Author: markswritingcorner

Mark Ahern was born in 1979 and is from Ireland. He attained a Degree in Commerce from UCD in 2000 and a Masters in European Studies in 2001. He has written three novels to date encompassing science fiction and thrillers. At times Mark has used his experiences as an individual with a disability to write from a truly unique perspective. "Chronicles of Martan" which is his sole science fiction work to date, is an epic space odyssey inspired by his love of Star Wars. This was followed by "Not the Usual Suspect" and "Paradigm". His current project is called "The Irish Ripper" and should be available late 2019.

Review of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

To those readers who follow my blog closely you’ll know that I am supposed to be reviewing “To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee. All I can say is that I really did try but I only made made it a third of the way through. Please do forgive me, I am living through a plague after all. Every page was becoming a struggle and my mind just couldn’t take any more self conflagration. It was like I was slowly making my essence and vie for life fade away.

I was expecting it to be a fast paced court thriller about an alleged rape, featuring fantastical court argument. What I got was unending nonsense about a young girl’s childhood. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against young girls, I’m not a misogynistic pig but this was a particularly boring one. It is brilliantly written but so boring. It’s so boring that it seems quite fitting that school children are tortured into reading it. The film was so good but this novel is dross. To anyone that cares, it gets a zero. I’m sure some people will like, I just don’t know how.

So, I started reading “The Great Gatsby” instead and was I certainly happy that I did. It is set in the Roaring Twenties just outside of the Big Apple and was first published in 1925. It is told through the eyes of Nick Carraway who finds himself immersed in a great love story of sorts. He has moved to a new town and finds himself living beside a great mansion where raucous parties are a weekly event. After visiting a distant cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom Buchanan, he finds out from a fellow visitor Jordan, who he subsequently romances that it is owned by a Mr. Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire.

Subsequently he is invited to one of the parties, where he quickly realizes that nobody actually seems to know much about Gatsby. There are rumours about how he made his money but nothing certain. Little does he know that Gatsby has a secret reason for inviting him and that is to meet Daisy. They had been an item prior to The War and before he was rich.

What follows is a story of intrigue with the odd twist sprinkled in. It is now considered an American classic but didn’t do great when it was first published and the author died destitute. Let’s hope that is not the fate awaiting yours truly. During World War II, free copies were given to American soldiers and this was the beginning of a meteoric rise. I can see how the novel would make a lasting impression on young sold, stuck in a damp, squalid trench. Later, a few films were made telling the story.

My score is four stars out of five. I did feel that some of the characters were a bit too one dimensional at times. In particular Nick’s love interest Jordan. We learn little about her except that she is beautiful and plays golf.

Saturday morning Winter Blues

Well readers it has been a while since I blogged. I have been working in my latest novel, which I’m hoping will be out next year and my day job has been manic. Progress has been very slow to date but I now have a clear vision. It’s just about getting it to all come together. It will be a continuation of The Irish Ripper with many of the same characters.

Talking about The Irish Ripper, I’m thinking about making it freely available on this site. If I’m going to become a famous writer, I need as many readers as possible! Perhaps I’ll release a snippet each week. Not sure just yet. Do let me know your thoughts. A quick aside, all my works are freely available on Amazon for five days from tomorrow.

Over the coming months I hope to do more short stories, book/film reviews and hopefully some funnies too.

On the subject of films I watched an excellent one yesterday – “Olympus has fallen”. It’s actually quite an old one having been released way back in 2013 and I’m surprised that I hadn’t seen it before.

Gerard Butler is simply fantastic as an out of favour Secret Service Agent who becomes the best hope for saving The President when the White House is attacked. The action scenes are shot brilliantly and the terrorist plan of is well thought out although it did seem to depend on a bit of good fortune at one point. That was when The President brought the South Korean delegation to his bunker. This was a clear breach of protocol and I just don’t think it would happen. But hey, I’m a perfectionist.

There was just enough back story to each of the characters that you wanted them to survive without getting too sentimental. This film gets five stars out of five for me.

On a separate note I got my booster shot this morning. This necessitated me getting up early on a Saturday morning, oh the hard life I live. Saturday mornings are for sleeping only.

Till next time..

