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It’s official. I’ve signed a publishing deal with Pen & Sword Books , one of the UK’s leading military and historical publishers, for my next non-fiction title A Land Abandoned  (working title). The book explores what happened in the aftermath of Bannockburn , when the north of England was left to burn, rebuild, and somehow survive between 1314 and 1328 . These were years of devastation, rebellion, and uneasy peace, when much of the north was effectively written off by its ow

What follows is an overview of the Neville's Cross Campaign that culminated in the battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. The Battle of Neville's Cross, 17 October 1346 A Scottish Invasion -The Neville's Cross Campaign 1346 If you’re local to the Durham area, chances are you’ve grumbled your way through Neville’s Cross in traffic on the A167, wondering why it’s even called that, or passed through it on the way to somewhere more interesting. What you may not know is tha

Forged in the North has been released aby Worms & Warriors Press on Kindle via Amazon and is out now. The book is now available for FREE for a limited time (and 99p after the promotional period). A paperback release will follow. Forged tells the story of Walter de Selby, a man caught up in events that quickly spiral out of all control and leads to full scale rebellion against the King of England. Follow Walter as he stumbles through the brutal world of 1317 Northumberland.

I am delighted to say that Forged in the North is finished and scheduled for a release on 12 October 2025. It's available on Kindle for...

A Gentleman's Guide to Losing One's Mind by Nick McLean Today (21st September 2025) saw a Micro Horror story of mine published by...

A King's Gamble: Nearly 100 Copies Sold in 12 Days A King’s Gamble: The Neville’s Cross Campaign, 1346  has been out less than two weeks...

My book, A King's Gamble: The Neville's Cross Campaign, 1346 is out now! Available worldwide at Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1036...

A King's Gamble, a non fiction narrative driven account of the Neville's Cross Campaign to be released soon by Nick McLean and Worms and Warrior Press

History loves its clean-cut heroes. The ones with polished armour, pious motives, and great hair. However, it tends to forget the men who did the dirty work. The ones who didn’t ride into glory but stood ankle-deep in mud, holding the line when everyone else was off chasing banners and dreams. Sir Walter de Selby was one of the latter. And by all accounts, you’d have been a fool to cross him.

I spent a morning recently exploring Lanercost Priory. It was a nice drive from my home in County Durham into the wilds of Cumbria,...

The Castle at Barnard Castle It was early morning on Sunday and my alarm was going off. My wife and I had planned a little trip out to...

When I started writing A King's Gamble: The Neville's Cross Campaign, I had visions of myself as some sort of literary Indiana...

An examination of Jonathan Sumption's account of the Neville's Cross campaign of 1346.

In October 1346, an ambitious Scottish invasion of England climaxed in a dramatic twist: the Battle of Neville’s Cross saw the King of...

Well, that’s it. The words are down. The first draft of A King’s Gamble: The Neville’s Cross Campaign 1346  is officially finished. The...

The words are finally hitting the page. After years of reading, researching, ranting, and rewriting history in the pub (and in my head),...