This reading order includes all the published books, the bonuses, and includes the points where the stories from Spilling the Tea fit into the Midlife Recorder series. Many readers call it the Gretna Green series—for obvious reasons.
There will be ten books in the main storyline. Currently, I’m published up to book six and working on book seven.
If you’re muttering, “I thought the current one was book seven?” You might not know that putting the House Party novella onto Amazon caused a mis-numbering of the whole series. I will be correcting that in December 2025 when Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green is published.
Here’s the full reading order so far with bonus epilogues in green text.
If you’d prefer just a quick glance at the published books, I’ve got ya. Get that HERE.
The first three bonuses are available only to my newsletter subscribers.
I’ve also included the stories from Spilling the Tea where they occur chronologically in the story timeline. Do watch out for spoilers if you read ahead in Spilling the Tea—that would include advance tea you didn’t want to be spilled 😂
The Recorder’s Star
This is the gateway star referred to throughout this guide. It mirrors the position of the gates inside the Rainbow Gateway in Gretna Green.
The emblem on the door of each gate matches the runes on the top of the anvil.
Midlife in Gretna Green
1: Midlife in Gretna Green
Published on July 4th, 2022
Green on the Gateway star and the emblem on the green gate is the thistle.
Niki’s introduction to the whole confusing world in Gretna Green. Including a sentient house and some other wonderful human and not-so-human characters.
1.1 BONUS: The Job Offer
An extra chapter of Midlife in Gretna Green where Niki and Dola discuss working together in a new way and Niki asks the Book about the HRH.
Painting the Blues
2. Painting the Blues in Gretna Green
Published on November 5th, 2022.
Blue on the Gateway star and the emblem on the blue gate is the Pict triskele.
Dola, along with Niki and her best friend Aysha, fix a 1000-year-old injustice for the Smiths and Queen Breanna in the Pict kingdom.
Niki is re-introduced to the man she had a crush on when she was 11.
2.1 BONUS: The Bonding
An extra chapter of Painting the Blues in Gretna Green. L’eon and Kaiden’s bonding and a surprise for Ad’Rian, the Fae king.
Ties that Bond
3. Ties that Bond in Gretna Green
Published on February 9th, 2023. Not on the Gateway star because it’s one of the Gateway Cottage books. There is no emblem on the gate either. Privately I call books three, six and nine the ‘joining’ or Gateway Cottage books.
It’s Valentine’s week in the Gateway, and Niki’s first bondings don’t go to plan. Cue hilarity, heartbreak and prophecies for some of our favourite characters.
3.1 BONUS: Love’s Young Dream Cheesecake
An extra chapter of Ties that Bond in Gretna Green where we find out about the results of eating the inaccurately named cheesecake and more about Fi, Corby and Ross.
House Party in Gretna Green
Published in August 2023
A 100-page novella that I intended to be a free bonus, but stuff happened and it had to be put on Amazon temporarily. It fits between Ties and Seeing Red.
Dola is 1400-years-old … on Sunday. Niki decides to throw her a surprise birthday party. This was a thank you to my readers for their support. You can read the story about it here.
It’s now included in Spilling the Tea along with a short story called Memories, which covers Dola’s birth from Mabon’s point of view and complements House Party.
Seeing Red
4. Seeing Red in Gretna Green
Published 28th September 2023
(Red on the Gateway star and the emblem on the red gate is the Red Celts’ dragon rune)
Niki reluctantly sets off to visit Dai in his ‘lovely mountain home’
Along the way, she learns more about Dai and the Red Celt dragons’ politics than she ever needed to know.
BONUS: No longer available.
It was only for the six months it took me to get Yellow published after the cliffhanger-y ending of Seeing Red. It comprised the first four chapters of Code Yellow in Gretna Green.
Just so everyone could breathe again … 🤦♀️
Code Yellow
5.Code Yellow in Gretna Green
Published 28th March 2024
(Yellow on the Gateway star and the emblem on the yellow gate is the Vikings’ Yggdrasil rune)
After the events of Seeing Red, Niki begins Code Yellow headed for Angry Town with a side trip through Blind Fury County. But surprisingly quickly, the usual fun re-emerges.
5.1 BONUS: Gretna Green goes to Manchester
A seven chapter, (65 page) novella which continues directly on from the end of Code Yellow.
Lewis, Rollo and Niki head to Manchester for the weekend.
It helps to read it before Market Forces, but it’s not essential.
It is now included in Spilling the Tea.
Market Forces
6. Market Forces in Gretna Green
Published 1st November 2024. Not on the Gateway star because it’s one of the Gateway Cottage books. There is no emblem on the gate either. Privately I call books three, six and nine the ‘joining’ or Gateway Cottage books.
The bonus to this turned into an entire full-length book called Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green.
It’s entitled Secrets of the Dead and picks up the day after Market Forces.
Spilling the Tea coming December 25.
6.5. Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green
Will be published on December 26th, 2025.
After Secrets of the Dead, which follows on from the end of Market Forces, comes St George’s Day, a story of dragons, old and new.
Discover the birth of the Pictish realm in Somewhere Only Sheep Know. Before moving right up to date with Caitlin’s 25th birthday in The Blade Queen. In that short novel, tradition meets a surprise party—and unexpected husbands.
The Valkyries Are Flying—is a novella so long many authors would call it a short book. A riotous tale of justice, joy, and long-overdue retribution. When the realms discover that sometimes murder really is a fun team sport.
7. Half an Orange in Gretna Green
Will be out in Autumn 2026. After I passed the midpoint of the series, I scheduled some much-needed time off in 2025 to deal with our house move, take a break and generally remind myself that this was a retirement project and not my full-time job 😀
Orange is the book about the Galician realm, and I can’t say any more yet, as it would include spoilers for previous books.
That’s it so far, but if you’d like to see the forthcoming books, you can read about the entire planned series HERE