About L C Williams
Some places never let go.
L. C. Williams is a British historical fiction author, born and raised in Devon, England, whose fascination with the past began long before she became a writer.
An avid reader from childhood, she immersed herself in the great literary classics throughout her teenage years. But her interest in earlier generations extended far beyond books. Her childhood dressing-up box was filled with long dresses and vintage clothing, allowing her to imagine herself inhabiting worlds decades before her own.
Growing up in the 1980s, she was drawn to Frank Sinatra and the music of the 1940s and 1950s, sometimes wearing her grandmother's 1940s crushed-velvet dress with vintage petticoats. She was fascinated not only by the great events of history, but by the everyday lives, fashions, relationships and experiences of ordinary people.
As a teenager, she regularly visited her local Studies Library simply for pleasure, spending hours exploring old newspapers on microfiche. She found herself captivated by forgotten stories and glimpses into lives that had unfolded long before she was born.
Her passion for storytelling also found expression in performance. A talented young actress, she was selected for Devon Youth Theatre and was a finalist in a BBC competition to write a news report. She went on to study English and Theatre Studies at the University of Sussex before pursuing a career in marketing and public relations, including periods working in London and Paris.
A Farm With an Extraordinary Past
Today, Williams lives with her husband and three children on a historic dairy farm in Devon, the setting that inspired her three interconnected historical novels, The Black Harvest Trilogy.
Yet her connection to the property began long before she ever lived there.
For decades, a picture of the farm had hung in her parents' hallway, long before she first set foot on the property. Years later, she found herself living at the very place depicted in that familiar picture.
It was an extraordinary coincidence, one that would become increasingly meaningful as she began uncovering the lives of those who had occupied the farm before her.
The past is still very much present in the buildings and objects around her. An original stone kitchen sink, old horse harnesses and other surviving artefacts offer tangible connections to earlier generations. Some of these objects and details have found their way into the novels.
The Beginning of The Black Harvest Trilogy
In 2019, Williams became seriously ill with life-threatening sepsis.
In the days following her discharge from hospital, she returned to the Studies Library she had loved visiting as a teenager and began researching the history of the farm where she lived.
What started as a personal fascination grew into an extraordinary journey of discovery.
Over nearly seven years, she researched historical records, newspaper archives, photographs and original documents, gradually uncovering the lives, relationships and tragedies associated with the property.
Among those discoveries were nine real tragedies connected to the farm and its former occupants over more than a century.
Five Suicides. One Murder. Three Accidental or Untimely Deaths.
These events would provide part of the inspiration for The Black Harvest Trilogy, a multigenerational historical family saga exploring love, loss, relationships, tragedy and secrets that echo through the decades.
But the novels are not simply fictional accounts of historical events.
They are also deeply personal.
Aspects of Williams's husband, three children and late parents-in-law have inspired characters and relationships throughout the trilogy. Her own experiences are woven into the stories, particularly through the contemporary character of Edith.
Her experience of life-threatening sepsis directly informed Edith's illness in Malumdon Cottage, bringing an intensely personal dimension to the fiction.
In this way, writing the trilogy became an exploration not only of the people who had lived at the farm before her, but also of her own unexpected place in its continuing history.
Three Novels. One English Farm.
The Black Harvest Trilogy spans more than a century, following successive generations whose lives are connected by the same English farm.
The trilogy comprises:
- Where the Crows Watch — introducing the farm's earlier history and the lives and tragedies of generations past.
- Malumdon Cottage — moving into the 1930s and 1940s, exploring relationships, hardship and the lasting consequences of personal choices.
- Malumdon Farm — continuing the story into the later twentieth century, where family relationships, beliefs and tragedy shape another generation.
Throughout the novels, a contemporary narrative connects the past with the present as the history of the farm gradually comes to light.
The first book was published in April 2026, almost seven years after Williams began her research.
The three novels have since been brought together in The Black Harvest Trilogy: Complete Edition, a 458-page collection that includes an additional illustrated section entitled The Real Story Behind The Trilogy.
This special section reveals the genuine historical background to the fiction, featuring original photographs, documents, historical discoveries and accounts of the real people and events that inspired the novels.
For Williams, the farm is more than simply the setting of her books. It is a place where generations of lives have left their mark, and where the boundary between the past and present sometimes feels remarkably thin.
One English farm. More than a century of secrets.
Some places never let go.