by admin | Jul 17, 2016 | blog, Hope, Life, Love
CHAPTER 1 “Night may conceal many things but on this night of February the 3rd 1860 it cannot conceal the evil that hangs insidiously in the air. Nor can it conceal the pungent smell of hate and ignorance that flow freely, assaulting the nostrils of the seven people hiding in the cold, damp, dark cave. ‘In here! Look in here!’ Evil longs to cry out, knowing that to do so will lead to one of its many manifestations—death! The people in the cave stay quiet, though terrified, they pray silently that the Night-riders will not discover them. Their prayers, though quiescent, are powerful and make their way up to Heaven, where they lay expectantly at the Feet of God. The resonant sound of the hooves of horses gets louder and louder as the Night-riders, brandishing lit torches, move nearer and nearer, in pursuit of their scent-aroused dogs. The Night-riders stop a short distance away from the entrance of the cave; their dogs bark ferociously at the feet of their horses. Up and down and up and down the dogs jump, crazed, almost as if they dance to the tune of the drums that evil beats. Boom boom-boom! Boom boom-boom! Boom boom-boom! Each beat taunting them, drawing them nearer and nearer to the entrance of the cave.” Silence ensued. Then suddenly, the male voice continued with the story. “‘You think dey in there?’ Wilson, one of the Night-riders asks, as he peers into the cave from a safe distance. ‘Something sure spooked dem dogs,’ the head rider replies as they all dismount, ‘Only two of dem dogs are mine. The rest are mostly your crazy dogs Wilson, you go check,’ he orders...
by admin | Jul 3, 2016 | blog, Book Shop, Hope, Life, Love, Uncategorized, www.gllpublishing.com
All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, those who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8 verse 28. These are powerful words and today, as my father, the minister, preached them with such passion, I was convinced to an extent. For somehow, when you have seen a vision of hell on the faces of the people you love, like I have, you wonder what your purpose is, you wonder if you have indeed really been called. This is nearly the fourth year of the war between the Union of the North and us in the South. In the past months, many people have lost their families, homes, and livelihoods. We have been fortunate indeed and have not suffered much loss. Papa says we should be thankful yet more vigorous in our attempts to help our brothers in the North free the slaves. All around me I see hate on the faces of people that I have known nearly all my life. This hate is so fierce, yet it seems to have no source or reason, but just is. I am told that ‘Love Destroys Hate.’ Many nights I have lain awake wondering if this is true. In the midst of all this hate and darkness, can a light be seen? Will love claim its victory? Will the people who come after us understand why, as people who profess to love God—brother had to fight brother to free our brothers? I hope they will because I am living in this era and as God is my witness I cannot. Now,...
by admin | Jun 12, 2016 | blog, Book Shop, Bullying, Dead People, Depressed, Hope, Life, Love, Paramedics, Poison, Suicide, Talk To Someone, Uncategorized, www.gllpublishing.com
Q: Why is your latest novel about suicide? A: Because believe it or not we all know someone who has committed suicide. In my author’s note I talk about someone I knew . . . . Note from Author Most people, like me, will know someone who committed suicide or know someone who knows someone. When I finished my MSc in Medical Microbiology at university I got a job in a renowned London hospital’s Microbiology Laboratory and it was there that I met him, my work mentor. He wasn’t that tall, was balding, of slight built and told me once that he bought some of his trousers in the children’s section of clothing shops. He took me under his wing and taught me the difference between studying Medical Microbiology and working in a laboratory and how to put my theory know-how into practice. He used to wind me up by calling me ‘Gladiola’ instead of Gladys – he told me it was the name of a beautiful flower and I believed him (we didn’t have the internet back then for me to check if it was true or not). I worked with him for nearly seven years; two of those years were spent on maternity leave having my children. When I went back to work each time he brought me up to speed and made sure that I was okay with all the new methods. The things I remember most are his willingness to always help me when I needed help at work and how when we had a slight misunderstanding I would frown at him, he...
