Joan wakes in an expansive cottage, where no-one gives voice to names, and nothing has consequence. James is walking into the night, alone, trying to find purpose by escaping. Tara is getting drunk with her best friend and girlfriend, an almost polar opposite personality who won’t put down the vodka bottle. How are lives linked? How do we define ourselves? And what forces us to make a choice when we don’t know we have one?
Half Grey goes deep inside the minds of three very different people, throwing their thoughts and fears into the world, showing living is balanced on the edge—in a mysterious home, the pitch black of night, and the shadow of your girlfriend—where decisions meet the need to decide.
Go to Chapter 1 – or the full book is available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk right now or Amazon.com
I wrote this novel, Half Grey, a number of years ago. Since then I’ve been through many variations of my own mind, the most applicable to publishing a novel was the transformation where with Half Grey I thought, “I hope someone likes this,” to the story I’m currently working with and saying, “I hope the people who need to read this do.”
That’s not to say Half Grey is bad. I believe it’s very worthy, especially after leaving it in a drawer for 19 months before coming back to it. The difference is I hoped this book would be well received, while my current I know, no matter how it’s received, is a significant piece of writing.
The transition from hoping others find value in your work, even if you believe in it, to not caring if others see the value you see is both a vast gulf of difference, and one small step. It was, however, with that in mind that I stopped submitting Half Grey to publishers; my faith was resting with others rather than with myself. With my other writing I no longer need faith, however I still feel Half Grey has a purpose.
It’s with that purpose in mind that I’ll be publishing a chapter of Half Grey every week on this site; a novel (or novelette) I feel is deserving of being read (even if all the sharp edges haven’t been rounded off by an editor.) In the meantime, if the story captures you, or you want to support the novel, me, or the other writing available on my site, a complete version of Half Grey is available on Amazon.
A new chapter will be posted, most likely every Sunday, with all chapters available to read on my website by the end.
And, so, there-you-are, here-we-go, onto Chapter 1