'CHANI'S KARMIC COLLISION' was published in 2015.
The novel is about Chani, trapped in Welwyn Garden City, miles away from her home, her job at the Mind and Body Centre and her friends in Hebden Bridge, with sullen 16-year-old Jamie, who acts like a Roman emperor but is, apparently, Chani's grandson. Social Services have decided Chani is the ideal person to look after him since he has been deserted by his mother, who is Chani's daughter, Celandine. She has run off with a man, which, to Chani, makes all this Celandine's fault. She did go totally against her karma eighteen years ago and she and Chani have been estranged ever since.
Or, dreadful thought, is it Chani's karma, the result of her free-spirit lifestyle decision all those years ago? If so, what she has now is more of a Karmic Collision.
Jamie so doesn't need this weird woman. Why won't she go away, like everyone else has? He can look after himself. All right, so he can't, like, make toast as his girlfriend Sophie says, but so what?
Even Chani's best friend, Vanessa, who is a far better social worker than the one she is now stuck with, isn't being much help.
Clearly, the only way to sort out all this is to find Celandine. But where can Chani look, when no one, not even Jamie, knows where she is?
REVIEWS
'... an enthralling contemporary novel about a 3-tier generation gap, complicated by the north/south divide. Its great cast of characters - led by the inimitable Chani - live out a contemporary story told with wry humour, gentle satire and deft plotting... A marvellous read.'
'... Davis's keenly observed comedy of manners offers real insight into ways the family unit can reconfigure itself after it has been blown apart... really funny.'
'... sizzles with wit and wisdom as Chani learns that for a family to function, dysfunctional mores have to be embraced ... demonstrates the importance of making concessions but still remaining true to oneself. Sip a cup of Chani's calming tea, check out your chakras and enjoy.'
'An excellent read. I particularly enjoyed the characterisation and the linking of different generations. A wry humour and a wisdom, a quiet knowledge and a surety of human nature ... Highly recommended.'
I defy you to resist Chani. By turns funny, exasperating, mloving, selfish, she crashes and stumbles her way through her new relationship with ... Jamie. And Jamie doesn't help. He'll do anything to avoid his freak of a grandparent, even get up before dawn ... a touching portrait of two generations caught in a cautious dance of getting to know each other, wrapped in a missing person mystery.
An enjoyable exploration of inter-generational family relationships, with a wealth of well-drawn characters and a strong sense of place. .. I look forward to more by this author.
The novel is available on Amazon, Waterstones online, and at Chapter One Bookshop, Manchester.
PUBLICATIONS
PANOPTICAN
This all-new anthology - told through the eyes of individuals whose gaze is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic and often both - challenges assumptions and stretches the boundaries of imaginative fiction.
'Panopticon is a diverse and deftly layered collection. Each tale of self discovery is lit with its own unique, bold truth. Panopticon showcases seven fresh and resonant new voices. It is an utter joy throughout,' Megan Taylor, author of 'How We Were Lost' and 'The Dawning'
The anthology was produced by Pandril Press - a small, not-for-profit Manchester-based press, of which I am part. It contains two of my stories.
It is available from Amazon, or direct from Pandril Press.
WEIRD LOVE
The second collection of stories from Pandril Press explores the ambiguities and nuances of love in its most diverse, startling and destructive guises.
This fresh anthology from published and new writers brings together lyrical, compelling and sometimes comic voices to tell tales of corrosive self-adoration, nuclear family fallout, forlorn desire, derelict affairs and the quest for true(ish) love.
This publication is not presently available.
In an exciting new venture I helped produce the anthology 'THE ROAD MORE TRAVELLED', by David Beckler, with tales about the refugee experience.
Everyone involved in this venture gave their services for free. The book, winning excellent reviews from readers and book bloggers, is now available at Amazon and Smashwords, all revenue going to the Refugee Council.
My story is 'The End of The Season' and relates to the Greek Island of Kos, a place we visit each year and which we love. Going there is like going home, to family, and I have watched as the people, already suffering from great economic hardship have gone out of their way to help and to feed hundreds of refugees arriving by sea.
The presence on the island, brief though it has been before they are moved to Athens, has resulted in a terrible drop in the number of tourists coming to Kos, unfortunately people appear to fear these poor, desperate people. Sadly, this has badly affected the livelihoods of the wonderful people of Kos.
There are 8 tales, they are brilliant.