Healthy Mental Dental Duo

As an author, one puts one's feelings and ideas on paper for all to see...  Full exposure.
It is with great pride to see that Mental Dental (MBP) and Obsession of the Damned are doing really well.
Good reviews, good sales = increased readership... #Proud

Halloween in a few days

Halloween
Halloween is nearly here again. The time of year where we celebrate ghosts, spectres, witches and the dead.  All Hallows Eve, pagan rituals that remain with us and are capitalised on, creating an industry out of it.
Hoping to generate some ghostly imagination?
Well why not read Phantasms in the Infirmary Vol I and Vol II plus The Ultimate Phantasms in the Infirmary...
All occupied by ghostly hospital horror aplenty,  a virtual compendium of phantoms and spooks.

Try the link at the top of the page and click on the link.

Oh. . . . I nearly forgot , Vol I is in Spanish too! ! 

Happy Halloween

Words, communication and development

It's fascinating how we progress, grow and learn.
I have three sons and now two grandsons who are now starting to form words to converse with the world. To make their selves heard and understood.

I love communication and words but even more so when we have 'dinador', dog, apple and others as well as animal noises to aid explanations.
It's a wonder that never ceases to inspire and I'm greatful for the chance to have seen it with my own sons and now with the next generation of the family.

Soon they will be able to read and write their own stories and share their tales in their own blogs... I look forward to the day.

El muerto... The dead man

One of the chapters /stories contained within the dark covers of The Ultimate Phantasms in the Infirmary.

A taster to maybe entice you into purchasing this easy read, spooky compilation from your local Amazon website.

