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Insomnia
From the best-selling author of A Mutual Addiction and Folie à Deux comes an eerie prequel about Cressida’s life in Silverside before Vee.
It's just a normal Tuesday morning in the sleepy fishing town of Silverside, Oregon. The crabbers come early to check their traps. Every Tuesday just before dawn. Like clockwork. There’s no need for a blaring horn to disturb the peace because there isn’t another vessel for miles.
Just Cressida alone on the beach.
The sky crackles and the sea hums. The world goes quiet, just for a moment, like it’s afraid to draw even a single breath. The stillness is electrifying. But something isn’t right.
Something is out of place...
A sound. Out of place in the frozen dawn. Bustling and squabbling. Feathers beating against the air and snapping against rough brick. Sharp claws scraping stone like flint. Seagulls line up along the rockface and down the angled stilts on either side of the overhang that forms a cave beneath the old Mermaid Asylum.
They don’t move, not even to blink. Still as gargoyles guarding some mythical treasure. Cressida's treasure.
And they’re beckoning her inside…
Insomnia is "Lyrical and hypnotic…an ominous journey into sleep-deprived madness.”
-Meghan O’Flynn, bestselling author of the Ash Park series
It's just a normal Tuesday morning in the sleepy fishing town of Silverside, Oregon. The crabbers come early to check their traps. Every Tuesday just before dawn. Like clockwork. There’s no need for a blaring horn to disturb the peace because there isn’t another vessel for miles.
Just Cressida alone on the beach.
The sky crackles and the sea hums. The world goes quiet, just for a moment, like it’s afraid to draw even a single breath. The stillness is electrifying. But something isn’t right.
Something is out of place...
A sound. Out of place in the frozen dawn. Bustling and squabbling. Feathers beating against the air and snapping against rough brick. Sharp claws scraping stone like flint. Seagulls line up along the rockface and down the angled stilts on either side of the overhang that forms a cave beneath the old Mermaid Asylum.
They don’t move, not even to blink. Still as gargoyles guarding some mythical treasure. Cressida's treasure.
And they’re beckoning her inside…
Insomnia is "Lyrical and hypnotic…an ominous journey into sleep-deprived madness.”
-Meghan O’Flynn, bestselling author of the Ash Park series
80 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2018
8 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Mary Widdicks
7 books263 followersFormer cognitive psychologist turned suspense writer, Mary is a firm believer in strong, twisted female characters and unhappy endings. Her internet search history is not for the faint of heart.
Join her reader group at http://marywiddicks.com/welcome
As a freelance writer and humorist, Mary’s essays have been featured on The Washington Post, Brain, Child Magazine, and Scary Mommy. She has also appeared on a Wisconsin Public Radio morning show discussing the psychology of parenting. Mary does not perform well at 5:30am.
Raised near Portland, Oregon, Mary now lives in central Illinois where the tallest thing for miles is corn. She shares a perpetually shrinking house with her three kids, two dogs, and two cats…and can usually be found writing under at least one of them at all times.
Join her reader group at http://marywiddicks.com/welcome
As a freelance writer and humorist, Mary’s essays have been featured on The Washington Post, Brain, Child Magazine, and Scary Mommy. She has also appeared on a Wisconsin Public Radio morning show discussing the psychology of parenting. Mary does not perform well at 5:30am.
Raised near Portland, Oregon, Mary now lives in central Illinois where the tallest thing for miles is corn. She shares a perpetually shrinking house with her three kids, two dogs, and two cats…and can usually be found writing under at least one of them at all times.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 2, 2019
As an introduction to the writing of Mary Widdicks, as this short story was for me, it reveals an author that has real skill and talent. The short story shows she has a clear path for her character that features in the Mermaid Asylum series. This book is somewhat like a taster for that series; a short glimpse designed to pique your interest. That’s what it did for me. The writing is beautiful as it paints a picture of a small fishing town in the early morning. There’s a lot to learn about the character Cressida that we’re only given hints to in this short story but isn’t that the point of this anyway? There’s a wonderful story here even if you don’t feel like going further with this author. If you’re undecided about whether to read A Mutual Addiction, part one of the Mermaid Asylum series, then this quick read could help you decide. I certainly plan on reading more as the character is intriguing and Mary Widdicks' style almost like a form of poetry.
Displaying 1 of 1 review