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Fragments
Broken lives and shattered dreams.
Two horror short one occult thriller novella. (45, 250 words)
Sleet Dreams
Maggie can just about survive the winter when it turns the city into a trap of ice and snow. She can juggle her pension, scrimp and scrape, make every penny stretch. Every winter she swears she’ll make it to the south next year. South to where winters are gentle and snow never touches the land, to where the wind will never bite into her bones. This winter all Maggie is dreaming of is a warm coat and a better pair of boots. Maggie finds a fur coat one day, a fine fur coat that keeps her warm, keeps out the winter. But dreams are sometimes nightmares and not all wishes should come true. (11,600 words)
Alma Mater
Alma is a perfect mother. She knows how to raise a child. Her daughter Catherine will be perfect in every way. Alma will make sure of it. No clingy brat ruling the house with her cries and tricks. No fuss, bother or disturbance. No demands from a greedy baby or sulks from a temper driven toddler. Order and routine from day one will ensure that as Catherine grows, hair will always be neat and homework will always be done. Catherine will know how to behave and what to do and what to say and she will be thin, beautiful, gifted and obedient, and any mother would be proud to have such a daughter. That things may not go to plan never occurs to Alma. Just as it never occurs to her that sometimes you can do a job too well. (6,850 words)
The Fool
When the body of a young man is found on the altar of the Mother of All Sorrows Church in Peckham, London, the Catholic Church does everything it can to help Scotland Yard in the investigation. It sends an independent investigator from the Office of the Congregation of the Arcane to assist. Maryam Michael isn’t happy, however, with it being London and she’s unhappy that the parish priest she’s supposed to be helping is fast becoming the main suspect. The Vatican is not going to be happy with what was hidden under the and neither is the local Mosque. Maryam only has a couple of days to solve the riddle of why this young man died on the altar, and if the supernatural is involved. Can she solve the murder fast enough to prevent Father Wyn Jones being charged? Is it straightforward gang violence, or are there occult forces attacking the Church? (26,800 words)
The Fool is the first story in the Maryam Michael Mysteries series and the second chapter, The Magician, will be out next year.
Two horror short one occult thriller novella. (45, 250 words)
Sleet Dreams
Maggie can just about survive the winter when it turns the city into a trap of ice and snow. She can juggle her pension, scrimp and scrape, make every penny stretch. Every winter she swears she’ll make it to the south next year. South to where winters are gentle and snow never touches the land, to where the wind will never bite into her bones. This winter all Maggie is dreaming of is a warm coat and a better pair of boots. Maggie finds a fur coat one day, a fine fur coat that keeps her warm, keeps out the winter. But dreams are sometimes nightmares and not all wishes should come true. (11,600 words)
Alma Mater
Alma is a perfect mother. She knows how to raise a child. Her daughter Catherine will be perfect in every way. Alma will make sure of it. No clingy brat ruling the house with her cries and tricks. No fuss, bother or disturbance. No demands from a greedy baby or sulks from a temper driven toddler. Order and routine from day one will ensure that as Catherine grows, hair will always be neat and homework will always be done. Catherine will know how to behave and what to do and what to say and she will be thin, beautiful, gifted and obedient, and any mother would be proud to have such a daughter. That things may not go to plan never occurs to Alma. Just as it never occurs to her that sometimes you can do a job too well. (6,850 words)
The Fool
When the body of a young man is found on the altar of the Mother of All Sorrows Church in Peckham, London, the Catholic Church does everything it can to help Scotland Yard in the investigation. It sends an independent investigator from the Office of the Congregation of the Arcane to assist. Maryam Michael isn’t happy, however, with it being London and she’s unhappy that the parish priest she’s supposed to be helping is fast becoming the main suspect. The Vatican is not going to be happy with what was hidden under the and neither is the local Mosque. Maryam only has a couple of days to solve the riddle of why this young man died on the altar, and if the supernatural is involved. Can she solve the murder fast enough to prevent Father Wyn Jones being charged? Is it straightforward gang violence, or are there occult forces attacking the Church? (26,800 words)
The Fool is the first story in the Maryam Michael Mysteries series and the second chapter, The Magician, will be out next year.
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 4, 2012
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 23, 2012
This collection of short stories is absolutely awesome.
Morgan Gallagher has an immense talent for storytelling, and this eBook showcases that talent perfectly. With two short horror stories and an occult novella, plus the first four chapters of one of her novels, it is truly a fantastic read.
Sleet Dreams explores a unique concept that really makes you think and takes you down a road that most people don't want to explore. A poverty-stricken woman is making the best of a frozen winter when she finds a fur coat... it keeps out the winter, but that warmth comes at a cost.
Alma Mater really wrenched my heart while giving me a feeling of poetic justice by the end. Alma is a mother who takes her role very seriously; order, control, and perfection are what she demands of her child. Even with all of this order and control, sometimes a child will not turn out the way her mother had hoped and it comes back to bite her.
The Fool is an intensely interesting journey into the life of Maryam, an investigator who is assigned to the case of a teen gang member's murder within the walls of a Catholic Church. The mystery begins to unravel as a young priest's career is on the line because of this blasphemous act.
Overall: Awesome. Be prepared for British English writing, though. If you're American, keep that in consideration, and you'll be fine =).
I definitely recommend this book! Awesome stories that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat.
Changeling is a novel by this author that has received rave reviews and captivated readers with its intensity and uniqueness. The first four chapters can be read in this eBook.
Morgan Gallagher has an immense talent for storytelling, and this eBook showcases that talent perfectly. With two short horror stories and an occult novella, plus the first four chapters of one of her novels, it is truly a fantastic read.
Sleet Dreams explores a unique concept that really makes you think and takes you down a road that most people don't want to explore. A poverty-stricken woman is making the best of a frozen winter when she finds a fur coat... it keeps out the winter, but that warmth comes at a cost.
Alma Mater really wrenched my heart while giving me a feeling of poetic justice by the end. Alma is a mother who takes her role very seriously; order, control, and perfection are what she demands of her child. Even with all of this order and control, sometimes a child will not turn out the way her mother had hoped and it comes back to bite her.
The Fool is an intensely interesting journey into the life of Maryam, an investigator who is assigned to the case of a teen gang member's murder within the walls of a Catholic Church. The mystery begins to unravel as a young priest's career is on the line because of this blasphemous act.
Overall: Awesome. Be prepared for British English writing, though. If you're American, keep that in consideration, and you'll be fine =).
I definitely recommend this book! Awesome stories that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat.
Changeling is a novel by this author that has received rave reviews and captivated readers with its intensity and uniqueness. The first four chapters can be read in this eBook.
May 24, 2012
I bought this anthology of short stories several weeks ago based on a preview of the short 'Alma Mater', which was presented as a terrible diatribe about child raising. I read that story first (it's placed second in the work), and it is as awful and infuriating as I expected. The final story, a mystery about an occult specialist for the Catholic Church, fascinated me the most, however. I picked it up this morning on a car trip expecting to quickly finish up another short story and, several hours later, realized I'd barely been able to put the book down.
May 6, 2012
The Fool, which is the novella in this collection is wonderful. Beautifully researched and put together well. I am very intrigued by the character of Maryam and look forward to reading more about her. I had to give 'Alma Mater' a miss as it was too painful to read. Like much of Morgan Gallagher's output it was very well written. So well written, I had to stop reading about the mother and daughter relationship.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews