The Man Who Built the World teaser snippet

From my next book, The Man Who Built the World, to be released by the end of June, here is a short excerpt.


‘Come here, Matty.’ Her voice was like the sound of tatty newspaper, caught on a fence and flapping about in the wind.

‘Come give Mummy hugs.’

‘Mummy?’ Eyes filled with tears as his head swung up. He turned towards the window, refusing to look at the shape hunched to his left, an amorphous smudge at the edge of his vision.

‘Come give Mummy hugs, Matty.’

He saw the shape of his own reflection, a black silhouette sat in a black room against a black background, saw the shapes of the things around him, the walls, the door the bed, the – what the hell is that? – all outlined in black. The lines wavered as though alive, a writhing nest of snakes made from shadow, shifting in and out of focus.
And then he sees a shadow deeper than night beside him, hunched and irregular, not man-shaped, not woman-shaped not shaped –

he sees his own mouth form slurred words

- come give Mummy hugs, Matty –

hears tissue paper rustling in his throat

feels arms fall around his shoulders

(no no rag and bone)

cold like dead tree bark

but can no longer see

can’t see

can’t

see –

‘Come to Mummy, Matty –’

From out there in the darkness, out beyond the window and the amorphous shapes and the blurred vision and the twisted limbs, out there in the darkness where the rain sheets and the wind roars, the crashing, rolling, cacophony of the fighting, colliding tree limbs form words and call his name –

‘Matty –’


This is a standalone horror/ghost story set in a small village in Devon, England.

(and yes, the tense change is intentional! Let me know if you think it works by commenting below).

CW

See cover art and more at my blog -

http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...