by admin | May 29, 2016 | Book Shop, Bullying, Dead People, Depressed, Heterochromia, Hope, Life, Love, Macmillan Nurse, Paramedics, Poison, Suicide, Talk To Someone, Uncategorized, University, www.gllpublishing.com
U Murder U (Suicide) available in a black or red cover Chapter 11 of U Murder U (Suicide) now available! CHAPTER 11 From the periphery of the A&E operating room Patrick and Eloise Carmichael watched as doctors and nurses worked quickly to save their daughter’s life. Wires were connected, monitors checked, a tube inserted into Jessica’s mouth and blood taken from her arm. Amid all of this, Eloise’s sobs were not acknowledged by her husband, he offered her no comfort, he allowed himself none either. Suddenly Jessica went into cardiac arrest and as the doctors and nurses hurried to shock her heart, a nurse ushered the Carmichaels out of the room. Sergeant John Kelleher had parked his unmarked squad car on a double yellow line on the road outside the hospital (he mentally dared any traffic warden to give him a ticket – he was looking for a reason to let off some steam). He hadn’t been able to find appropriate parking on the hospital grounds and he was irritated that he had to attend to the family of yet another suicide attempt, his fifth in two weeks. Not all his cases were suicide attempts, a number of them were actual suicides. Yesterday a young man had jumped from a bridge in front of a high speed freight train. Police officers had tried unsuccessfully to talk him down for twenty minutes. The minutes were used asking him his name, asking him about his family, what his favourite food was, where he lived and where he worked and intermittently begging him not to jump. He had...
by admin | May 8, 2016 | Depressed, Hope, Life, Love, Paramedics, Suicide, Talk To Someone, www.gllpublishing.com
CHAPTER 10 The two people hated each other but the one thing which held them together albeit loosely, spurred them into action, dissipating their hate, if only momentarily. Eloise’s screams had been short-lived as her husband had slapped her and calmly instructed her to call for an ambulance. He had grabbed a towel and tore it into two as if it were mere tissue paper then using each piece had firmly bound each of Jessica’s wrists. Now, he held his daughter to him and spoke to her, willing her to live, willing her to try, “Don’t die Jessica, don’t leave us, please don’t die,” he whispered. The sound of the siren preceded the flashing lights of the ambulance. “They’re here! Patrick, the ambulance is here!” Eloise said as she let go of Jessica’s hand which she had been rubbing and ran downstairs to open the door for the paramedics. “Up here!” Patrick shouted. “Please hurry!” The paramedics, a male and female, rushed in with medical bags. “How long has she been unconscious?” The male paramedic asked. He knelt down next to Jessica’s lifeless body and felt the side of her neck for a pulse. “Two maybe three minutes,” Patrick replied. “What’s her name?” “Jessica,” Eloise answered. “Okay, we’ll take it from here,” the female paramedic said as she firmly moved Patrick back and took his place. “Jessica, can you hear me sweetheart? Jessica, can you hear me luv? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me Jessica.” Jessica didn’t respond. “Oh my God, she’s dead isn’t she? She’s dead this time!” Eloise screamed. The female paramedic put the...
by admin | May 2, 2016 | blog, Book Shop, Bullying, Depressed, Hope, Life, Love, Poison, Suicide, Talk To Someone, Thank you, Uncategorized, University
CHAPTER 9 Unable to sleep, very drunk and very angry because Elle hadn’t called her back, Jessica rifled through some papers she had taken out of the secret desk compartment. She kept the compartment locked and the key to unlock it hidden in a pendant on a chain around her neck. She glanced at the papers as she desperately looked for one in particular, she read words like, ‘Death is a friend of mine’ and ‘We’re going to leave this world on our terms when the time is right for us’, they made her smile as did the gothic-like art that surrounded the words. These words usually gave her comfort in her sobriety pending the time she could get hold of a drink. She found the paper she sought, relief flooded through her, igniting her nerves and sending her pulse racing; she clasped it to her chest for a few moments. She turned her iPod on, selected a song then clambered onto her bed. She closed her eyes momentarily absorbing into her soul what can only be described as morbid, death-like music. Chanting embraced and caressed the music as it spewed out from the speakers. Each syllable seemed to conjure up spirits, evil and agile spirits that pandered to her mental state of mind – they danced to the music, decadence rife. Her heart beat faster as the chanting picked up pace and the music became almost maniacal-like. Jessica swayed this way and that, her eyes rolled backwards in her head. She felt herself floating higher and higher. The banging on her bedroom door served as...
