Author launches new thrillers set in Morecambe and inspired by ITV hit The Bay

A Cumbrian author is hoping fans of ITV’s hit drama The Bay will love his new series of thrillers set in Morecambe.
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Paul Teague, who lives in Carlisle, has recently released the second trilogy in his popular Morecambe Bay series which was inspired by the TV show.

His heroine, Charlotte Grayson, must face great danger to save her friend, the woman to whom she owes her life.

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And the three books – Trust Me Once, Fall from Grace and Bound by Blood - are packed full of the fiendish twists, turns and suspense his fans have come to love.

Paul Teague on a research trip to Morecambe.Paul Teague on a research trip to Morecambe.
Paul Teague on a research trip to Morecambe.

“I was inspired by seeing the first series of The Bay on TV,” says Paul, who knows Morecambe well and wrote the first three books in the series back in 2018. The new trilogy is available as a set from February 22.

“If you love The Bay there’s a good chance you will love these books,” he says.

ITV’s The Bay, dubbed “Broadchurch in Morecambe,” after the stellar-rating crime drama starring David Tennant, is just completing its second series, with the third due to start filming this spring.

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Paul spent time in Morecambe when he was a student, including working at the former Pontins Holiday Camp near Heysham where the first of his thrillers begins.

Paul Teague at Sunderland Point, a location in the Trilogy 2 book Trust Me Once.Paul Teague at Sunderland Point, a location in the Trilogy 2 book Trust Me Once.
Paul Teague at Sunderland Point, a location in the Trilogy 2 book Trust Me Once.

“The Bay brought back all these memories of Morecambe and I got the idea for a book from that. I know Morecambe and Lancaster really well and I love psychological thrillers,” he says. “It’s all about terrifying things happening to ordinary people.”

Paul has won praise for his strong female characters and their friendships.

“I had an email from a woman saying, I want to be like Charlotte!” he says. “She’s a domestic heroine. She always steps in further than she should. She’s an ordinary mother who will do anything to protect her friends and family.”

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The Morecambe Bay thrillers are set in the world of journalism.

Paul Teague at Sunderland Point pillbox, a location in the books.Paul Teague at Sunderland Point pillbox, a location in the books.
Paul Teague at Sunderland Point pillbox, a location in the books.

“That’s the world I know,” says Paul, who was a BBC radio journalist for almost two decades, including 10 years at BBC Radio Cumbria.

“I used to present on BBC radio and talk to heads of police forces and other decision makers. My books are about the high-ups, the powerful people doing nasty things to normal people.”

Paul says the Morecambe setting has “hit the spot” with readers. He makes research trips to locations and uses a Morecambe-based fan of the books to check “the minutiae.”

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“Setting is extremely important; people have really responded to that in these books. I have had messages from people who know Morecambe or who used to holiday there. They say it brings back memories,” he says.

Stone graves at Heysham, a murder location in Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2.Stone graves at Heysham, a murder location in Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2.
Stone graves at Heysham, a murder location in Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2.

The town was a favourite with Paul and his now wife, Frances, both former students at St Martin’s College.

“I love British seaside towns. When I was a student in Lancaster, we would pile into our banger cars and go to Morecambe,” he says.

“I went to a disco on the pier and you could see the water through the floorboards. I did a lot of my courting in Morecambe tea shops.

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“In summer we would go to the Radio One Road Show and save up vouchers to go to Frontierland. Morecambe is a shadow of its former self, but it still has that charm and potential.”

After a career in the BBC, Paul worked in digital marketing, which included training and providing online support for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce in Carlisle.

He now writes full time, self publishes, and sold 100,000 e-books and equivalent on Amazon alone last year, including sci fi and non-fiction – and his fast-paced thrillers.

“People tell me they just can’t put them down. They are sitting up to two in the morning,” he says.

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“There’s nothing gruesome and no sexual violence. They are just compelling domestic dramas. Every chapter ends on a question, a shock or a dramatic twist.”

Paul is now planning the Morecambe Bay Trilogy 3.

• Find out more about Paul's books at: paulteague.net.