy. Look after yourself, first and foremost.

January wrap-up

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Kicking off the new year with a new reading challenge – what could be more fun?

#IndieReads2026

I’ve started a new reading challenge for this year – all about indie books.

#IndieReads2026 is my way of slowing down, paying attention and celebrating stories that might otherwise slip past us. There’s also a points system and the person with the most points at the end of the year wins a prize.

Everyone’s welcome to join in – just click the link below and join my Instagram group chat so I can keep track of your reads and add up your points.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF!

Venom and Blaze character art

Art by Abeer Malik

My Street Team saw it first – but this gorgeous depiction of Venom and Blaze came out in January. The ultra-talented Abeer Malik worked on it all winter and I’m so impressed by the finished piece. Every time I look, I see a new detail!

(Psst. Want to be first to hear the latest news and see character art? Join my Street Team.)

JOIN US

The Boy With Wings For Hands

When I was on one of the indie author panels at YALC, a member of the audience asked us all what our goals were and what was on our To-Do List.

I had two: finish editing The Boy With Wings For Hands (I’d just had my first round of edits back and my wonderful editor had picked out a zillion plot holes that I needed to sort out. It was exactly the feedback I needed – but I knew I had my work cut out to make the book the best it can be.)

After months of hard work (and tireless patience from Jesterbell Editing), I can confirm this book is the best it can be. You’ll be able to judge for yourself very soon.

The Ruined Skye trilogy

Second on my list was finishing up my Ruined Skye trilogy.

Maybe it’s the fact that YALC is in November (my least favourite month). Or maybe it was that I’d just finished the second book in the trilogy, told myself it was terrible then put it aside and never looked at it again. Whatever the reason, my enthusiasm and energy were running low.

Until this month. I edited Book Two and realised it wasn’t the ghastly pile of dross I’d remembered. In fact, I quite liked it.

I’m doing something a little bit different with these two books. Where my other series, The Mirrordom Legends, was written completely chaotically (Book Three was written first. Book One was written second. Book Two was written third. Book Five was written fourth. And, obviously, Book Four was written fifth.), I’m working on the final two books in the Ruined Skye trilogy side by side. Tweaking Book Two while writing Book Three. Almost treating them as one giant story, just split into two. And I’m loving it.

I’m currently 20,000 words into the last book and it’s all I can think about. I love the characters and their journeys. I also want the third book to end the series in a way that completely satisfies. My characters, and readers, deserve nothing but the best.

Forgotten Skye, the first in the trilogy, is out this year.

Out of all the books I’ve written, Forgotten Skye is one of my favourites. I’m so proud of the story and the characters – and, best of all, many of the places where the action takes place are real. (Note to self: do a full blog post about that closer to the book’s release.)

How has your year started? Let me know all about it in the comments.

Deal announcements

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I am thrilled to announce that two more of my books are due out with Evernight Teen next year.

The Boy With Wings For Hands

The Boy With Wings For Hands is a YA sci-fi set in an alien circus that travels London, Earth. Here’s the blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Sparrow has never known freedom. An alien from the planet Mykzon, she’s caged and forced to perform in Obsidian’s Travelling Show of Rarities and Fascinations.

That is, until Felix crashes into her world. He’s human, reckless and has wings where his hands should be. And when Felix’s arrival attracts powerful enemies, Sparrow’s world is thrown into chaos.

As Sparrow is drawn into a rebellion she never asked for, she must choose between staying hidden or risking everything to fight back.

Because Obsidian doesn’t just want the spotlight.

She wants the world.

The Ruined Skye Trilogy

Evernight Teen have contracted Forgotten Skye, which is the first book in my Ruined Skye trilogy.

Here’s the WIP blurb:

The year is 2227, centuries after a radiation leak on the Isle of Skye wiped out thousands.

Survivors are divided into two groups; mutated, god-like beings called Radions and unmutated humans known as Blands. The Blands are relentlessly hunted by Queen Creyta, who is determined to drive them to extinction.

When seventeen-year-old Vesper, one of the last Blands, is chosen as a target, she doesn’t just want to survive; she wants to burn the system to the ground. She forms an unlikely bond with Prince Hunter, the Queen’s reluctant Blandhunter, who is just as trapped as Vesper – bound by duty and desperate to break free.

Vesper sets her sights on overthrowing Queen Creyta – and, if she fails, she won’t just lose Hunter.