Review of “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee

This novel was released to much fanfare, although also to criticism a number of years ago. It is written by the same author as “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, the Pullitzer winning masterpiece and is set about two decades later. That is how I came across it. The criticism was due to the fact that it was released based on manuscripts after the author’s death. She didn’t intend for it to be released.

I have yet the read the more famous novel, and that may help give me a different perspective. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—”Scout”—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Atticus is the lawyer who saved a black man in a rape trial twenty years earlier. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her.

The disturbing truth is just how racist they all are, even her beloved father, Atticus. This comes as a shock to her and leads her to question everything, leading to physical sickness at times. By the end of the novel they are all still racists, but she has come to accept that she can be a little bit less racist and still get along with them. A strange ending where what all she really needed was a good smack from her uncle to straighten her out or at times it definitely felt that way. Although, the novel’s explanation is some psycho babble about Daddy issues.

If you get triggered by racism, this novel is not for you especially the last 60 pages. But it’s really not for anyone at all. The plot is threadbare and the first hundred pages quite boring. I struggled to keep going. The writer though has good descriptive powers, but the story just felt aimless at times.

Also, the fact Jean Louise only now sees the racism lacks credulity. Like, she did grow up there! This novel gets a very disappointing two stars out of five for me. Do yourself a favour and give this a wide berth.

(If you like my writing, don’t forget to join my emailing list. You can also follow me on twitter or on facebook at markswritingcorner)

Review of “Come as you are” (Film)

This is a 2019 comedy-drama film, directed by Richard Wong about three men with physical disabilities who go on a secret trip to a brothel in Canada to lose their virginity. It is currently available on Netflix and is loosely based on the Belgian film Hasta La Vista that was itself based a BBC documentary about three British physically disabled men who did visit a brothel in Spain. However, this film is now so fictionalized I would merely say it was inspired by true events.

In this film, two of the men are in their twenties. One has a condition called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita that fixes your joints in a fixed or bent condition restricting its movement. Alas, it is a condition I am all to aware of myself and the main character Scotty’s limbs are all affected, just like myself. In other reviews, he has been called paraplegic, but this is not correct as he has full sensation throughout his body. He uses an electric wheelchair to get around. This is the first and almost certainly the last time I will see someone with my condition in a film. My condition is quite rare, especially for those severely affected so this is not something I personally find problematic.

Scotty is a bit on the ratty side and perhaps self centred. The other characters tell him his biggest problem is his personality and not his disability in getting laid.

Then there is Matt, who is paraplegic. He does have a girlfriend and a pretty one at that, at the start of the film but that abruptly ends. Just as well for the sake of the film but still for me this leaves more questions than answers. How long were they together? Did she know him before his accident? He has a strict Asian father, who is overly controlling

Finally, there is Mo who is visually impaired and the the most kind and considerate of the three. He’s far too close to his mother though, and only goes when he receives her blessing.

So, the three of them sneak off one morning with the aid of a nurse who happens to drive a van. We are led to believe that Scotty spends the night in the wheelchair so he can escape first thing in the morning, without the help of his mother. At this point, I know that the film was written by an able bodied person. I have the same disability and it wouldn’t be feasible. He would be in so pain and his feet would be throbbing by the morning. That and the door was closed behind him!

Anyways, liberties are being taken. So what did I think of the film?

I only found it only moderately funny. It felt like there was a thin line. It didn’t want to offend all disabled people by saying this is the only option for sex. Which it isn’t. But the constant qualifications detract from the story.

Mo and the nurse get together. But she is obese and diabetic. A disabled girl at the centre likes Scotty, he now sees her in a new light. Should disabled people stick together for love? Is that the real answer?

Don’t get me wrong, some of the disabled women I know, are the most beautiful women I’ve seen. It’s just that you should love who you love.

I’d give this film three stars out of 5

So, both films were inspired by a BBC film called For One Night only. Asta Philpot who has Arthrogryposis (he was consulted for the film and undoubtedly led to Scotty having the same condition) and lost his virginity in a legal Spanish brothel brings two other disabled men on the same journey. I’d give the documentary five stars.

As an update Mr Philpot states on his website that he is now more interested in looking for love, perhaps showing the whole thing for the pyrrhic victory some consider it to be.

