Becca Novelista

About Becca Novelista

I’m Becca Mascull — a traditionally published author, writing mentor, manuscript editor, and academic writing tutor with thirty years’ experience. I work with writers at every stage, from the very first idea to the agent submission package, and with university students at every level, from undergraduate to PhD.

On this page you’ll find everything you need to know about my background as both a writer and a teacher. If you want to go straight to my services, you can find them in the menu above.

As a novelist, I write historical upmarket fiction under my own name of Rebecca Mascull and also I write saga fiction as Mollie Walton, historical romance as Ava Miller and romcoms as Harper Ford.

As Mascull, I’m the author of historical novels including The Elements Quartet, where each novel is related to the classical four elements. As Walton, I write historical sagas including The Ironbridge Saga and The Raven Hall Saga, a series of novels linked by one family stretching over a hundred years, from Shropshire to Yorkshire. As Miller, I write sweeping, epic love stories in historical settings, such as The French Resistance Hotel. As Ford, I write romantic comedies dealing with contemporary issues in a taboo-busting and irreverent style.

My books are published by a range of publishers, including HarperCollins, Hodder & Stoughton, Headline Books, Bonnier Zaffre and SpellBound Books. My agent is Laura Macdougall at United Agents. My books have been translated into three other languages and my books are on sale across the UK in high street stores and supermarkets, as well as in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries across the globe. Reviews of my novels, as well as my own articles, have appeared online and in a variety of national newspapers and magazines, from The Daily Mail to Good Housekeeping.

Awards and recognition:

I appear regularly at author events, including as Keynote Speaker at the 2025 Writing East Midlands Writers’ Conference, Edinburgh International Book Festival, library festivals, university writing talks, and bookseller events. I also write short fiction for magazines including My Weekly and the Sunday Express magazine, and blog posts for The History Quill, the Royal Literary Fund website, and others.

I currently write full-time alongside the services offered on this website, as well as appearing at a range of author events, including the Keynote Speaker at 2025 Writing East Midlands: The Writers’ Conference, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Lincs Inspire libraries, East Riding Libraries Festival of Words, Waterstones and other booksellers and university talks to writing students. I also write short fiction for magazines including My Weekly and the Sunday Express magazine, as well as blog posts for The History Quill, The Royal Literary Fund and many other websites. I also mentor emerging writers for Curtis Brown Creative and for Writing East Midlands as a book coach.

I have a Masters in Writing, a PGCE in English, a BA in Literature, and an honorary BA for services to academia and creative writing. I am an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Since 1995, I have taught students in secondary schools, post-16 colleges, and universities, at undergraduate, Masters, and PhD level.

As a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund for five years, I supported university students at all levels across any subject as a tutor in academic writing. I also worked as an examiner for twenty years, writing and marking exam papers and moderating coursework, including as Chief Examiner.

I currently mentor emerging writers for Curtis Brown Creative and for Writing East Midlands as a book coach, alongside the services offered on this site.

         

Whatever stage you’re at with your writing, I’d love to help. Whether you’re just starting out with a novel idea, have a finished manuscript that needs editorial feedback, are preparing to submit to literary agents, or are a university student who wants to write better essays, there’s a service here for you.

Get in touch to tell me what you’re working on and we’ll find the right way to work together.

 

(Author photos from top: 1. by the author, 2. Claire-Newman Williams,
3. Claire Newman-Williams, 4. Lisa Warrener)
(Please note, all images on this website are either credited, or taken from the author’s phone, or are publicity materials supplied by the publisher.)