Blenkinsop Blabbermouth and the Ghost of Broderick McCaffery

By John Walker Pattison

Daniel and his best friend, Papa, make their way through a sinister cave, where a crow picks at the little flesh that remained on a pile of bones. The misshapen walls of the cave, embedded with diamonds, glisten and gleam like mysterious eyes watching their every footstep.

Into the enchanted forest they march, but soon they are confronted by a fierce crocodile, then a frustrated condor, before being tasked with helping Ernest, the rarest of rare custard elephants.

Papa told Daniel about Captain McCaffery’s wicked gang of cutthroat crew. The most feared was Crazy Maisie, the wife of McCaffery. An incredibly large and feisty woman; her red beady eyes peered out through a wild tangle of matted hair like those of a wolf about to make a kill. The crew was in absolute fear of her, claiming that she was at least 150 years old; the skull tattooed on her right cheek was proof that she was indeed possessed by evil.

Eventually, the two adventurers make it to the glittering treasure of Broderick McCaffery, which lay scattered at the entrance of the Cave of Eternal Screams.

But, to protect his treasure, McCaffery used black magic. He also had the help of Sidero, a sly, slithering snake, with fiery red eyes filled with torment, a forked tongue that flicked in and out, and a mouth filled with bloodthirsty razor-sharp fangs.

Then, a single bolt of zigging and zagging lightning jolts across the sky like one million volts of electricity screaming in anger! As they stand in fear, the delicate sound of thunder fades into the distance and a voice booms out from the cave entrance…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398460126

John Walker Pattison

John Walker Pattison is proud to call South Shields his hometown. He recently retired from his senior cancer nursing post, swapping his stethoscope for a pen in order to focus his attention on writing children’s fiction. Pattison’s life changed forever, the day he was diagnosed with cancer (1975), and yet today, almost 50 years later, he is humbled to be one of the longest-surviving cancer patients in the UK. His work is inspired by his grandson, Daniel, and the two adventurers are looking forward to seeking out trouble wherever they go. Pattison firmly believes that “Nothing is as important as family.” Life is just wonderful, a continuous lesson for everyone, but it is not a rehearsal, life is to be enjoyed – he would suggest children study hard and play even harder – seek out their dreams because dreams do come true.