Squalor

Part I

Meredith sat quietly near the entrance to a shopping centre on a busy pedestrian street in the beating heart of Dublin. Most shoppers wouldn’t even notice that she was there. Occasionally, one would stop and hand her some change. Rarely, would a word be said between them. Not that she wanted to talk. Her worst fear was that someone, even a remote acquaintance might vaguely recognize her from her old life. The shame of being seen living like this. Her once beautiful jet black hair was now frazzled and dirty, her jumper and jeans, old and ripped. Once her life had seemed so full of potential, she had never envisioned that she would end up living like this, especially at twenty-five years of age. That is what brought her all this way from county of Cork.

This was her favorite spot during the day. An excellent view and a small bit of shelter. Later, she would find somewhere more secluded for the night perhaps in the doorway of an apartment block or in an abandoned building. Somewhere relatively safe, compared to the homeless shelters where she would be hassled for sex and face the temptation of drugs. She was clean over two months now and that was something she was quietly proud of. But the pull of heroin was never far from her thoughts.

It was a warm summers day, which Meredith preferred to the cold but it brought its own problems. The scorching heat of the ground and the intense glare of the sun. The smell of burgers from the McDonald’s restaurant down the street tormented her. It would be a few hours till the soup kitchen opened, she would just have to wait.

She spent a few minutes just watching the various people go op and down the street. They all seemed happy or at least content in their lives. There was a group of girls giggling, two men holding hands in a romantic embrace and a a group of african men among the milieu. Then she spotted a man in a wheelchair buzzing past on the opposite side of the street. She had seen him several times over the last few weeks. He was around her age, always immaculately dressed in a suit. and always in an apparent rush to his destination.

She thought of asking him where he was in a rush to but he wouldn’t want someone like her talking to him. The smell alone would make him run a mile, if he could run that is. Oh, how she would love to have someone in her life, even just for a chat but who would want her?

Part II

Aaron had taken to the city centre living as well as he had envisioned. He had always liked the city life and still wanted the hustle and bustle despite now being a quadriplegic. There was nothing he liked more than whizzing up and down the busy streets in his wheelchair. Just looking at all the different people and the goings on.

The only thing that saddened him were the homeless people he would see. It shamed the great people of Dublin that people lived in such destitution. But most people of the city were living good lives filled with cappuccinos and vegan sausage rolls.

Aaron was on his way back to his apartment block when he noticed something that he found concerning. It had been a sweltering day but it was now somewhat cooler in the evening. There was a man dressed in rags that seemed to be bothering a homeless woman. One that he had seen regularly about the place. He anxiously looked around the street to see if there was someone else to intervene but the once crowded street was now far more deserted.

He felt compelled to act. He turned the cursor of his controller and headed towards them.

“Hey leave her alone!” Aaron shouted.

The man looked visibly stunned.

“Mind yer business, this has nothing to do with you,” he replied angrily. The woman was now visibly upset with tears streaming down over her red cheeks.

“Leave her alone or I’ll ram you!”

There was a sound of people approaching in the distance now.

“Oh, fuck the lot of yez.” With that he quickly walked away much to Aaron’s relief. Any ramming would probably have injured him more than the other guy.

“You okay?

“Yes, am fine. Thanks for that.”

For a few moments, a silence descended between them.

“Will you be okay? He won’t come back tormenting you?”

“No, I’ll go to a safe spot. I’ll be fine.”

With that she got up and quickly walked away.

Part III

Merideth was so thankful that the gentleman in the wheelchair had intervened when he did. Her knight in shining armour, with a wheelchair for a horse. The thought made her smile. That was Garrick that had been bothering her, pestering her to do a trick for him.

“You did before. What’s wrong with ya? And ya can get yourself some dope. You like that, don’t ya”

He knew I had changed, but he wouldn’t listen.

“Too good for me now or somethin’”

Yes, she had done it before. Not just with him but with many others. Men of all ages and the odd woman. It sickened her, brought to the fore all the reasons that she had fled Cork in the first place. The touching and the fear of hearing footsteps during the night. But the draw of the next fix had been too much. She wondered what would that nice guy in the wheelchair think of her if he knew? Would he have bothered to come to her aid?

She had been quick to leave. Not, because she wasn’t thankful but because she was embarrassed by her appearance. It was different because he had really seen her, something that hadn’t happened in so long. Afterwards, she fled to the only spot where she could feel secure, under a disused bridge. It provides shelter and the heaps of rubbish along with the rats dissuades any threat of company.

