Margaret Moxom

I retired in 2016 and came to live in Werrington, Staffordshire Moorlands. Since then I have written seven books. I did gain a teaching certificate, to teach Art and German, but spent most of my working life as a secretary, my final position being at an NHS mental health hospital in North London. I've lived most of my life in London, except for four years, when I bought a pub in Ostend, Belgium, with my then husband, where I was able to learn Dutch. We split up and I met my partner of 31 years, in Ostend, so returned, with her, to London. I then wrote my firs book, "Escape from Reality", based on my experiences in Ostend. This is available at Waterstones. I also wrote two short stories based on a fictional detective, also based in Ostend. These stories were entitled, "Kerry" and "Danii".

I have also painted all of my life, in oils, some of which can be viewed on my website Artweb/Margaret Moxom. I accept commissions for paintings - portraits, pets and views or even copy classical paintings.

After moving to Staffordshire, I got so interested in the Potteries history, especially the riots of 1842 that I considered the possibility of writing another book, but I did not want this to appear to be a history book. I was particularly taken by a Gothic-looking building in the area, which is now the Ash hall Nursing Home and, finding out that there is supposed to be a ghost that haunts Ash hall, led me onto the idea of combining history and supernatural into my book, "Footsteps in the Past". It is the history of the violent Pottery Riots of 1842, in Stoke-on-Trent and the surrounding areas, brought to life by Jane, in what I feel is a gripping novel. I have tried to give an indication of the political atmosphere of the time; the working lives of the potters and their children, who have to work in the potteries and mines, from the age of 6; the starvation of the workers after their pay was cut, yet again; the introduction of the dreaded Corn Laws and the influence of the Chartists leading to the riots. All this has been put together with a storyline involving Jane, having been whisked back into the past after seeing a ghostly figure running away from the home and the danger she gets herself into while following the rioters. Will she get back safely to the 21st century and will she find out who the ghostly figure was?

I have since met people who work at the nursing home and have been given a tour of the home. It seems staff have seen more than one ghost there, including that of Job Meigh, who haunts the area to the top of the stairs. I was also told a story by a member of staff, who was in the kitchens at the sink. She looked round and saw a young boy. Taken aback by this, she called out to another member of staff, asking if she could see the young boy too. She could - then as suddenly as he appeared, the young boy vanished. Ash Hall was used as a nursery at one time - could this young boy have been at the nursery and died there, and what circumstances would have led to him haunting the home.

Following on from this information, I have written a second book in this series, "Footsteps in the Past - The Secret". This follows one of the endings of Footsteps, book, taking Jane, still in the 19th century, to a coal mining disaster in which her son is involved. John has tried to save him but is pulled out of the mine, half-dead himself. While Jane is nursing him, and waiting for news on their son, Jane reminisces about what has happened over the past 39 years, including the coming of the railway to Bucknall, the first training of nurses and the awful workhouse infirmary. The book includes some paranormal activity with haunting of the Ash Hall.

This book has been followed by the third and last in the series "Footsteps in the Past - John's Story". This follows the other alternative ending of book 1, following John's poignant story of life, loves and losses during the industrial growth of the Potteries and the workers' striving for their rights and the vote, facing starvation and the workhouse. John is also in the midst of the Cholera pandemic of 1832 (similar to Covid-19). There is some light relief when the circus comes to town and the Wakes weeks including the Etruria horse races.

For my fourth book, I veered away from the Potteries, as this story is about the pioneering Mormans, taking the life-threatening journey across the Atlantic, in the mid 1950s, to get to Utah in America. This is a true story and is based on my own family - stories I found in Family Search. The title is "Munford-Gunn". These are two families, are escaping persecution for their religious beliefs, only to meet more persecution in America against Africans, other religions and the native Americans.. They travel by sailing ships, taking 6 weeks to cross the Atlantic. Ann Munford meets Charles Dickens on the "Amazon". Then, mostly walking the 1,300 miles beside their ox-drawn wagons, which carry the belongings they were able to bring, they cross the searing hot plains, perilously hauling the wagons over rivers and mountains to get to Salt Lake City. Many die along the way of starvation, dehydration and disease. In Parowan, the two families meet up. Ann Munford marries George /Gunn, only to have to set out immediately to clear land and build settlements - until the Black Hawk Wars start.

For my fifth book, I'm back to Staffordshire and the "Barlaston Murderer - Leslie Green". Again a true story but I have added a possible psychological background for Leslie Green. He said right until the noose went round his neck, 23 December 1952, that he wasn't there and he didn't do the murder. My book tries to show that, if the police medical staff knew what is available today with regards to medical health, Leslie Green should not have been hanged.

My sixth book is "The Rough Close Murder". This concerns a true life fratricide that occurred in Rough Close, Staffordshire, in 1886 - John Daniel shot his brother William, dead, following an argument. William is an obnoxious drunk who has lost his home and his family have moved away. I have researched the archived newspapers of the time and have all the details about the murder, the trial and sentencing. However, in my book, I have a new family moving into the same farmhouse where the murder took place. - some 100+ years on - Dave and Sue and their two girls. Unbeknownst to them, the spirit of the murdered man is activated when Dave gets electrocuted and possesses Dave. Dave's personality gradually starts to change - drinking heavily and being aggressive to his pregnant wife. On finding out about the history of the house, Sue calls in a true life psychic medium, but, after a traumatic exorcism, will Sue ever be able to trust Dave again?

The psychic medium is Julie Angel, who actually helped me with getting the facts right concerning the exorcism in the book.

I have since developed this into a radio play, on YouTube and an audio book, available on Amazon. I am also looking into the possibility of putting on a stage production.

My 7th book is The Day the Sun Disappeared, about the RAF Fauld explosion in 1944. It is factual, having been given stories and information from people who lived through those long, dark months, that wove so deep into the psyche of those who experienced it, that it affected them for the rest of their lives. It is something that should never have happened and should never be forgotten, although the RAF covered it up for 30 years.

I have tried to make it more of a story than just a history book, to make it more readable, building the story from before the explosion and the way things were during the war, in this sleepy farming out of the way community, following the life and work of PC Mckay and his family - until that mushroom cloud of the gigantic explosion changed their lives forever.

All of my books are available on Amazon as paperbacks or ebooks.