Untethered
All of a sudden (as things that have been a long-time-coming tend to happen) I find myself untethered. It’s a weird feeling. At first, I felt abandoned, helpless, and hopeless. Five minutes later, I was walking around with tear-stained cheeks, seeing the world anew – liberated and elated. I could do anything! There was nothing…
The Delay
There’s too much background noise, that’s the problem. I can’t concentrate. I’m compelled to act – to write – but I can’t find the words because everyone else is talking, and everything’s already been said. And I know that the background noise is the stuff of life. The themes may change, but the questions are…
Lighthouses, Sandcastles, Drive.
I’m about to crash. I’m not. I’m in control. I just want to crash, so I can reset. Today is a pea-souper. A relief from the interchanging torrential rain and blasts of sun. Driving through the drizzle-mizzle-rain home. The sky is white-grey. I add to the queue of cars on the slip road. The colours…
Halfway between the hospital mortuary and the crematorium, on a busy main road, sits Clara and James’ house.
Will the Christmas spirit rekindle their relationship, or turn it to ashes?
One thing’s for sure – things are hotting up in The Halfway House.
Sometime in the not-to-distant -future, Will is trying to live his life without causing harm to the environment or any living thing. Paradoxically, he discovers that to do no harm, he must, in fact, do a great deal of harm.
Exploring psychosis and existentialism against the backdrop of today’s climate crisis, Will of the People is a noir short story that will make you think.
It’s ok to not be ok.
There’s a massive discourse around the subject of mental health, right now. Section 17 is a short collection of poems that tell a poignant story of mental breakdown, and a recovery that definitely is not a cure. They are inspired by my experience of OCD, depression, and psychiatric care. This is my first venture into self-publishing, and my first venture into poetry. Available to download via Amazon, at https://amzn.to/3JezIHh and Barnes and Noble at https://bit.ly/41IPYHF.
The truth WILL out…
Liam’s mother was murdered when he was a baby. His father is a recovering drug addict, who’s just going through the motions. His girlfriend is jealous, secretive, and not all she seems to be. And his uncle has been acquitted of terrible crimes, and is now a university professor with a dangerous obsession.
Liam is a palaeontology student, keen to prove what happened to the dinosaurs. But when his grandfather dies, Liam uncovers more than he bargained for.
Will he survive to find his answers?
“Addictive and utterly thrilling.” – Michelle Cook, author of Tipping Point.
Never underestimate a friend…
”I stand as close as I can to the Liver Building without looking proper weird and tip my head back. My eyes can’t focus properly, but I can make out a turquoise shape right at the top, so I mouth ‘iya to Bella. I’m a bit soft on the Liver Birds. They’re 300-odd feet up in the air, so they should be able to see everything, but they’re chained down…”
A story of the far-reaching effects of unrequited love and drug (ab)use, Underrated follows the lives of five lads who are just trying to make a better life for themselves. In Liverpool and on the south Devon coast, their lives entangle as they turn to cocaine.
While some people take drugs to escape their circumstances, others deal drugs to escape theirs. But is escape ever really an option?
“An inventive and provocative read” – Squeaky Joe, Amazon.
Boundaries can be fragile…
Psychiatrists, Drs Whittle and Grosvenor, have dedicated their lives to helping their patients, but their approach, and the complications it reveals, lead them into relationships that harm not only themselves.
As their lives entangle, both men find that doing no harm is not as cut-and-dried as they perceived.
Can the patients in their care really trust them? Or are more sinister motives at work?
Delve into the dark world of psychiatric institutions where doctors and residents play a dangerous game in which no one is infallible!
“A total page turner” – Eleanor Graham, Amazon.
Know your enemies? Know your friends?
A small Devon town in the late 1990s. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. Don’t they?
Cath is dead, but how and why isn’t clear-cut to her best friend, Kayleigh. As she searches for answers, Kayleigh is drawn deeper into Cath’s hidden world.
The (D)Evolution of Us questions where a story really begins, and whether the world in our heads is more real than reality.
“Fantastic writing – a must-read” – William F Aicher, author of A Confession, and Every Bullet has a Silver Lining.
Contains my short story, The Submission.
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‘Glasshouse’ image by Liam Powell http://facebook.com/liampowellart
Morwenna Blackwood, Author 