Refrain Of The Fallen
About this eBook
The pirate Province of Maudlin lies in tatters. Those who remain hear Whispers of a fleet that roves back and forth across the harbour and an army closing in over land, ready to cut down anyone who dares flee. Cap’ns Silus de Senza, Samira Dalal, and Shay-yo, Three o’ the Eight, flounder inside this grand trap, all far from their glorious prime.
Billy, the undead crow’s nest girl, hunts down the Whisper who killed her, determined to get the last laugh this time. Even in death, however, Pear cannot be shaken off easily, and her eyes glare from the deep shadows that have become her new home.
Silus also finds himself haunted. His old crewmates Razor Jane and Pinhead Pete, whose souls he sold in exchange for Billy’s, grow in strength and fury. They lurk in mirrors and glassy reflections, talons reaching for the chance for revenge. It makes his need to hide from an entire Province of desperate pirates a tad more tricky.
Samira waited too long for her friend Silus to come to his senses: the net around Maudlin may now be too tight. She must escape at any cost. There’s a price on Silus The Curse’s head, a big price. A horde of coin might be her only opportunity to escape in one piece…
Shay-yo is as broken as the Province around her. She knows what Silus did for Billy, and is determined to tap into the same dark magic. But she must hurry, as time tightens the noose around all their necks.
About the author
Prologue : My parents met. (Prologues are never much use.)
Chapter One: I am born. The world blinks.
Chapter Two: I toddle. I am introduced to the works of Richard Scarry. The illustrations burn themselves into my tiny mind. This is followed by an intense interest in Winnie the Pooh and the Radio Times.
Chapter Three: Beanos and Dandys and tape recorders enter my life. I read the comic strips aloud, record these performances. Leads to writing my own stories, which are mostly about spaceships or murderous snakes.
Chapter Four: Santa brings a Commodore 64. Writing is forgotten.
Chapter Five: Teenage nerdism strikes. Dragonlance Chronicles are read. An attempt is made to copy them. Results are dreadful.
Chapter Six: Off to university to study ancient history and archaeology. Hat and whip not received. Compaints about this are ignored. University mostly a waste of time, apart from hours spent writing apocalyptic horror-comedy on 386 PC. It’s great.
Chapter Seven: Apocalyptic horror-comedy sent out to literary agents. None are interested. Novel not great. Mostly a waste of time.
Chapter Eight: A long period filled with much writing and many submissions and plenty of rejection letters. Decide I can’t stand prologues as they’re never much use.
Chapter Nine: Short stories accepted by Polluto, Voluted Tales and Kzine. Prompts a vigorous interest in Kindle Direct Publishing. First release is Macadamian Pliers, YA horror with an emphasis on creepy, spooky and other ooky things.
TO BE CONTINUED…
