She could see the dark hallway that led past the closed door of that forbidden room as if it were yesterday. The back of her neck prickly with fear as she sneaked into a place she knew, was sacred. A room rarely visited. A scattering of dust motes, scalloped lace nets at the window, a hush so deep you could hear your heart racing, and those three black-and-whites on the cold mantel…

Sandwiched between the needs of her elderly mother and her own family, Annie barely has time for a quick swim, let alone a leisurely chat about a long neglected tea set. But as story unfolds, the modern world seems to fall away along with her mother's dementia and forgotten family histories are revealed.

A heart warming and deeply touching story about family and the bonds that tie us.

the tea set is an engaging contemporary story that explores family relationships in a thoughtful and deeply moving way.

Reader reviews:

It captured my interest from the first page.

A beautifully written piece around the fragility of life, memories and relationships. A great short read.

It's well-written and thoughtful.

The last photograph, the photograph where Toni and I are oldest, was probably taken three years later. Of all of them, this is the photograph I remember most clearly. The one that, wherever I am, and whatever I am doing, makes me physically turn away from the memory, and hence myself, in a futile attempt to escape what has already passed.

A middle-aged woman has an unexpected meeting with a dying childhood friend, she hasn’t seen in over forty years. But any joy she might have felt at the unexpected reunion is overshadowed her feelings of shame and guilt remembering the last time they met.

The friend however has one last gift to offer in the form of redemption.

stand in cinderella is a deeply moving contemporary story, as uplifting as it is heartbreaking.

Reader Reviews

I found myself immersed very quickly. I didn’t look up until I had finished. It touched a nerve with me. Without giving anything away, it brought up memories of moments in my life that I am perhaps not so proud of; reacting negatively to something without knowing, or seeing the full picture. This is a beautifully written tale.

I could feel the protagonists embarrassment, shame and sense of injustice invoked by various meetings, references to past meetings and memories.

The imagery the author used transported me back 45 years.

I read this story twice and I cried at the ending both times.

Good reads

Read the short-story behind the short-story here

The story was recent of a friend of a friend who had left her husband immediately after the new kitchen was installed. The story was consistent in how beautiful the kitchen was, how expensive. And the story was logical in how selfish the woman's actions were. The story's only fault, in fact, was that it was unbelievable. With every telling, at every school gate and playground, every nappy aisle and doctor's waiting room, no-one could quite believe it.

Except me.

A divorced woman is the brink of setting up home with her new partner.

As she considers what this will mean, she remembers other times in her life when she set up home, both as a young single woman, and an older married mother.

Are the curtains her mother was once so proud of doomed now to follow her? And if they do will she once again allow herself to get trapped into their stifling domesticity?

curtains is an engaging story that explores in an amusing and deeply touching way, conflicting forces in the lives of contemporary women.