Between 2011 and 2014, I wrote eight short stories.

I had been writing stories since early childhood. Weird scenarios would enter my head and I would feel compelled to write about them.

Blood in Water relates on Abby who makes an awful discovery about her family. Dead Letter Room samples the life of lonely Finch at his workplace. Outside enters the disturbed mind of an ex-convict and What Goes Around considers the makings of a bully. On the surface all appear to delve into diverse worlds and minds.

But this isn't quite so. They are about alienation. My other stories are the same: alienation. This theme goes right back to my early children's mysteries of the Seventies. How strange. I hadn't noticed.

In 2016, I would uncover a terrible truth about myself. My life has been forged on a lie. I had reached fifty-one by then and living with my partner and children. This truth has leaked into my stories without my realisation.

This account is true. I have included relevant diary entries and illustrations. Analyses and further dissections provide an insight into the force behind these stories, and a strange ghost language unearthed.