It pained her to think that this might be the closest thing she would ever have to a place called home. She tried her best never to think about the future, because it was something that didn’t exist for people like her. There was no future, only future torment.

A few days later, she spotted her Knight. She was walking behind him, but no sound would come from her mouth. Not just the one time either. Better to stay in the shadows.

Part IV

Aaron thought that he had prepared for everything. That his life was now perfectly in order and that there was no impediment that could get in his way. Not a bad achievement for a quadriplegic, he would often think to himself. He had managed to get his life back on track after his accident. The large payout helped, but so did his own determination and resolve. Now, he had a lovely two bedroom ground floor apartment and made extra money trading shares online, something that he had gotten very good at. An older Lithuanian lady called Martha would come and look after the cleaning, cooking and some personal care.

Yeah, so he had it made. Or at least he thought he had. He still remembers the first time he heard about the coronavirus, later called Covid-19. Being a trader, he needed to know everything that was happening around the world, especially things that might move the markets up or down. There were just news reports about a new mystery flu breaking out in China. At first, it didn’t cause him or the markets much concern. But that dramatically changed as the months passed. He had managed to trade well and avoid the losses that had destroyed others. But now the virus was in Dublin, directly threatening the safety of both himself and those around him.

The entire country was due to go into lock-down that night. Martha had rang him terrified that morning to say that she was too scared to leave the house and would be unable to come. This was a major problem. There were certain things that he required assistance for like shopping and cooking that would become very problematic fast. It didn’t sound like Martha would be showing up for some time.

A huge flaw in his whole strategy was now apparent. He had isolated himself too much since his accident, moving away from his friends and aging parents. Martha was an informal worker too so there wasn’t going to be any disability organizational inquiring if he would be okay.

The stress suddenly was becoming too much, so he decided to drive around the streets in his wheelchair to clear his head. The bustling streets now had a quiet and eerie feeling, all but deserted. Then he saw her in the distance, the homeless woman that he often called his shadow to himself. They had never spoken since the incident but would often see and smile at each other. Aaron had thought it best not to approach her, she might have a drug and alcohol problem.

But this was a disaster scenario and he headed straight towards her.

“Hey, hows things?”

For a brief moment she seemed stunned.

“Yeah I’m good.”

“I know this is going to sound really strange but I’m in a bit of a crisis. You’ve probably heard about the virus and that. My helper isn’t coming later. Would you be able to help me out for a day or two. I’m not a perv or anything.”

“Yeah I’ll help you. Just tell me what you need me to do?”

“Thanks a million. What’s your name? If you can just follow me.”

“Meredith and yours?”

“Aaron.”

Part V

Meredith knew exactly where Aaron was leading her, but decided it was best to pretend that she didn’t. Cause well, that would just be creepy and she didn’t want to weird out her new friend. She had often thought what it would be like inside his apartment. On long, cold nights she imagined it almost as a palace. A palace of plenty and warmth where they had no time for the likes of her.

But in reality she knew that it had to be smaller than her dreams. This was Dublin city centre with its sky high rents after all. It only took them a few minutes to reach their destination. The door automatically opened as they approached.

“There’s a sensor in my coat pocket that sends a signal to open the door.”

“Cool.”

She had seen it occur numerous times before but often wondered how it worked. She had falsely come to the conclusion that it must be a camera that automatically opened the door.

Somewhat strangely, she felt nervous at the prospect of going inside. But this was not an opportunity that she could let slide, and so she forced herself on-wards.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.”

And to her, it truly was. Two large bedrooms, an open plan sitting room/kitchen, with a large tv, then a computer on one side with an oven on the other. A large mahogany table took pride of place in the centre.

“So the thing is I need someone to cook and do a bit of cleaning for me. Can you cook? There’s food in the fridge. I’m starving.”

“Yes, I can do that. What would you like?”

“Maybe some rashers and sausages, with a bit of potato. Make some for yourself too.”

Meredith wasn’t going to argue with him. It had been hours since she had a bite to eat. She just hoped that he wasn’t going to sit and watch as there were one or two knobs that she had to figure out.

“You can watch the tv, if you like? I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Aaron turned on the news. There was only one item being discussed.

