The Horseman’s Dream: A Tale of Conspiracy, Corruption, Cruelty and Conditioning in Post-Disaster Britain
It’s taken me nearly 20 years to write The Horseman’s Dream: its origins lying somewhere in the ashes of the Twin Towers and the ensuing maelstrom of disinformation. It’s about something good that still exists in a bad world. This is the best story I can come up with to frame the notion of a…
Echo Chamber
Goodnight, my love, Sleep well in your chamber, See you in a while, You’ll be in no danger, From the voice that dares ask, Any question at all, To the strong and the stable, Of their thirst for our thrall. Goodnight, my love, Your skin has grown paler, Behind the chamber’s glass, You’ve become your own jailer, Closing the…
Who is Dianne Doyle?
Dianne Doyle is the antagonist of my novella A Smaller Hell: based on a department store manager I worked with. She used to get kicks out of reprimanding staff and subverting our relationships. A maestro of negativity, she’d often lure us into making mistakes, just so that she could degrade us. The longer I worked…
Perseid Promise
Last night, after the captain and crew went to bed, I stuck around on the bow of the Sarinda to catch the Perseid meteor shower. I wedged my rucksack under my head and kept my eyes fixed on the night sky until bright green lights began streaking across it, leaving vapour trails in their wake. I didn’t have a…
The Bridge
I sit in a restaurant, thinking about The Bridge. The fading autumn sunlight lends the Albert Dock an air of melancholy, deepening the pits and furrows in the brickwork. Tourists still point and shop and take photographs. Smart office workers negotiate the cobbled walkways with a practised hustle, while art students drift in and out…
Working in a Department Store
It wasn’t that bad. My father often tells me about his father’s job as a steeplejack: that sounds bad. At least I was indoors and not teetering hundreds of feet above the cold, hard ground. At the interview, I didn’t have a panic attack and smash up a waiting room as Tony Black does in A Smaller Hell. Instead, I…
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