Waking Broken (33 page)
Authors: Huw Thomas
A story of hidden secrets, childhood drama and murder…
Adam Strong has two main problems in life: how to keep the gang from the local council estate out of the woods where he has built his den and how to get the new girl at school to notice that he exists.
But the ancient woods next to Compton Fosse contain more dangers than just the risk of a beating from the town’s teenage psycho. Hidden in Hobthrush Wood is the key to a mystery that weaves four disparate stories into a single web.
The mansion:
A gang of professional robbers mount a night raid on the secluded country home of a reclusive billionaire.
The dead:
Three decaying bodies, wrapped in plastic and chains, are found lying at the bottom of an ornamental lake.
The convict:
A sex offender is released from prison but breaks his parole and goes on the run after giving into temptation once again.
The ghost:
Two boys fleeing a vicious bully stumble across the entrance to a system of underground tunnels containing an eerie secret.
The Vault
is published in aid of the disaster relief charity
ShelterBox
, which will receive 50% of all royalties.
A collection of seven short stories dealing with both the serious themes in life and the not-so-serious.
Fractured Life
:
Everything is going perfectly for young journalist Danny Harper — a new flat, a career on the up and the girl he loves about to marry him. Then he wakes in hospital to find none of it’s true. The original short story that forms the beginning of
Waking Broken
.
Kingmaker
:
Pulling the sword from the stone? That’s the easy part. What comes next is the challenge.
The Uninvited
:
It was a happy home once but now the strangers won’t go away.
Standing At Rest
:
There’s one tomb in the cemetery of Our Lady of Tears that’s different from the rest. According to local legend, its story is one of love, betrayal and immeasurable sorrow.
Monkey Madness
:
For Nathan Wild, escaping into flights of fantasy is much more preferable than working in a hotel kitchen. The trouble is, his boss keeps interfering and telling him he needs to work harder.
Sometimes Nathan thinks he'd enjoy life more if he joined the monkeys in the zoo enclosure behind the hotel.
Understanding The Message
:
Sometimes life gets too much and there is no way back to reality.
Coming To Life
:
The source of a writer’s inspiration can be a mystery even for the author.
Writing as
William Webster
A battered journal left by the lone survivor of a plane crash provides a tantalising clue to an ancient mystery…
After years of leading overland expeditions all over the world, Ben Drummond is trying to settle down in England and forget the woman who broke his heart.
But he is summoned to Oxford by maverick archaeologist Dr Sarah Pagan, who believes she has discovered the whereabouts of a lost statue. Pagan believes the statue — of an ancient sphinx — could be even older than the Pyramids.
Proving its existence would turn conventional history on its head —allowing Pagan to vindicate herself and reclaim her lost reputation.
Pagan wants Ben to lead an expedition that will take her team deep into the desolate landscape of the Western Sahara.
Their first hurdle is to find the unmarked wreck of the crashed plane — but Ben soon realises they are not the only ones on the trail. A gang of art thieves have got wind of Pagan’s quest and are trying to follow the team so that they can loot the site for themselves.