FROM LIVERPOOL, WITH STORIES.
Written here. Read anywhere.
Signed books, complete collections and a few other bits - sent directly from me to you.
Buying here means you're buying directly from an independent Liverpool author. Every signed book is handled, signed and packed by me before it heads your way.
So, go 'ed. Pick a book.
Before the records. Before the reforms. There was The Hollows.
Liverpool, 1758.
The Theatre of Madness begins the five-book Hollows series, following an institution and the people caught inside it, across generations.
Behind its walls, ideas about madness are shaped by fear, curiosity and control. People are observed, judged and categorised by those who hold almost complete power over what happens next.
At the centre is Eliza Wakefield.
Before she became a record, she had a name. And long before The Hollows learned how to keep its history, Eliza was determined to make sure it remembered her.
Dark historical fiction about mental health, institutional power and the people history too easily reduces to a diagnosis.
This is where The Hollows begins.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam
The Hollows should be read in order. This is Book I of V.
ENTER THE HOLLOWS
Five stories. One place. A history that refuses to stay buried.
The buildings changed. The paperwork improved. The silence remained.
By the 1970s, The Hollows looks very different from the institution it once was.
There are new systems, new records and a growing belief that better processes can prevent the mistakes of the past.
But institutions don't change simply because the language does.
Behind the paperwork are still people - people whose lives can be reduced to reports, decisions and explanations written by somebody else.
The Modern Silence takes The Hollows into a more recognisably modern era, exploring what happens when poor practice and harm can exist alongside policies designed to prevent them.
Because recording something isn't the same as stopping it.
“We keep records now,” she'd told herself on her first morning. “That's how harm ends: you write it down, you don't let it vanish.”
The Hollows is more modern.
That doesn't necessarily make it safer.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam.
The Hollows should be read in order. This is Book IV of V.
They called it progress.
The Hollows has changed.
Its corridors are larger. Its records more detailed. And those responsible for the people behind its doors are increasingly certain that madness can be understood, classified and corrected.
In The Physic of Men, observation gives way to experimentation as new theories and methods promise a better understanding of the human mind.
But knowledge and cruelty can occupy the same room
At the centre is Edith Malloran, watching as patients become specimens, theories become certainties and those claiming to understand madness gain ever greater power over the people in their care.
Edith came to observe.
She learned when not to look away.
Dark historical fiction exploring mental health, early medical thinking, institutional power and what happens when the people searching for answers stop questioning themselves.
The methods changed. The certainty didn't.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam
The Hollows should be read in order. This is Book II of V.
Five eras. Five stories. One place that refuses to stay buried.
The Buried Chronicles brings the complete five-book Hollows series together in one volume.
Beginning in Liverpool in 1758, the story follows The Hollows across generations as ideas about mental health, treatment, prejudice, care and institutional power change around it.
The language changes.
The methods change.
The records become more detailed.But behind every entry in a ledger, every diagnosis and every decision is a person whose story deserves to be remembered.
This collection contains:
I - The Theatre of Madness
II - The Physic of Men
III - The Cleansing
IV - The Modern Silence
V - The ReopeningFrom Eliza Wakefield onwards, names and stories become buried within the history of The Hollows - waiting for another generation to uncover them.
Some places don't forget.
Paperback · The complete five-book collection · Available signed directly from Adam
If you want the entire Hollows story in one volume, this is the one.
He survived the war. Coming home was another matter.
Liverpool, 1945.
Reuben Wakefield returns from war carrying a medal, an injured eye and the expectation that the country he fought for might finally have a place for him.
Instead, doors close.
Work is refused. Rooms disappear. Suspicion follows him through streets he once called home.
Eventually, Reuben finds himself behind the walls of The Hollows, where prejudice can be written into a ledger and cruelty given the language of treatment.
But institutions don't exist separately from the world outside them. They carry its assumptions inside.
And The Hollows has forgotten something.
The Wakefields have been here before
The Cleansing is dark historical fiction exploring race, belonging, prejudice, institutional power and what it means to return home to a country you fought for — only to discover you still have to prove you belong in it.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam
The Hollows should be read in order. This is Book III of V.