El Muerto

‘Don’t look at him straight in the face, whatever you do’the grandfather said to his grandson ‘Why grandad?’enquired the young child as he held his grandfather’s hand, now with a firmer grip than previously. ‘He is a zombie, the living dead’he remarked. ‘If he looks at you and you look back at him, he will measure you up for the coffin you will soon be lying in’he added. Julian never forgot that. After all, this was quite the weighted statement for a young child to hear in the sponge-like formative years where all is absorbed, digested and learnt. The person he was referring to was a strange; dysmorphic man that always wore a shirt, tie and dark suit. He was dishevelled despite the attire, which incidentally was ill fitting and looked like they belonged to somebody else, twice his size. This man, Mr O’Hara, looked quite frightening as his head seemed out of proportion to the rest of his body, small and pea-like in comparison. His arms were long and a short torso carried him through the busy streets of the town. He always seemed solemn and down. What made matters worse was that he never seemed to be clean shaven or sport a beard. It was that scruffy and annoying in-between growth. The eyes were his worse feature. One looked at you, the other away from you…! All in all, it was easy to believe why he was called “El Muerto”the dead man. His function was that of an assistant to a funeral director. He was lowly paid for all the grafting he did when a funeral was in the planning. He would liaise between the local grave diggers and the family and help ensure all went well. As well as a funeral could go. The rumour had it that he was born from an incestuous liaison between siblings. This was unverifiable but it created the negative mystique this man bared and carried on a daily basis. He was visible on a daily basis. He would walk through the town conducting his funereal business and occasionally run into some kind of argument with a passer by taking the liberty of bullying him. Nevertheless, Julian always respected and remembered what his granddad had said and never looked him in the eye. It was many years later that as a young student nurse, he came in on duty for a shift on the surgical ward and lo and behold, there he was…Mr O’Hara was sitting on a bed, in red and white, candy stripped pyjamas, again, looking like they had been borrowed off someone else. The shoulder areas hanging well off the shoulders, top tucked in the trousers and his trousers tied around the top of this with a thick cord. Not a great sight by any means. He looked at Julian, straight in the face and smiled as if to say hello. This young student was taken aback by this. How was he supposed to react with the inner conflicts that now run through him? His grandfather had advised avoidance of any contact in his formative years but now he had to be professional and make some kind of contact with him. This was his duty and obligation. Julian smiled back, a disingenuous smile but none the less a minor breakthrough. ‘Hello young man, what is your name?’Mr O’Hara directed the question straight at him. ‘Erm, Julian’he replied. ‘ErmJulian?, that is a strange name?’remarked the patient, mocking the young man…‘No Just Julian’he added hastily. ‘Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Tony’the man said as he now stretched his hand out in friendship and awaited the young nurses reciprocal hand. What a dilemma, not only was he having to face him, talk to him but now having to touch “El Muerto”but he did. He inwardly shuddered but made no obvious signs of outward revulsion. This was awful as the judgements he had made over the years that were just malicious rumours were having an impact on his interactions with a patient. Julian composed himself. ‘So, Mr O’Hara, what brings you into St Augustine’s then?’‘I have a hernia that needs repairing, been shifting too many bodies around I guess’as a broke into an eerie chuckle. So much for the breakthrough, the inner child kicked in and he stepped back slightly, enough to be noticed by the older man sitting next to them. He said, ‘don’t let this old bastard tease you with his stories, he is alright really, don’t be frightened, it’s the living you have to fear, not the dead’and they burst out laughing. The ice broken, Julian slowly recognised that this poor man had been dealt a very raw deal in life, remarkably well spoken and witty; he had never been given the chances he should have had, because of his physical appearance. Julian felt sorry for him rather than fear. Over the coming days he got to know the man and not the infamous legend that shrouded him. He managed his care and grew quite fond of him, helping out wherever he could in the pre and post-operative stages to his full recovery. He had spent a good week in hospital; he was now clean shaven daily and seemed to have filled into his attire a little more. Mr O’Hara was now mobilising well and his pain was under control, the wound was healing and discharge home loomed over the horizon. It was just after the evening meals had been distributed and prior to the evening medication round, Julian stood beside his patient and asked, ‘All ready to go home soon then Tony?’‘Yes indeed I am, I cannot wait to get back to work and get out of here’. ‘Oh, why the hurry?’‘Well Julian, you know they call me “El Muerto”don’t you?’Ashamedly he replied ‘Well yes, but that is nonsense and very cruel’‘Thank you for the vote of confidence but there is some truth in that I do see and speak to the dead’Julian now regressed to his child-like state, all the work he had done to ensure he was not put off by the malicious myth that surrounded this man was well and truly out of the window…Tony sensed this and replied ‘You have nothing to fear as long as you remain as helpful and compassionate as you are but be aware’. ‘Aware of what?’he asked nervously, not really looking forward to the reply. ‘Be aware that there are many spirits in this place, the long departed that have remained here for their own gains, some are good but many are not’. Julian was uncomfortable with this and challenged the patient by saying ‘surely you do not believe in all of those ghosts stories do you?’‘They are not all stories, be warned, be careful and be vigilant, there is a lot of danger in here, I have seen it over the last few days’. ‘Do you remember the last two patient’s that passed away?’‘Yes of course’he replied. ‘Well they were taken by the Dark Angel’. Now terrified, he tried to rationalise the statement by saying that the patients he was referring to had died as expected due to their underlying pathology. O’Hara now looked at him straight in the eyes. His meandering eye, strangely focussed on him and said ‘There is a dark Angel in this ward that does its rounds every night, it floats in and looks at everyone, whilst they sleep, I have seen it’. ‘Once it decides on who it wants, the dark matter engulfs he person and they are taken by it…’‘Come on Tony, don’t say these things, they cannot be true’‘Well if they aren’t true, then tell me why they seem to die between the stroke of two and quarter past the hour?’‘Check the records if you do not believe me’‘I will’replied the young man ‘…but why are you telling me this?’‘I like you, you have been kind to me and I want you to protect yourself, the Dark Angel will take many and is not fussed by who it takes, if he takes a fancy to a staff member, it will take them…’Mr O’Hara now said firmly as he held Julian’s arm ‘Leave this ward, leave this hospital as soon as you can, it is not safe’. Saved by the bell, the call buzzer was loudly blowing and Julian made his excuses and left him to attend to the needs of another patient. The shift got busy with numerous tasks and admissions galore. Although he was intrigued by the tête-à-tête with his unusual patient Julian did not have a chance to return to his patient “El Muerto”. The conversation had remained unfinished and maybe this was a small blessing. Julian had pondered on the significance of this all and how it would affect his career choices, based on ghost stories? Maybe leaving the dialogue hanging could help him in not making any rash decisions? He was on another late the next day so he knew he would not get to say goodbye to the much maligned man he had got to know, like but now fear again. The next day, on shift, he came in a little early in order to look at the ward register. He was inquisitive and a little intrigued. Was there any truth or pattern to this ? He took out the old register and looked at the deaths and noted the vast amount of “time of death”entries for 02: 00 –02: 15. It seemed unnaturally high. He looked down at the register over the last few weeks and it seemed to give substance to the supernatural theory That O’Hara had eluded to. He followed the register down to the last week and then …there it was, the latest entry “Mr Anthony O’Hara; time of death 02.14”. The “Dark Angel”, the angel of death he had referred to had come to collect him. Julian wondered if Mr O’Hara had guessed this was going to be the outcome? Improbable and quite impossible however the facts were there…Mr O’Hara was expected to make a full recovery, but as “El Muerto”himself had said if the angel wants you, he will take you…. There is no choice!

Goodreads

Link to my Goodreads scores...  Not all my books covered on it but not bad really

Do you agree?

Click

Holiday hell or hilarious consequences?

When a trip to the alps goes wrong and a family end up elsewhere in France, the options are laugh or cry.
Join the misadventures that occur to the families as they try to enjoy the vacation, despite being in a different venue than planned. 

It's based on true experiences, however scripted they seem, they actually happened.
Hilarity in the Hills... A story of fun, creativity and chaos. 

Hilarity in the Hills is a light read and suitable for all ages, although a few swear words are scattered in the text, however quite appropriately dealt with.