Part VI

For almost everyone, Covid was a time of dread but from Meredith’ perspective, rarely had life been so good. To feel the drops of warm water splashing against her face as she had a shower felt like pure luxury. That and the fact that she didn’t need to worry where her next meal was coming from, at least for now. It had taken some doing to readjust to sleeping in a bed, it was just so soft. In fact, she couldn’t sleep at all till she tried the floor on her first night there. Hopefully, she’d get back to sleeping in a bed for the full night at some stage.

Two days had now passed since he had taken her in and it had been pure bliss. She still had no idea what Aaron did for a living, just that it used words such as “leverage”, “call” and “put”. He had insisted on buying her some new clothes.

“I can’t have you going round the apartment in rags. It just wouldn’t be right.”

She didn’t argue.

The apartment was the ideal size for them. She got to see plenty of him during the day, but there was still somewhere for them to go if they wanted some alone time, which was never for her but she knew that he needed to work.

She loved the time she got to spend with him, he was quirky but they shared the same sense of humour and that made the days fly-by, He also had a warm side and seemed to be genuinely concerned about her.

“Wow”

Aaron looked shocked when she entered the living area after the shower and putting on some of her new clothes.

“What?”

“You look amazing Meredith. You really do spruce up well.”

Mededith suddenly felt herself hotting up. It had been so long since anybody had paid her a compliment, not to mention from a handsome man her own age, part of her just wanted to cry. It didn’t matter to her that he used a wheelchair, she wanted to run her hands through his hair, to touch those thin arms. To get lost in those brown eyes. She quickly went to the couch to regain her composure.

Aaron suggested they watch a film for the rest of the evening. It was at best only somewhat entertaining. Parts of it, a terrible bore.

“I think I’ll let you pick the film next time.”

“Yes, I think so,” she laughed.

But all she really wanted to do was to snuggle up to him.

Part VIII

It was time for them to decide what film they were going to watch.

“What about contagion?”, he inquired.

“Ya must be joking. Sure we’re practically in that film. We don’t need remindin’.”

Well, if she likes Batman, she’ll probably like Marvel, he thought to himself.

“What about “Wonder Woman? Have you seen that yet?”

“No, that would be excellent.”

Meredith sat down on a chair in front of the television and Aaron pulled up his wheelchair beside her.

Aaron was quickly able to find it on Netflix and the film began to play.

There was an air of excitement in the room.

During an early fighting scene Meredith turned to him and said –

Would ya like a woman like that protecting you from the bad guys?”

“I think I’m screwed.”

“Not at all, I’d protect you.”

Aaron found the comment somewhat erotic as he glanced at the beautiful woman sitting beside him.

The film was long but entertaining.

“Sorry, can you adjust my backrest.”

She had done it many times before but not while she was sitting beside him. She leaned over pulling him forward while she pushed it over. Aaron could feel feel her soft hair against his cheek and the smell of sweet perfume.

“Wow you smell nice.”

She turned and looked at him straight in the eyes.

“Just for you.”

Then they kissed. Her lips were soft. It was gentle at first but then the passion grew. Arron began to stroke his hands through her hair. He could feel her hands upon his chest.

“Let’s go to your bedroom,” she whispered in his ear.

“Yes, lets.”

It didn’t take long for them to get undressed. She didn’t ask him about the colonoscopy bag, protruding from his body. Aaron felt her ample soft cleavage, then she sucked on his nipples.

“What next?” she asked seeking direction.

“Stand next to me.”

Then he went down her, twisting his tongue this way and that, and afterwards she on him. He explained that he couldn’t get fully hard since his accident but she told him that everything was great with a wide smile and enjoy as best he could.

Exhausted, they then fell asleep in each others arms.

(Note from Author – If you enjoy my writing, don’t forget to follow me on my blog by signing up, my twitter @markahern2000 or on facebook – markswritingcorner. I also currently have four novels for sale on Amazon

Should I turn this into a novel? Would love to hear your thoughts!)

Squalor (Part VI)

It was time for them to decide what film they were going to watch.

“What about contagion?”, he inquired.

“Ya must be joking. Sure we’re practically in that film. We don’t need remindin’.”

Well, if she likes Batman, she’ll probably like Marvel, he thought to himself.

“What about “Wonder Woman? Have you seen that yet?”

“No, that would be excellent.”

Meredith sat down on a chair in front of the television and Aaron pulled up his wheelchair beside her.

