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About the book:

 

A collection of short stories depicting modern life in all its forms, where the character’s souls are laid bare.  It will make you cry, it will make you laugh but most of all it will make you think.

 

 

About the Author:

 

When my daughter arrived I left work as the head of a very busy accounts and payroll department.  Some years later I spent a long time studying and updating my skills and having attained my teaching diploma I returned to work as a trainer in Information Technology.  Another few years along and on the advice of a friend I took a complete ‘left turn’ and became a Taxi driver working the night shifts in Dublin city for five years.  At present I am enjoying the freedom to pursue my interest in art and writing.  I am in the process of writing a novel and also a biography.

 

 

Sample Excerpts:

 

THE BAG

 

“There were others in the elevator, but nobody spoke.  It seemed to stop at every floor and the unease in that awkward silence was palpable.   When it reached the top floor they were the only ones left.  Opening the doors to the ward, Rebecca’s nose was once again stung by the mixture of smells – that stomach churning scent of vomit, urine, disinfectant and heat.  How she had grown to hate that smell – it always lingered in her nostrils long after each visit.  The room was at the farthest end of the ward – last on the right opposite the nurses station.  The door was closed and the curtain had been pulled across the large window.”

 

 

LIFE

 

“He sat down on his chair and leaning down to the floor, turned on the radio.  Just in time to hear the weather after the three o’clock news.  It was to be a wet and windy night.  There followed a chat show with an assortment of topics from politics to gardening tips for the forthcoming spring season.  He heard none of them.  His obsessive mind was filled with the ominous item lying on the cold cement of the hall floor.”

 

DREAMS

 

“He pushed the hood from his face and unzipping the jacket, threw it on the back of the sofa.  It created a slight chill as it swished past her face and she moved slightly.  She uncurled and saw him bending down to turn off the television.  The only light in the room now came from a small beige table lamp to the left of the sofa.  No word passed between them, for all that could be said had already been said over and over again.  He was sick and tired of the constant arguments and had sunk lower and lower into his own dark world.  Sometimes he wished he could change things but he knew he had passed that point some time ago.”

 

 

MOMMY RIDING HOOD

 

“The bright red, yellow, purple and orange flowers bowed politely as I passed.  They were such a joy, no bother at all, not like the two stone toads at the bottom of the garden.  Each time I approach the one on the right gives a disarming wink of his left eye while the other has a strange way of pursing his large lips together and indicating his intention to leap forward.  I avoid them as much as I can and wish I could get rid of them.  Unfortunately there is no possibility of that as they are a gift from his Majesty.”

 

FEBRUARY’S SECRET

 

“Her mind was a whirl, her thoughts uncontrollable, she felt sick.  Lying on the bed didn’t make much difference, she couldn’t relax.  She thought about just leaving but knew that wouldn’t solve anything – she had nowhere to go.  Her boyfriend and she were finished.  He couldn’t ‘handle it.’  She had never felt so completely alone as in that moment of despair and rejection, yet she wasn’t totally alone.”

 

 

OLD TRUTHS – NEW LIVES

 

“Where to begin, that’s my problem.  This is very difficult for me you know.  It shouldn’t be me at all.  It’s not my place really.  But it appears that it’s been left to me anyway.  I suppose I could always just introduce you to her and she could tell her own story, but I imagine she doesn’t have the whole picture either.”

 

 

WORKING GIRLS

 

“In they piled.  It was difficult to see the three in the back properly in the gloomy light but if they were anything like the one in the front, they left a lot to be desired.  He was considerably overweight; the rotund belly caged in a white shirt, spilled over the top of the black trousers and sat in his lap.  The shirt was dotted with stains down the front and about four of the buttons were left open, revealing a pink barrel shaped chest and a pair of man boobs.  The face, matching the chest in colour, had a profusion of sweat across the loose jowls blending into a thick fat neck.  His hair was beginning to thin on top and looked lank and greasy.  He was clasping a bottle of beer by its green neck.”

 

 

FRIGHTNIN’

 

“I gave him his inflammatory tablet this morning and put on the radiator, so he’s in the front room.  He has his jacket on and he doesn’t know that there’s no one in the house.  Will you call in and see if he’s okay?  What?  I can’t hear you?  Oh - oh, you’ll call in a while, great.  Will you ring me back?  Right, right, bye.”

 

 

CHALLENGED

 

“He wandered upstairs.  Pulled the duvet up on the bed, opened the small window and stared at the dreary aspect of the row of rear gardens directly behind his.  Little boxes all the same in this large estate where most people were too busy to even notice each other.

 

He proceeded into the bathroom and on closing the door he caught sight of Catherine’s red handled toothbrush lying on the shelf over the bath.  He thought he’d thrown it out long ago.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheese And Cold Carrot Sandwiches

 

By Romelly Leonard

 

ISBN:  978-1-907107-40-5

Price:  €14.99