Some places don't forget.
Generations have passed through The Hollows.
Its methods have changed. Its language has changed. Its doors have closed and its history has been written, rewritten and buried.
But history has a habit of surviving the people who try to tidy it away.
In The Reopening, the fifth and final book of The Hollows, the past and present come together as the institution's legacy is confronted once more.
Names, records and stories left behind across generations begin to matter again - because The Hollows has never contained just one version of its history.
There are buildings that prefer a single version of themselves. The Hollows is not one of them.
This is where the five-book journey that began with Eliza Wakefield reaches its conclusion.
The doors are opening again.
And this time, the people behind the records will not be so easily forgotten.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam
The Hollows should be read in order. This is Book V of V.
MORE THAN ONE STORY?
Some seats are never really empty.
The Seat Left Empty is a story about football, friendship, love, grief and the people who become part of our lives simply because, week after week, we sit beside them.
Set against the rhythm of matchdays and the unmistakable atmosphere of Everton, this isn't really a book about football.
It's about the people we share it with.
The routines. The conversations. The memories. And what remains when somebody who was always there suddenly isn't.
You don't need to understand football to understand what it means to miss somebody.
Paperback · Signed by Adam Hardaker
Want it personalised? Add the name and/or short message you'd like written inside using the personalisation box before adding it to your basket.
Some books belong together.
Some places hold more than memories.
The Seats We Once Filled continues the Blue Seat Chronicles - a story about football, family, friendship, change and the people who become part of the rituals we build our lives around.
The match matters. Of course it does.
But this is about everything surrounding it too.
The walk to the ground. The familiar faces. The conversations repeated week after week. The people who once filled the seats around us - and what happens when life begins to change.
Because sometimes it's only when something familiar starts disappearing that you realise how much of yourself you've left there.
Paperback · Available signed directly from Adam
Want it personalised? Choose a signed copy and use the personalisation box to tell me the name and/or short message you'd like written inside.
The Seat That Changed the Game
The Blue Seat Chronicles - Book Three
Goodison Park has always been a place where voices carry. Evie Collins is still trying to find hers.
As Everton Women begin their first full season at Goodison Park, Evie is given an unexpected opportunity to talk about the game she loves.
But having a voice and feeling entitled to use it are two very different things.
Suddenly visible in a world where everyone has an opinion, Evie discovers that some people would rather judge how she looks, question what she knows, or decide whether she belongs than actually listen to what she has to say.
Away from football, Evie has spent far too long learning that sometimes making yourself smaller feels safer than saying no.
Through friendship, loss and the people she meets in the seats around her, she begins to discover that she doesn't need anybody else's permission to take up space.
Set against the real matches and moments of Everton Women's historic 2025/26 season at Goodison Park, The Seat That Changed the Game is a story of football, friendship, family, grief, prejudice and finding the courage to use your own voice.
Because sometimes changing the game isn't about scoring the goal.
Sometimes it's simply refusing to give up your seat.
💙 Book Three of The Blue Seat Chronicles
📖 Paperback edition
✍️ Signed by Adam Hardaker (if you're signing all website copies — I'd definitely do this)
📦 Dispatched within 4 working days of ordering
Please note: This is the third novel in The Blue Seat Chronicles. It can be enjoyed as its own story, but reading The Seat Left Empty and The Seats We Once Filled first will give you the full story behind some of the characters and relationships.
FIND ME IN THE WILD
My books have escaped the internet.
WHERE TO FIND MY BOOKS
Write Blend Ltd.
124 South Road,
Waterloo,
Liverpool
L22 0ND
(0151) 928 1303
AMAZON
Prefer to order online?
My books are also available through Amazon in paperback and selected Kindle editions, making it easy to pick up a copy wherever you are.
WRITE BLEND — WATERLOO
Independent books. Independent authors. Right here in Merseyside.
You can also find my books on the shelves at Write Blend, an independent bookshop on South Road in Waterloo.
There's something special about seeing your books sitting in a proper bookshop - particularly one that supports local writers, independent creators and the community around it.