She’ll lose the world. 

I can’t wait for you to meet Vesper, Hunter and Pep – and see the Isle of Skye like you’ve never seen it before. Also, I’m writing the third one as we speak and it has evil Highland Cows. I repeat, EVIL HIGHLAND COWS.

Character art: Venom and Blaze

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This breathtaking work of art is Venom and Blaze, brought to life by Abeer Malik.

I’ve wanted to commission character art for these two for a while – and I’m so pleased with the way Abeer brought my vision to life.

Venom is a princess, who discovers when she’s seventeen that she can communicate with spiders. As she develops through the story, she goes on to wear a ‘dress’ of live spiders. It was Abeer’s idea to incorporate gossamer and cobwebs into the dress, which actually wasn’t something I’d considered – and it worked beautifully. I actually think it makes Venom look a little scarier, as if her dress is melting slightly.

Blaze is a prisoner, who has been raised in a dungeon for his first seventeen years. I love how Abeer captured that dark and brooding background.

Abeer also went to great pains to capture Venom’s crown, as depicted on the cover image.

CHECK OUT ABEER’S WORK

Here’s a lovely review I received yesterday about Venom and Blaze.

The book hooked me from the start with the world-building legends, and the good vs bad theme. I felt for those five kids growing up in a dungeon for seventeen years, and honestly, I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what happened next. The royal intrigue was deliciously dramatic, and now I’m left with so many questions heading into the next book.

Reading Thoughts
📙 The legend at the start of the book explaining the world were brilliant to begin the story
📙 The concept of good and bad really has you thinking
📙 Seventeen years is as long time to grow up in a dungeon, really felt for those 5 kids
📙I couldn’t stop reading to know what happens next and next.
📙The royal intrigue and games were soo interesting
📙Ohh there is still a lot I need to know going into the next book.

Words that linger
🍷There exists a prophecy of a Good girl and a Mirror boy who pair. They destroy everything they touch, until, ultimately, they destroy themselves.
🍷Vaguely, Blaze is aware that his heart should be racing, there should be some kind of emotion in him. But there’s nothing. Not even excitement.
🍷“It doesn’t mean I’m not still furious with you. But yes. I love you.”
🍷“Let’s run away. Like you wanted. Let’s make our own destiny, Blaze.

Tropes
🕷️Animal companion
🕷️Good vs Evil
🕷️Royal Intrigue
🕷️Found Family
🕷️Princess/Commoner

If you’ve already read Venom and Blaze, does Abeer’s art match how you perceived the characters?

READ VENOM AND BLAZE

Psst. My Street Team were the first to see this character art revealed. Want to unlock exclusive access to the world of Mirrordom? Join us.

ENTER THE STREET TEAM

2026 author resolutions

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I’ve always made New Year’s Resolutions from a young age.

To me, the start of a new year is the time when I measure my growth and any achievements. I always look at the previous year’s resolutions, to see if I kept them or to ask what prevented me from meeting my goals.

And, of course, it’s the time when I decide what I want from the next year. What areas do I want to grow in? What do I want to get out of another year of life? What do I want to focus on over the next 365 days?

To me, New Year’s Resolutions aren’t always a vow to give up eating chocolate or to be nicer to other people (though those are worthwhile goals!) They’re a way of helping me focus my attention.

So what am I aiming for in 2026?

I try to mix up my resolutions between things I can control and things I can’t completely.

Complete my Ruined Skye trilogy

Forgotten Skye has found a home with Evernight Teen. Burning Skye is complete and ready to be edited. And the final book in the trilogy needs to be written. I’m currently just under 6,000 words with a basic plot idea – but my goal for 2026 is to finish that book and submit it and its elder sister to Evernight.

I am so proud of this trilogy and can’t wait for you to read it. Forgotten Skye will be out in Summer 2026.

Find an agent

Ah, the elusive, lesser spotted agent. I’m not sure how much control I have over the success of this resolution, but I’ll keep querying until I either get signed or die.

See all The Mirrordom Legends books published

If all goes to plan, 2026 will be the year that my series, The Mirrordom Legends, is published. I’m so thankful to my publisher, Fire and Ice, for helping me bring this series to life.

