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Author · Storyteller
Hazel West
@hazelwest
Writer interested in historical fiction, storytelling and all the strange practical decisions involved in turning drafts into books.
Behind the stories
About the writer
Hazel West writes across historical fiction and drama, with a particular interest in character, atmosphere, revision and the details that turn a manuscript into a finished book.
The smallest detail can change the temperature of a scene.
Books and story worlds
Stories by Hazel West
On the writing desk
Currently creating
Later first draft
The Last Catalogue
In 1919, a junior librarian in Newcastle is asked to sort the damaged records of a private collection after a wartime fire, only to discover that one missing ledger may hold the truth about a family’s silence. As she follows the paper trail through reading rooms, auction rooms and old streets, she begins to understand that some histories are preserved by accident, and some by design.
76%
Draft progress
Around The Globe
Recent conversations
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Crime & Mystery
The best clues in crime fiction usually look unhelpful at first. A torn receipt, a ledger entry, a file stamped and f...
18 August 2026
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Fantasy
A dragon’s intelligence only matters if it changes the social temperature of the scene.
16 August 2026
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Writing Craft
Flat scenes are often blamed on the dialogue, but the real problem is usually simpler: nobody wants anything badly en...
14 August 2026