So if you're nearby, pop in, have a browse and pick up one of mine while you're there.
And while you're at it, have a look at what else is on the shelves.
Support local authors. Support local bookshops. Keep stories local.
However you choose to read them, thanks for giving an independent author's stories a seat on your shelf.
Keep your place inside The Hollows.
An official The Theatre of Madness bookmark created to accompany Book I of The Hollows.
Featuring artwork inspired by the world of the series, with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
Perfect for your own copy of The Theatre of Madness — or for anyone who has the unfortunate habit of folding page corners. We need to have words about that.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
Designed for The Hollows · Book I
MORE THAN BOOKS
Because apparently writing the books wasn't enough.
The stories don't have to stay on the page.
From bookmarks and postcards to pens and other bits inspired by the books, this is where you'll find the extras from the worlds I've created.
Some are tied to individual books. Some are just because I thought they'd look boss.
And there'll probably be more as I think of them.
Keep your place inside The Hollows.
An official The Modern Silence bookmark created to accompany Book IV of The Hollows.
Featuring artwork inspired by the fourth chapter of the series, with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
The records might disappear into filing cabinets. At least this should stop you losing your page.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
Designed for The Hollows · Book IV
Five books. Five eras. Five bookmarks.
The complete set of official bookmarks created for The Hollows series.
The collection includes:
I - The Theatre of Madness
II - The Physic of Men
III - The Cleansing
IV - The Modern Silence
V - The Reopening
Each bookmark features artwork inspired by its book, along with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
Buy them individually for £1.50 each, or collect all five together for £6.00.
Basically, buy four and I'll chuck the fifth one in.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise · Complete five-book set
Keep your place inside The Hollows.
An official The Physic of Men bookmark created to accompany Book II of The Hollows.
Featuring artwork inspired by the book, with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
Ideal alongside your copy of The Physic of Men — because Edith might leave the page blank, but you still need to remember where you were.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
Designed for The Hollows · Book II
Keep your place inside The Hollows.
An official The Cleansing bookmark created to accompany Book III of The Hollows.
Featuring artwork inspired by Reuben Wakefield’s story, with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
A little piece of The Hollows to keep between the pages — considerably safer than actually spending any time there.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
Designed for The Hollows · Book III
Keep your place inside The Hollows.
An official The Reopening bookmark created to accompany Book V — the final chapter of The Hollows.
Featuring artwork inspired by the conclusion of the series, with Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and a QR code connecting you back to the books online.
The doors are opening again. Probably best not to lose your place while they do.
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
Designed for The Hollows · Book V
Five stories. One institution. Centuries of secrets.
An official The Hollows postcard featuring the complete five-era artwork on the front, taking The Hollows from 1758 to 2025.
Turn it over and you'll find an old-fashioned postcard design featuring the complete five-book series, The Wall Remembers stamp artwork, Adam Hardaker / Scouse Author branding and QR code.
Keep it. Frame it. Stick it on a shelf. Or actually post it to somebody if you're feeling unusually traditional.
Featuring all five eras of The Hollows:
I - The Theatre of Madness
II - The Physic of Men
III - The Cleansing
IV - The Modern Silence
V - The Reopening
Official Adam Hardaker merchandise
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NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Different stories for different readers.
Not sure which one to pick? Start with what you're in the mood for and I'll point you in the right direction.
⚽ FOOTBALL, FAMILY & MEMORY
Stories about the seats we fill, the people beside us and the memories football leaves behind.
START WITH THE BLUE SEAT CHRONICLES →
🏚️ DARK HISTORY
& MYSTERY
Forgotten places, buried histories and the things that were never supposed to come back to the surface.
ENTER THE HOLLOWS →
📋 SOCIAL CARE
& PEOPLE
The people behind the policies, paperwork and pressures of a world rarely seen from the inside.
DISCOVER REGISTERED →
Still haven't got a clue? That's alright.
EXPLORE ALL THE BOOKS →
🧩 NEURODIVERSITY
& FAMILY
One life seen through different perspectives and what happens when we try to understand someone else's world.
MEET JOE →