Flame and Phoenix and Quiver and Arrow are both due out in 2026. I’m especially proud of Quiver and Arrow – to me, it’s the most satisfying conclusion to the series I could imagine. It’s also the darkest and most brutal book yet, so make of that what you will.

Grow my Street Team

Oh, here’s one you can help me with!

JOIN STREET TEAM

Return to YALC

YALC 2025 was phenomenal for me. I sold out of books for the first time and learned a lot. Also, it’s the one day of the year I get to meet up with my lovely friend, Marie Voinson. Together, we emerge from our introverted shells and do our best to resemble normal human beings*.

Treat my authoring as a business, not a hobby

I am fortunate enough to have a day job that funds my authoring – but advice from Helen Lewis of LiterallyPR made me decide to take this more seriously. Not that I don’t take it seriously – I absolutely do – but as less of an art and more as a business.

As a creative, I find the two don’t really go hand in hand. I write books because I can’t not write books and it’s forever a surprise and delight when A. they sell, B. other people say they enjoy them. This is not the mindset to bring into 2026 with me, so it’s staying behind in 2025.

Do you bother with New Year Resolutions?

*Marie does this much better than I do. But come and have a laugh as I struggle to remember how to vocalise basic sentences.

2025 in a nutshell

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[Insert some deeply insightful and completely original insights on the past year, without resorting to platitudes like “2025, what a year it’s been” and “Grateful for every moment of 2025.” Even though it has and I am.]

Joking aside, it’s hard to know what to say about a recap of the past year that doesn’t involve some trite cliché. So let’s just get straight into the facts and figures that nobody asked for.

2025 book releases

2025 saw three of my book babies emerge into the world. The latest two installments of my series, The Mirrordom Legends, and my standalone novel, January.

I had the honour of contributing to two very different anthologies this year. Bewitched Blooms was put together by New York Times bestseller, Briar Boleyn, as a fundraising anthology.

A Wild Run was imagined by Melanie Mar, whose vision to showcase human creativity over AI inspired incredible stories. I’m still very proud of my contribution, The Girl With The Glass Heart.

The story I wrote for Bewitched Blooms came off Kindle Unlimited in September, and I went on to release it exclusively for my Street Team members.

Here’s the blurb:

In a world where no one can steal, lie or kill, Myth can do all three.

She has spent her life hiding from those who would banish her. But when she discovers a letter from the father she never knew, Myth escapes into the outside world. Alongside her reluctant twin, Omen, and a trio of strangers with secrets of their own, Myth plunges headfirst into adventure. But not everyone can be trusted. When Myth’s life is on the line, is discovering where she belongs worth the price of betrayal?

JOIN MY STREET TEAM

Works in progress

I wrote five novels in 2025. I feel I’ve learned so much about the craft of writing this year and I hope that shows in my work. I’ve written two Middle Grade novels, two YA novels and one adult psychological thriller. Even if none of them are ever released, everything I write is practice for future work.

Author appearances

I’ve made appearances at two events this year – one on the Isle of Skye and one in London.

YALC is the literary highlight of my year and I’m forever grateful I took the plunge in 2024 to leave my comfort zone far behind.

Let’s make a deal

I’ve made five deals with two publishers for 2026.

  • Flame and Phoenix
  • Quiver and Arrow
  • Forgotten Skye
  • Funeral For A Robot
  • The Boy With Wings For Hands

I can’t wait for you to read the stories.

Not all work and no play

It’s not all been writing, though…

She’s been my number one artist on Spotify for as long as I can remember!

Like many other millennials, I’ve suddenly discovered the deep joy of gardening. I’m fortunate enough to have inherited a ready-made garden. I see myself as its caretaker, duty-bound to maintain the work and leave a lovely space for the next generation. This year, I’ve grown:

  • sunflowers (highly successful outdoors, not successful at all in the polytunnel)
  • green beans (do not recommend. Lots of leaf, little bean and the beans that did appear were nasty)
  • squash
  • lettuce
  • sweet peas (highly successful)
  • carrots (lots of top, very little carrot)
  • parsnips (not tried yet)
  • strawberries (completely dead)
  • sweetcorn (successfully grew leaves, not much else)

I find it relaxing and fulfilling – and it gave me a new appreciation of where my food comes from and how much time and effort goes into growing it!

What’s next for 2026?

I’m running an indie reading challenge. Join me for #IndieReads2026 and let’s discover a world of new characters and adventures.

JOIN IN