I hope you do not all have a similar story to tell, but there are elements in everyday life that just have to be shared, this one is definitely one of those. 

Book link

Eight books

Following the publication of my latest novel,  it takes my tally to eight!

Who'd have thought that a few years ago?
I published Legally Lucky, anxious about making the decision and with lots of stories to tell, I made the leap of faith.

True,  they will probably never make the classics list but they are entertaining and fun.
All available on kindle and paperback.
One in Spanish.
A trilogy. 
All with potential best selling qualities...

Now there are eight ....
Legally Lucky
Phobic Wars
Mental Dental (Murder by Proxy)
Phantasms in the Infirmary
Phantasms in the Infirmary Vol II
The Ultimate Phantasms in the Infirmary
Fantasmas en el Hospital
Hilarity in the Hills

So why write?
Simply because I enjoy the construction,  development and publishing of the stories to share with others.

Knowing that others find them enjoyable is good enough for me. It's not about the money, not a lot to be made up to now!

My aspiration is that one day I'd like to do this full time.

For those of you thinking of publishing,  my advice : go for it.

He who dares wins

Writing Horror fiction

As a wacky experiment, it would be really cool if we could all write a short story to feature in Phantasms in the infirmary Vol II?
The theme is Hospital Horror.
I'd like to start this off and then add in as and when, but if the result works, could we include it in as a short story written on a Blog?
Has this ever been done before?
It certainly is Blue sky thinking / innovation so here goes...

'Another day, another dollar' was the greeting from Tom at reception as Julie walked briskly in for yet another shift on the Orthopaedic ward.
She smiled as she rushed past, eager to get into the ward in time for the handover from the evening shift.  
The prospect of her fourth night shift with a grueling twelve hours ahead of her was making her feel quite resistant but she had a job to do.
The preceding three nights had been so busy and these had been punctuated by very little sleep as her youngest daughter, Natalie, had not been well and was off school. Her nursing role had blended in with Motherhood somehow. She felt like she had been on call for 24 hours, with every effort zapping more of her precious energy out of her.

Although she had been on this ward before, the last three shifts had certainly made a big impact on her confidence, she had mastered new procedures and as the nurse in charge, was enjoying the responsibility. Everything had run smoothly and to plan.
Well almost everything...

I would now like to open the floor to you to add a paragraph or two to this multi-layered / multi-authored story..

Shall we set a deadline for a month and see what happens?
Its a bit of fun and the chance to have part of your invaluable contribution published with the rest of the book of short stories.

Wednesday wish

My wish for today...  Simply that you identify a great book.
There's a massive selection and choice available on the Web.
However, consider the following :

#Legally Lucky
#Phobic Wars
#Mental Dental
#Phantasms in the Infirmary

4 very different books. Very similar in their ability to capture the reader in the moment.

Try one or all four.  They are inexpensive and all I ask from you,  if you enjoyed them, please review them.

Books for young adults too

The books I've written are targeted at everyone but they are very suited to the young adult reader.
They aren't heavy going,  they are enjoyable and have a hidden moral.

So the message is..  If you want to get teens and older people reading more,  try any of these...
Legally Lucky
Phobic Wars
Mental Dental (Murder by Proxy)
Phantasms in the Infirmary

Amazon link

Driving inspired writing

Writing stories is something I enjoy.  Development of the book and it's characters is a massive undertaking and can be arduous.
One has to be systematic and organised,  which is hard to do when you have a day job and family etc...  Life gets in the way!

Creativity is like a drug,  a mystical driving force that pushes one on to remain original and innovative.

All four books I've written have been projects of love.
There are no forced deadlines or contractual commitments other than those set by myself. Even so,  I hope that they are read by many for the right reasons.  Enjoyment, originality and familiarity with my work.

Please read any or all...  Please tell others about them and leave your reviews.

Sussex mansion for Halloween

Halloween soent in a spooky mansion in sussex.. greatclaunch for Phantasms in the Infirmary...

There is even a belfry housing bats.

Big family weekend away. Optimal time to try out a reading with the family and get their thoughts...

Julie noticed the shadow on the side of the houselooks like a witches head and hat..  Even mmoreccreepy 

UK summer reads

Rams books

The British summer is here again?
Lots to do in the sun? .... Not!

Why not try one of these...
Original,entertaining and great reads

Follow the link:

Why read books?

Why do we read books?
The innate need to seek knowledge and attain information about our immediate surrounding environment ultimately ensures power and safety.

We also read to keep ourselves occupied and entertained. And escape and experience from the otherwise mundane existence in the 21st century.

Fortunately we do not live in the middle of a war torn zone,  Essex is pretty safe really!!! (Once you are able to distinguish the orange camouflage).

Letting the imagination run free is good for the soul. Reading and relaxation...

Fiction does the trick for me.
Crime and cliff hanging finishes absorb me the most,  generating images and keeping me hooked.

My three books are intended to do this...  Rams books

One hopes,  that the aims were attained!!

Keep reading