WILKINS, Maggie

ISBN 978-1-923333-36-9
PAPERBACK

ISBN 978-1-923386-21-1
HARDCOVER

Consequences

 

A Collection of Short Stories

Actions have consequences.

A cast of flawed humans (and non-humans) inhabit these twelve short stories. These characters make decisions and take actions which have profound consequences for themselves and others. They are driven by strong emotions and desires -for revenge, reward, redemption, reconnection, rehabilitation, and more.

The stories are drawn from different genres (dystopian future, crime, mystery, humour, fantasy and psychological drama) but all reflect the central theme of ‘consequences.’

Actions and their consequences can set up a happy ending. (In one story, an AI assistant makes himself indispensable to a human family. In another, an executive with PTSD confronts his past).

But some stories end with a sting in the tail. (In one story, a frustrated doctor risks a patient’s life to take revenge on an old enemy. In another, an academic decides that murder is the only way to safeguard her career).

The Gift was shortlisted in 2020 Hammond House (UK) competition and published in their SURVIVAL Anthology. Antarctic Days was shortlisted for 28th Scarlet Stiletto Awards (Aus) in 2021 and The Journalist was short listed in Stringybark Stories (Aus) urban-themed competition in 2023.

About the Author

 

Maggie is a former marketing and advertising research consultant. A career spent listening to public opinions and attitudes stoked her interest in dialogue and her passion for stories. She revels in the transition from writing research reports to writing fiction.

This is the first collection of her short stories to be published. Some of these, although fictional, were inspired by real life events. Three stories have been short-listed in international or Australian competitions.

She was educated at the University of Sydney (BA) and Macquarie University (MA in Mass Communication). She was born in Sydney and calls it home but has also lived and worked in London and Singapore.

DALY, Neil

ISBN 978-1-923386-00-6
PAPERBACK

ISBN 978-1-923386-91-4
EBOOK

Your Sins Will Seek You Out

A Novel Based On True Events

Barry Keating’s cunning and violent nature manifested from his first childhood contact with other children.

John and Ruth Keating adopted Barry from birth.

John Keating, a community person, is also a career policeperson involved in numerous crime and traffic incidents as he advanced through the ranks. His involvement with the public and criminals outlines his quick reactions to planning and delegating. Undiagnosed PTSD haunts him throughout his career and his life.

Barry’s violent responses are often easily given; he rarely takes them.

His continuance with violence against both men and women maintains his rage while committing terrible crimes. Even after finding love and domestic commitment, his urges cannot be denied, and they take control.

Follow these real-life events, where only the names and locations are changed.

JOHNS, Philip

ISBN 978-1-923088-35-1
PAPERBACK

Making Tracks

Sometimes you go outback and you cannot back out

The outback can be dangerous, but is it also evil?

The great Australian dream; spend the kids’ inheritance on a huge 4-wheel drive and a gigantic caravan, then head to the Outback to convince yourself you’re having a good time. Rex and Barbara Rogers headed off into this dream, until a flat tyre and disaster struck. Now it’s up to local police officer Ben Buckley and Bo Wirrapunda – a First Nations woman passionate about her country – to find out the riddle of the missing grey nomads!

HILLIER, Kevin

ISBN 978-1-923589-70-4
EBOOK

Discover the truth behind the

Murder on the Linley River

This story is set on the fictional Linley River in South Australia, based on the real South Australian River Murray.

This book starts with a victim of a stabbing, who is taken to the forensic Mortuary, where Kev and Sully help the forensic Pathologist, Doctor Malloy do a first assessment for the attending detectives.

Kevin, after this late-night call-out, is at work the next day, his last day before giving a talk to pre-deployment troops. Kev after this talk spends a week on the river to reset his work life balance.

Follow the investigation and follow Kev’s part in MURDER ON THE LINLEY RIVER.

ISBN 978-1-923088-46-7
PAPERBACK

Discover the truth behind the

Murder at the Linley Cove Lighthouse

“The broken railing and askew post on the outside of the fourth-floor balcony was a giveaway to the attending detective Peter.”

