Ghosts Who Google
WARNING: These spooks do not hide in the dark! Staying away from darkened churchyards and wind-swept moors won’t keep them out of your life. Ever wondered where those unexplained text messages come from? Or been startled by the astuteness of machines? Ever looked over your shoulder when tapping away at the keyboard late at night?
Stephen Atkinson’s tales take you exploring tropical shores and doing shady deals in East End pubs, sailing in summer waters and touring English B&Bs. From the tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious, whether investigating a mystery on a Scottish golf course or making first footfall on a new planet, wherever these stories unfold, they bring the supernatural bang up to date, put flesh on the ghosts and give voice to the shadows in the corner.
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"Journalists have wonderful imaginations - how else do they churn out page after page of news(?) print? Ex-journalist Stephen Atkinson, however, has seen the light and put his fantasising to better use, dreaming up bite-size narrative nuggets for us to savour.
I don't normally like ghost stories, but these got me from the start, for Atkinson's ghosts are the product of humane intelligence and psychological perspicacity: Atkinson's ghosts not only cross over between life and death, but as metaphors they mediate the nebulous space between love and loss, desire and despair.
I came across Stephen Atkinson on a beach in Southern Spain, but he travels well - take him on your next holiday. Or else snuggle up with him at home, or let him lighten the daily commute. You won't be sorry."
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Mary Wood Power
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Circaidy Gregory Press - 162 Pages
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Front and Back Cover Design: Jan Sampson
“This book has got it all – ghosts that sneak up on one by electronic means; time travel; five different men who miss their dead wives in completely different ways; and more besides. It is an unputdownable collection of twenty-two short stories by Stephen Atkinson. Each story has an unforeseen twist at the end. I read it all non-stop to find out what happened. Then I re-read immediately to savour the details.
The stories named: Don’t Text Back, Each Breaking Dawn and Wreck are well worth a repeat. Read one each night at bed-time! Diana Harvey, Loughborough
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