More than once over the last few years I’ve been approached to write a young adult novel. I must admit I have been tempted, even though I’ve always felt perfectly at home writing for younger readers. But many of the themes and issues in my novels are quite confronting anyway and have often been considered more suitable for older readers. So early last year I decided to give it a go. Marty’s Shadow is the result.

Marty is a troubled sixteen year old youth. He carries a dark secret deep inside, so deep in fact that he doesn’t really know what it is. At best he has a vague memory of something dreadful that happened when he was a very young child. For years he has blocked this from his mind, but now it’s all creeping back like a shadow, stalking him in the form of strange nightmares, visions, voices.

Marty has no choice, he has to confront his past. Like pieces of a puzzle, he gradually fits the clues together. But nothing can really prepare him for the final, awful truth.

Not all families are safe, not all memories are good and not all relationships survive. But everything leaves a shadow.