Family Tree: Stories of Love Beyond the Grave

By Raymond Nickford

A collection of stories which, though they involve loss within family and in relationships, nevertheless get inside the characters who are left behind and reveal, through fiction, how hurt and the longing for those lost can find resolution - where it may not be expected...

The author's degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University College of North Wales, together with an interest in the lonely, the outsider and those who have to contend with dysfunctional relationships and loss have been much of the inspiration for this book.

The collection opens with "Family Tree" - Mr Glossop might be a widower, his neighbours said, but it was high time he poured acid on the base of the old yew tree, the roots of which stretched well into the grounds of the Municipal Cemetery . Was he really going to let his only son have the same degrading end as Mrs Glossop? Would gossip open out to truths best laid to rest?

"Reaching Out to Bernie" is widow Emily's dearest wish, but it is neither to seance nor spiritualism that she turns but rather an antique which has come into her possession and, for too long, has been collecting dust in her attic. Emily clung for life to the bric-a-brac which made a Mausoleum of her home; for sure, in everything Bernie had touched, he still lived and somehow she would - she would reach out to him.

In " A Farewell to Father" schizophrenic, Sam Baldock, is given a day out - his last - at the Beethoven Museum in Vienna where he believes he is called by the spirit of Beethoven. What will his little daughter, Joanne, witness at the top of those damp spiralling steps to the top rooms of the old Pasqualati House on the Molkerbastie, which once led to the rooms of the composer in 1810?

REVIEWS:

'Beautifully observed characters, atmospheric, intriguing.'

Barbara Erskine - best selling author of Lady of Hay.

'A real page turner, worthy of the early John Fowles.
Might easily become something of a cult.'

Reay Tannahill - historian, novelist and author of The Seventh Son.

'Raymond Nickford's worlds are so claustrophobic they are almost unbearable to read - yet read we must. The first paragraph of this novel says more than many say in five chapters.....after a few chapters I am engrossed.'

Jane Alexander - author of Samael.

'There is so much to like here - the characters, the settings, the story; emotional, intriguing and full of human interest. Another winning combination.'

Andrew Wright - author of Sanctuary's Loss.

"The author gives great voice to his characters, describing well their idiosyncrasies. A good story must either go deep or wide, and with his background in psychology he goes deep within the human condition."

Stephen Valentine - author of Nobody Rides for Free

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond Nickford
• Release date: Jul 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9780993270512

Raymond Nickford

Raymond Nickford has said "To me, people are stranger than fiction and in many ways more fascinating."Perhaps this is what first led him to his degree in Philosophy and Psychology from the University College of North Wales and which has subsequently driven him to produce searching character studies in his collected stories "Twists in The Tale", novels and contributions to anthologies in the USA.AUTHOR WEBSITE:http://raymondnickford-psychologicalsuspense.weebly.comOf his novel based in Cyprus, "Aristo's Family," Barbara Erskine, best selling author of "Lady of Hay" has commented on the "beautifully observed characters," the "intriguing and atmospheric scenes," and above all the suspense which made her "want to read on".Part Greek Cypriot, the author was raised amongst Greeks in England and has travelled extensively through Cyprus. He has particular admiration for the village people whose company and hospitality he has enjoyed so much in the Troodos Mountains.Though people may be stranger than fiction, still, souls - particularly troubled ones, the outsider, the lonely and any driven to extremity –have been indispensable for Raymond's paperback novels, "Aristo's Family," "Mister Kreasey's Demon" and "Twists in the Tale".Raymond believes that his teaching of English in colleges and as a private tutor visiting pupils from "shacks to mansions" and seeing the "absolutely delightful to the vaguely Little Lord Fauntleroy" has informed his latest literary thriller "A Child from the Wishing Well."This features an eerie music tutor, her young pupil Rosie and Rosie's paranoid and inept father, Gerard, who nevertheless yearns to mean more to his daughter.The E-book version of "A Child from the Wishing Well" is now published and available to buy.MEET THE AUTHOR:susansbooks37.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/meet-the-author-raymond-nickford/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/raymond.nickford25REVIEWSCandace Bowen - author of A Knight of Silence, has written:“Growing up in a suburb of Chicago, the first scary movie I remember seeing was the 1965 Bette Davis movie, The Nanny. To this day, that movie has always stuck with me as one of the great psychological thrillers of all time.For me, A Child from the Wishing Well, by Raymond Nickford, is reminiscent of that movie. Ruth, the eerie music tutor, and Gerard strap you in, and take you on a psychological thrill-ride to the very end.”Stephen Valentine - author of Nobody Rides for Free, comments:"The author gives great voice to his characters, describing well their idiosyncrasies. A good story must either go deep or wide, and with his background in psychology he goes deep within the human condition. For some adults, the ability to relate to a child does not come naturally, and requires enormous if not awkward effort. This is an often overlooked subject worth exploring."Raven Clark - author of The Shadowsword Saga says:"Raymond Nickford has a writing voice that has to be one of the most unique and intriguing I have come across.The story is both enjoyable and oddly chilling, all the more so for its apparent warmth. The pleasantness of Ruth and her liveliness should seem gentle, grandmotherly and appealing, a sweet old lady one could adore, but reading the trailer, what seems kindly suddenly turns sinister, her upbeat excitability oddly macabre.Each time she says lines like "Our Rosie," and speaks so excitedly, rather than hearing a pleasant old lady, I think of a bird screeching. Fingers down a blackboard.Will Gerard realize what he feels is not a symptom of his disease?And if not, will Heather uncover the truth and save Rosie before the hurricane that is Ruth sweeps her into oblivion?"Raymond confesses to a passion for plump, docile tabbies and is moved by the music and life of the composer Edward Elgar; his interest leading him each year to a cottage in the Malvern Hills and to the Three Choirs Festival. He is a member of the Elgar Society.He is currently working on another psychological suspense," Prey to Her Madonna". Here, the author says, "the intrigue moves between Madeira, an eerie French shrine, an English village and London".

Book preview

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