In the early morning, Kev is woken by a phone call; a body had been found at the base of a seven-storey lighthouse. As a senior mortuary technician, Kev is tasked with preparing this new patient for analysis.

Paul is the supposed victim, and close friend of Peter the detective assigned to the case. Paul’s body had been removed from the scene before Peter got there, authorised by Peters Chief Superintendent so he would not have to see his friend looking like he did at the foot of the lighthouse. The investigation progresses, more and more is revealed that leaves the police questioning everything.

In the midst of the investigation, Kev’s relationship with his co-worker, Liz, unexpectedly blossoms and Kev finds his attention split between his job and this fledgling love affair.

Discover the true inner workings of a forensic mortuary and the training of a new employee. Also follow the homicide detective Peter to discover the truth behind the Murder at the Linley Cove Lighthouse.

About the Author

 

Kevin is the third son of Robert George Hillier and Dorothy Margaret Hillier. Stephen and Andrew being his two older brothers. Kev was born in the lounge room of the family home soon after ten pm on the 21st of October 1966. His childhood was a good and loving one. From the age of fourteen, Kev worked in a butcher’s shop after school. It was situated in the small village of Alverstoke in Gosport, Hampshire, on the south coast of England, to the left of Portsmouth Harbour.

When he left school, he gained a position with a large supermarket chain, working in their meat preparation room. That was, until he damaged an eye in an accident at home, which made it impossible to work with all the equipment at that time. After working in a few different departments over the next six months or so, he decided he needed something new.

He then worked for a maritime engineer, helping with everything from building or repairing slipways, to painting and varnishing yachts. At this time, Kev lived on a boat to try to save money, and that is when he started writing as he had no television. He would while away the hours in the evenings drafting stories that came into his head like waking dreams. These stories were handwritten in a book and wouldn’t have been able to be read by anyone other than Kev due to his dyslexia. The stories were badly written, spelt and had hardly any punctuation.

After six months of working with the marine engineer, he joined a jewellery retail company as a trainee manager and made it to the position of manager a couple of years later. When a competitor bought out the company, Kev went for another change and became a trainee mortuary technician.

That’s where he met Liz, you may say the rest is history. He is now settled in South Australia with Elizabeth and their two grown up daughters. He started writing again as a hobby in January 2023. After his father heard Kev had completed his first draft he said about the story “that should be published.” Kev’s father died three days later. Kev decided to approach a publisher and this is his novel. Thank you for reading it.

LEES, Bruce

ISBN 978-1-923088-16-0
PAPERBACK

Another Funeral

An unlikely meeting that will change the course of their lives forever

Maggie and Larry are an unlikely couple down on their luck. Reduced to living in a squat, they find that by gate-crashing funerals they can gain a feed.

At yet another funeral, something happens that leads to a change of their circumstance. An old mate of Larry’s has a big influence on their lives.

Just how big, is hard to tell.

WALDOCK, Neil & Alistair Sutton

ISBN 978-1-922890-08-5
PAPERBACK

After you Came

Stuart Kingston had enough of tripping over dead bodies during 1987… unfortunately 1988 doesn’t look like being any different.

As Bicentennial celebrations begin in Sydney, David Wyatt, a young gay man, is found murdered in an alleyway in Darlinghurst. With few leads, Inspector Carrington enlists Stuart to escort his constable undercover at Touchstone sauna, the last place that David was seen alive. Can Carrington catch the killer before more men are murdered? And can Stuart stop thinking about his former lover, the hunky carpenter Dexter, for long enough to be of any help?

In this sequel to The Day Before You Came, all the much-loved characters return, including Stuart’s mother Miriam, who has a new career on daytime TV, and his theatre friend, Winston, who meets a mysterious stranger.

So, strap in for another camp ride through the Eastern Suburbs, where anyone can be a murderer, and no-one is quite as they seem.