Mr Jones
Ben hears noises in his basement and witnesses weird goings-on in his local park. His eight-year-old daughter Imogen starts receiving messages from someone claiming to be her missing mother. And then there is Mr Jones —the man who haunts the imaginations of the children at Imogen’s school. But they are just stories, surely? Ben soon develops a creeping suspicion that someone is out to kidnap his daughter. Are his fears real or a result of his own stress-induced paranoia? Alex Woolf’s psychological thriller explores loss, fear and an overwhelming desire to keep those we love safe from harm.
“A work of great delicacy and skill, Woolf creates a very real world that is also teetering on the edge of the uncanny” – Dan Brotzel, author of Hotel du Jack
“Suspenseful and haunting, Mr Jones will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time.” Emily De Vogele, Commissioning Editor, Indie Novella
“A book you must read! Very rarely has a novel creeped me out as much as Mr Jones. It goes well beyond the blurb, that you end up wondering about your own safety and your own family, absorbing Ben’s feelings and emotions. It is very difficult to say any more without a series of Spoilers so I will just say, for those looking for a book that will get inside your head, go straight for Alex Woolf’s Mr Jones!” – Damien Mosley, author Joined Up
Work in Progress
They’ve all got a book in them, unfortunately.
In December 2016, Julia Greengage, aspiring writer and resting actor, puts up a poster in her local library inviting people to join a new writers’ group. The group will exchange constructive feedback and ‘generally share in the pains and pleasures of this excruciating yet exhilarating endeavour we call Literature’.
A novel-in-emails about seven eccentric writers, written by three quite odd ones, Work in Progress is a very British farce about loneliness, friendship and the ache of literary obscurity.
‘Excruciatingly well-observed, Work in Progress is a deeply funny epistolary novel with the kind of comic timing that caused me frequent physical pain. Consistently inventive and seamlessly collaborative: despite the characters’ best efforts I felt the constant exuberance of resourcefulness and discovery on every page. A masterpiece of passive-aggression that somehow combines skewering the most monstrous kind of mediocrity and delusion with genuine affection, humanity and wit. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day. I never do that.’ – Luke Kennard
‘Funny as hell. Formally inventive. Daringly concise.’ C. M. Taylor
The Fading
Lemuel Swan enjoys his job at the Department of Unexplained Objects, until the day he receives a visit from Louise Dickens, a struggling writer of erotic romances. She’s been sent an inexplicable object that she insists he investigate. Since the object came into her possession, Louise has noticed that she is gradually becoming less visible to other people. Now that Lemuel has been given the object, he, too, finds himself starting to fade. Despite personality clashes and frequent arguments, Lemuel and Louise decide they must work together to solve the mystery and reclaim their lives.
If you’ve ever suspected there may be more to reality than meets the eye, felt worried that someone might be out to get you, or are simply unnerved by the prospect of your own extinction, then The Fading is for you.
The Remington
Howard Protheroe leads the dullest existence imaginable. Literally nothing ever happens to him. Then one day, his life changes when he meets fun-loving, talkative Evie Nickelbite. Howard and Evie feel an instant connection. But something doesn’t seem quite right. It’s almost as if their lives are being controlled by an outside force.
At around the same time, in an apparently unrelated incident, would-be writer George W. Durant decides to purchase a typewriter, an 1878 Remington.
As Howard and Evie’s lives become increasingly action-packed and fraught with danger, they start to feel like characters in badly written novel. What is going on, and what does it have to do with George’s Remington?
By turns surreal, funny and romantic, The Remington navigates the mysterious terrain between the worlds of fiction and real life and asks if love can ever bridge the divide.
“The Remington is a splendidly comic tale that taps away at the keys to the creative process, whilst juggling parallel plots with a brilliantly deft touch. A great premise, brilliantly handled, it is a surprising but thoroughly entertaining blend of Tom Sharpe and Stephen King. The characters leap from the page, and when you read the story you’ll appreciate how I mean that quite literally. One can only hope and imagine that The Remington was written in a single night, in a dimly lit attic with the musical clatter of an old typewriter.” Jason Hook, author of Castle Barmy
“Part love story, part parallel-universe drama, and part meditation on the author as god, The Remington is a beguiling blend of food for thought, tender humour, and metafictional playfulness. A treat!” Dan Brotzel, author of Hotel du Jack
The Rip
Imagine the air as a piece of paper someone just grabs and rips…
Something has been opened that maybe shouldn’t have been…
It has the appearance of damage…
Chris is in love with Sian. Sian is dating Toby, and although she’s not sure she loves him, they’re going to have a baby together. Are Chris and Sian destined by fate to live this unfortunate and separate reality, or did they take a wrong turn somewhere along the way? Perhaps the rip might provide a clue… But whatever it is, its sudden appearance shakes up the lives of Chris and Sian, and nothing will ever be the same again.
In this unsettling tale of romance, voyeurism, and alternative reality, is the rip a portal to another world, or an eye into our own?
My Sweet Rock
She would always be there, just out of sight, behind every porter’s trolley, pillar, or steamy cafe window…
You see a girl in the train station; your heart skips a beat. With no opportunity to meet, you move on with your life. Some years later, you see the same girl at a ferry port. Again, a furtive glance is all you are afforded. A third sighting twenty years after the first, and the beautiful young woman hasn’t changed since the first day you saw her. What was simple fascination now turns to obsession. You must meet her, but how? You never spoke a word; you know nothing of her.
With no idea who this elusive creature is, you hire a private investigator. Even you know it sounds ridiculous that you’ve encountered the same girl three times over the course of two decades and she hasn’t aged a day. As ludicrous as it seems, the investigator takes the case, but what happens when he finds her and is captivated by her as well? Did you trust the wrong man? Could you trust any man?
Is this enigma a figment of your combined imaginations—have you both become so enamored with the idea of her that any woman becomes the ideal creature? Or is she simply the beautiful girl you initially saw living her life with nothing to hide?
Every Other Day But This
Elsa goes out one afternoon to post a letter. She knows she mustn’t be long. After all, her parents-in-law will shortly be arriving. But before she can return home, things start to spin out of control. It all begins when she decides to help an old lady with her shopping. One thing leads to another and soon she’s lost and far from home.
As her chaotic journey through East London unfolds, Elsa is forced to confront some pretty uncomfortable facts about her life and marriage. It makes her wonder: is she really just a victim of a series of unfortunate events, or is something else going on?
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