Excerpt from Chapter One The trouble with sat-navs, Adie fumed, is that they all-too-often lied. This one, the wretched stupid thing, was doing exactly that right now. It was lying through its teeth, or at least it would be if it actually had any teeth. Somehow, through no mistake of her own - unless you counted blind obedience to a monotone-talking box attached with spit and a prayer to her windscreen as a ‘mistake’ - she'd managed to end up half a mile down an impossibly na

Packhorse Bridge, World's End, Sowerby, Thirsk WORLD’S END – PART TWO February 2027 – 6 months later Not only was I growing vegetables in my raised planters, Mrs B had pleaded with me to use her back garden. She was a little frail to manage the garden by herself these days. However, she enjoyed watching my excitement, besides being excited herself, as we awaited the shoots to come through from my autumn planting session. I have to admit, I was most grateful to have the extra

Blue Sky and Mist Kirkton Cemetary Hello. Yes, it’s me again. Feel free to be aggravated—'oh, good grief, (insert word of your choice) it’s Raven again’. Aggrieved, annoyed or—hopefully—appreciative that I’m here to entertain you. But, hey also feel free to give this blog post a miss. I won’t hold it against you. After all, it would be awful if we all liked the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, I hope some people like my writing, in fact yes of course, I hope a lot of people do

First Chapter: John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Prologue Ten Years Ago The door slams shut and I’m plunged into total darkness. Taking a step back, I wobble, and before I can steady myself, I’m falling. I grab out in all directions but find only damp air. I land with a thump at the bottom of the cellar steps. All I want to do is scramble back up and run as fast and as far as

It seems to me that humanity is in the midst of a revolution in all aspects of civilization on the scale of the Industrial Revolution, the fall of the Roman Empire, or perhaps the extinction of the dinosaurs, and few of us have any inkling that it is happening. Now that’s a bold statement to make, and I’m sure dear readers that some of you are curious as to why I am making such a statement, some of you feel I’m exaggerating, and then there’s the group out there that think I’

Excerpt Loving Emily When Emily roused twenty-four hours later, she was confused and disoriented until she realized that she lay on her bed in her old room at her grandparents’ ranch. She tried to remember how she got there, but in the end it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Emily dragged herself into the bathroom, took a shower, and found an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt in a dresser drawer. Hearing her grandmother’s warm laughter in the kitchen, she headed in that

‘Watchers and Other Stories’ by Alex Marchant A collection of new and previously published short stories Does the ghost of King Richard III roam the moors above Middleham Castle? What befell Francis Lovell at the Battle of Stoke? What if Juliet survived after Romeo’s death? Who is the real Milady de Winter? What will Drew discover inside the Tower of Shadows? And will a ‘son of Clarence’ help his cousin win the throne of England? All these questions and more may – or may not

‘Watchers and Other Stories’ by Alex Marchant A collection of new and previously published short stories Does the ghost of King Richard III roam the moors above Middleham Castle? What befell Francis Lovell at the Battle of Stoke? What if Juliet survived after Romeo’s death? Who is the real Milady de Winter? What will Drew discover inside the Tower of Shadows? And will a ‘son of Clarence’ help his cousin win the throne of England? All these questions and more may – or may not

CALL OF THE FALCONER Years of sickness, isolation and environmental corruption produced inhuman horrors. But everywhere—in every town—plenty of monsters were all too human, ready to reap the benefits of the obvious scapegoats. Still, there was one legendary wasteland monster that the children feared more than any of the real-life creatures. It was his name the adults invoked to inspire obedience in their misbehaving children. His tales bred fear in the hearts of all civilized

They arrived at Don Ameche’s Italian Restaurant eighteen minutes later. Milo stepped out of the car and hurried to open Miranda’s door. He held out his hand, strong and warm, and she placed hers in his. And as she got out, he brushed his thumb against her knuckles. Inside the entrance, the room glowed with amber lanterns and deep red tablecloths. Her eyes closed and her shoulders lifted as she inhaled the thick scent of garlic, basil, and freshly baked bread. Soft romantic mu