Lucidity

by Wayne Smallman

On the verge of a major breakthrough in sleep therapy, Barbara Ostermann, an expert in disruptive sleep disorders, uncovers a remarkable conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of her work and that of her colleagues, Martin — her occasional lover — and Anna — the gregarious though disillusioned young technical prodigy — who team up to help avert an international crisis.Enlisting the help of her brother, Karl, Barbara seeks to disentangle this plot to assassinate the elusive and mercurial DeShaun Gates, a strident campaigner for racial equality, on a collision course with the authorities.Tireless in his efforts, Karl finds himself in New York, where events are not as they appear and his dream of averting disaster skims along the abyss of a monumental nightmare.

28 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2012

About the author

When you're young, you think you know everything and life is indistinguishable from a game. It's only when you get older — when you begin to doubt the authenticity of the event and question the rules — that experience begins to count for something. And to quote the inimitable Forbes Bingley, a recurring character of several novels: "Life makes you stronger, at a price."

In a sense, life has been preparation — practice, perhaps — for this wild stab at being an author. After all, how hard can it be, putting one word after another? Of course, like anything else in life, you only get out what you put in. At times, writing is both cathartic and semi autobiographical, where I catch myself looking backwards whimsically, lustily, with regret, a wry smile, a despondent glower or growing doubt.

But writing is also a journey, one with no intentional destination, just waypoints I may navigate towards from time to time, at leisure. Though I must admit, it's a journey I would prefer not to make alone.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read, great twist at the end. The first short-story in a larger series.