Aaron was quickly able to find it on Netflix and the film began to play.

There was an air of excitement in the room.

During an early fighting scene Meredith turned to him and said –

Would ya like a woman like that protecting you from the bad guys?”

“I think I’m screwed.”

“Not at all, I’d protect you.”

Aaron found the comment somewhat erotic as he glanced at the beautiful woman sitting beside him.

The film was long but entertaining.

“Sorry, can you adjust my backrest.”

She had done it many times before but not while she was sitting beside him. She leaned over pulling him forward while she pushed it over. Aaron could feel feel her soft hair against his cheek and the smell of sweet perfume.

“Wow you smell nice.”

She turned and looked at him straight in the eyes.

“Just for you.”

Then they kissed. Her lips were soft. It was gentle at first but then the passion grew. Arron began to stroke his hands through her hair. He could feel her hands upon his chest.

“Let’s go to your bedroom,” she whispered in his ear.

“Yes, lets.”

It didn’t take long for them to get undressed. She didn’t ask him about the colonoscopy bag, protruding from his body. Aaron felt her ample soft cleavage, then she sucked on his nipples.

“What next?” she asked seeking direction.

“Stand next to me.”

Then he went down her, twisting his tongue this way and that, and afterwards she on him. He explained that he couldn’t get fully hard since his accident but she told him that everything was great with a wide smile and enjoy as best he could.

Exhausted, they then fell asleep in each others arms.

Squalor – Part V

Aaron found that he was enjoying having Meredith around and was surprised by how well they got on together. True, she still had no idea of how he managed to make money over the internet trading stocks and calls, but the same was true of almost everybody he knew. It wasn’t something that he could hold against her. And anyway, he didn’t want female company so that he could talk about stocks and calls anyway.

It was the fact that they could talk about almost everything else. He found that he looked forward to the beginning of each day whereas before he had been pretty ambivalent. She had really blossomed since her arrival when she would barely speak a word.

“So what is your favourite film?” he had asked tentatively the previous night.

“The Dark Night.”

Her cheeks turned crimson.

“No way, I love that film. Definitely, the best Batman film eva! Pity that the Joker actor died afterwards, such a great actor.”

“Yes, I was gutted when he died. So you like Batman too?”

She really was his type of woman, most of their interests were similar. And he couldn’t believe how good she looked after she had showered and put on some fresh clothes after her first day there; her piercing blue eyes, flowing dark hair and warm smile. He would love to kiss her and run his hands through her hair. To feel her warm breasts against his chest.

But it wouldn’t be right. She was a vulnerable woman, he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation and the circumstances that she found herself in. He liked her too much for that. Then again, if she did tell him to get lost it would make everything awkward and he still needed her to help him, at least for another while.

He would just have to try and keep his amorous thoughts to himself.

It would be difficult. Tonight they were going to watch a film and have some drinks afterwards. She had made him promise.

Squalor (Part VI)

For almost everyone, Covid was a time of dread but from Meredith’ perspective, rarely had life been so good. To feel the drops of warm water splashing against her face as she had a shower felt like pure luxury. That and the fact that she didn’t need to worry where her next meal was coming from, at least for now. It had taken some doing to readjust to sleeping in a bed, it was just so soft. In fact, she couldn’t sleep at all till she tried the floor on her first night there. Hopefully, she’d get back to sleeping in a bed for the full night at some stage.

Two days had now passed since he had taken her in and it had been pure bliss. She still had no idea what Aaron did for a living, just that it used words such as “leverage”, “call” and “put”. He had insisted on buying her some new clothes.

“I can’t have you going round the apartment in rags. It just wouldn’t be right.”

She didn’t argue.

The apartment was the ideal size for them. She got to see plenty of him during the day, but there was still somewhere for them to go if they wanted some alone time, which was never for her but she knew that he needed to work.

She loved the time she got to spend with him, he was quirky but they shared the same sense of humour and that made the days fly-by,

“Wow”

Aaron looked shocked when she entered the living area after the shower and putting on some of her new clothes.

“What?”

“You look amazing Meredith. You really do spruce up well.”

Mededith suddenly felt herself hotting up. It had been so long since anybody had paid her a compliment, not to mention from a handsome man her own age, part of her just wanted to cry. It didn’t matter to her that he used a wheelchair, she wanted to run her hands through his hair, to touch those thin arms. To get lost in those brown eyes. She quickly went to the couch to regain her composure.

