I found a love for storytelling at a young age. Back then it was in the form of song-writing, before co-founding and singing in a rock band. A little later in life, I decided I was going to attempt to write a novel. I wanted to see what it was like and I found a new love for telling a story.
There is something special about creating your characters and living within them. It’s a bit like being a puppeteer, manipulating the puppets to dance to your tune.
I have a particular interest in psychology which led me to working on secure mental health units. This opened my eyes to so many things most of us don’t get a chance to see. It changed my life. Rather than carry all that within me, I decided it would be better utilised in fiction.
It is 1959 in the American south. Arlene is a complex woman, living alone after losing her husband to an accident. The small town in which she lives is quaint but steeped in prejudice and racism. Arlene possesses a unique music box which a gypsy gave her on her fourth birthday. This is no ordinary music box and has been with her ever since, buried in her basement – until now. Once unburied, it awakens and changes Arlene’s life forever. Now, as her thirty fifth birthday approaches, the music box, now brought to life, speaks to her once more. Will it be her undoing? Her salvation? Her confidant? Only time will tell.
Review by Readers' Favorite website
Arlene and the Music Box by Simon Kippax will have lovers of slow-burn mystery novels laced with a compelling tale of loss, grief, love, romance, fate, rocky marriages, small-town gossip, slavery, racism, magic, and evil hooked from cover to cover. Simon’s vivid descriptions bring the small town of Grey Fields to life, capturing the mood and setting of mid-twentieth-century North America. It felt as if I was right there next to the main players, watching the events unfold. The edge-of-the-seat suspense had me flipping through page after page. Simon has the knack of deriving humor from the most mundane situations, like when Arlene’s cat was curling around her ankles and she could not tell whether the cat was trying to soothe her or was just hungry. Simon depicts the protagonists' emotions and their complex qualities compellingly, giving them authenticity.
The floor was icy cold. The dark flooded the hall with unquestionable solitude. The silence was deafening as he took one step, then another down the corridor. He came upon a door. It creaked open to reveal more darkness, only this time a lot heavier. A tall figure stood facing away from him with his head stooped over - a silhouette in an already blackened room. The revenant figure was breathing, echoing through the deathly silence. In a slow, baleful manner, the figure turned its head. One bright, burning eye stared directly into Jack-Jack's soul making his heart ache - "I see you".
Three children, an orphanage, a glass eye and endless tales of superstition. A town steeped in forgotten history resided with forgotten people. Only one man was not so forgotten, just cursed and banished to a cabin deep in the woods. They say long after he was gone, his glass eye could still see into your soul.
This is the story of Old man Joe.
Review by Readers' Favorite website
What the Glass Eye Sees by Simon Kippax was intriguing and exciting. The story was complex and fast-paced. I became part of the three friends' lives and sympathized with their circumstances. They grew up in the orphanage without loving parents, and they only had each other. The characters were brilliantly developed. I liked most of them, but there were a few I did not like. Jack-Jack was my favorite. He was left on the steps of the orphanage as a baby. It was difficult for Robbie to adjust to being an orphan, and Mollie was always right with her rebukes. The story was well-written and a page-turner. I could not put it down, not even for a minute, because I feared I would miss something. The major twist at the end was a big surprise.
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