Category Archives: Novella

Remembrance

Posted on by

Years before the events of Earth Day, Remembrance is a dark journey of discovery. And, as the Irish proverb says, may you never forget what is worth remembering, or remember what is best forgotten.

Fear the forgotten

“After many years, two former school friends meet by chance. Or do they? Deborah — a high-flying corporate lawyer, now living in New York — remembers a sequence of events one way, while Ben — a travel writer and campaigning journalist — remembers them another. But why?

Unable to shake loose the feeling that something’s wrong, Deborah and Ben return to the rural idyll of their home village in England, to make sense of what really happened during that apparently lost week in their young lives.

What they uncover is more disturbing than anything they could have ever imagined, striking at the very heart of their adolescence, affecting not just their own lives, but the lives, the careers and the reputations of people past and present: an event so unbelievable, only the unimaginable could bring it to an end.”

Remembrance is available NOW on Amazon Kindle

Lucidity

Posted on by

Lucidity is the latest science fiction thriller novella by Wayne Smallman, author of post-apocalyptic thriller Earth Day. When dreams of New York — the city that never sleeps — turn into a nightmare.

In dreams, you’re never alone.

“On the verge of a major breakthrough in sleep therapy, Barbara Ostermann, an expert in disruptive sleep disorders, uncovers a remarkable conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of her work and that of her colleagues, Martin — her occasional lover — and Anna — the gregarious though disillusioned young technical prodigy — who team up to help avert an international crisis.

Enlisting the help of her brother, Karl, Barbara seeks to disentangle this plot to assassinate the elusive and mercurial DeShaun Gates, a strident campaigner for racial equality, on a collision course with the authorities.

Tireless in his efforts, Karl finds himself in New York, where events are not as they appear and his dream of averting disaster skims along the abyss of a monumental nightmare.”

Lucidity is available NOW on Amazon

Lucidity is available to buy right now for Amazon Kindle.

Project Status — Lucidity

Okay, I sprung this one out of nowhere, but Lucidity has been on my mind for quite some time, honest!

I’ve written the first draft and sent copies off to friends for an examination. Also, because the principle characters are German, I’ve been in contact with a German acquaintance to ensure the cultural references and dialogue are consistent.

Just so you know, Lucidity is another novella, though less than half the length of Earth Day. Anyway, here’s the synopsis…

On the verge of a major breakthrough in sleep therapy, Barbara Ostermann, an expert in disruptive sleep disorders, uncovers a remarkable conspiracy that strikes at the very heart of her work and that of her colleagues, Martin — her occasional lover — and Anna — the gregarious though disillusioned young prodigy, who team up to help avert an international crisis.

Enlisting the help of her brother, Karl, they seek to disentangle this hidden and secretive plot to assassinate the elusive and mercurial DeShaun Gates, a strident campaigner for racial equality, on a collision course with the authorities.

Tireless in his effort, Karl finds himself in New York, where events are not as they appear, and his dream of averting disaster skims along the abyssal of a monumental nightmare.

A photographical post apocalyptic earth

Posted on by

Earth’s plight is not nearly as severe as our own; whatever we humans do to ourselves, the world will recover. That aside, have you ever wondered what a post apocalyptic earth would look like?

Vladimir Manyuhin starts with real photographs, adding digital decay and overgrowth to create an eerily realistic sense of how the world might look long after most humans are gone.

Wonderful stuff, and very I Am Legend. And, if you like Vladimir’s idea of a world after humans have flicked the self-destuct switch, maybe you’ll enjoy my own take on a post apocalyptic world in Earth Day, my first novella.

Earth Day

Posted on by

Earth Day is the debut science fiction thriller novella by Wayne Smallman. The story, told like a future fable, follows the challenging and changing fortunes of a young woman attempting to unravel the mystery surrounding a sudden and unstoppable alien invasion of Earth.

In the beginning, we broke our word, and then came the lights

“How might our quarrelsome and wasteful ways be seen through the gaze of more distant, different and dispassionate eyes? And how might a promise once made by the leaders of the world be re-paid having been broken by their successors?

30 years later, on a night whose dark skies were filled with a magical light show the world over, countless towns and cities, entire transport networks as well as billions of people begin to vanish without a trace. But out in the remote rural areas of the world, life goes on unaffected by the invasion, or the enigmatic “lights” that continue to appear out of nowhere, surveying the mundane routines of the survivors.

In the aftermath of this unstoppable invasion by an invincible alien force, one survivor wants more than mere survival; Leonora “Lenny” Dixon wants answers. Why are the invaders here, and what do they want of us?

In search of answers, Lenny and her boyfriend Jay leave the relative safety of Cumbria, a mountainous and rugged region of north-west England, and begin a journey south, through the ruined and abandoned urban sprawl of the great northern city of Manchester. On their way they discover the true and terrifying purpose of the invaders, finally revealing the horrifying truth behind the disappearing industry and civilization of man, and of mankind itself.”

Earth Day is available NOW on Amazon

Earth Day is available to buy right now for Amazon Kindle, as well as other formats on Lulu.