Aaron suggested they watch a film for the rest of the evening. It was at best only somewhat entertaining. Parts of it, a terrible bore.

“I think I’ll let you pick the film next time.”

“Yes, I think so,” she laughed.

But all she really wanted to do was to snuggle up to him.

(If you enjoy my writing, don’t forget to follow me on my blog, my twitter @markahern2000 or on facebook – markswritingcorner.)

Review of “The Best Man” by Annabelle Costa

All the readers who have closely followed my blog, will know that I’m a big fan of Annabelle Costa and that she has had a strong influence on my writing. This is the latest novel of hers I have read. Once more, it is a romance story between a disabled man (John) who is a quadriplegic and his future love (Kirby).

The book begins with Kirby’s long-distance boyfriend surprising her at a friend’s wedding and proposing. Kirby says yes, excited about the proposal and finally reaching the next stage of her life. Kirby lives in New York, while her fiance, Ted, lives in Silicon Valley. They met online and have spent very little time together. Ted asks Kirby to meet up with his best man (oops) and help him with some of the best man duties.

This love story takes a few twists and turns a long the way. Okay, things don’t look great at the start, the woman is after all engaged to his supposed best friend. Now, I suppose one guy stealing a woman from another guy is not something that I would usually condone, but as he’s in a wheelchair and the other guy is not, so I’m willing to make an exception. Not sure why, like I wouldn’t be the biased type.

So, there’s that and the fact that their first meeting goes horrendously. John comes across as obnoxious and not the kind of person that you would want to get to know better. But as time goes on you see things from his perspective and he becomes less horrid. Kirby and Ted (her fiance) gradually grow apart, well on her side anyway!

Generally, this is quite an uplifting story but there are some raw and cutting scenes. At one point when John is on a date and a woman asks for money to stay cause he’s unable to walk. Then there’s the mugger that pushes him out of the wheelchair and how helpless he feels. We also learn about some of John’s day to day struggles. That’s one of the things I like about this author, she has insight into the obstacles of living with a disability.

One criticism though is that the character of the fiance is very two dimensional. She makes it too easy to be against him. Even right up to the end, he has no redeemable characteristics. The way he lashes out after finding out about the relationship means that there is no guilt, no moral ambiguity. John was the good guy, that’s all we need to know. I feel if she’s going to win the Booker prize she needs to bring a bit more grit.

So, taking everything into consideration it get four stars out of five from me.

Hopefully, I will have the latest part of Squalor out by the end of the weekend.

If you enjoy my writing, don’t forget to follow my blog, my twitter @markahern2000 or on facebook – markswritingcorner.

Squalor (Part V)

Meredith knew exactly where Aaron was leading her, but decided it was best to pretend that she didn’t know. Cause well, that would just be creepy and she didn’t want to weird out her new friend. She had often thought what it would be like inside his apartment. On long, cold nights she imagined it almost as a palace. A palace of plenty and warmth where they had no time for the likes of her.

But in reality she knew that it had to be smaller than her dreams. This was Dublin city centre with its sky high rents after all. It only took them a few minutes to reach their destination. The door automatically opened as they approached.

“There’s a sensor in my coat pocket that sends a signal to open the door.”

“Cool.”

She had seen it occur numerous times before but often wondered how it worked. She had falsely come to the conclusion that it must be a camera that automatically opened the door.

Somewhat strangely, she felt nervous at the prospect of going inside. But this was not an opportunity that she could let slide, and so she forced herself on-wards.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.”

And to her, it truly was. Two large bedrooms, an open plan combined sitting room/kitchen, with a large tv, then a computer on one side with an oven on the other. A large mahogany table took pride of place in the centre.

“So the thing is I need someone to cook and do a bit of cleaning for me. Can you cook? There’s food in the fridge. I’m starving.”

“Yes, I can do that. What would you like?”

“Maybe some rashers and sausages, with a bit of potato. Make some for yourself too.”

Meredith wasn’t going to argue with him. It had been hours since she had a bite to eat. She just hoped that he wasn’t going to sit and watch as there were one or two knobs that she had to figure out.

“You can watch the tv, if you like? I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Aaron turned on the news. There was only one item being discussed.