East Berlin trembles. A man on the run clings to love as
borders close and betrayal tightens its grip.
Watch the Trailer
Five stories. One pulse-pounding journey through danger,
deception, and survival.
Behind the Wall: Where Loyalty Fractures and Shadows Rise.
Before the escape, there was love. Before the reckoning,
trust. Escape from Berlin leads this haunting collection with Mark
Dresdner’s desperate flight from East Germany, a man torn between duty and
devotion, hunted by enemies and haunted by the woman he refuses to leave
behind.
But the danger doesn’t end at the border.
From twisted rituals and shattered marriages to deadly
secrets and vigilante justice, Scribbler Tales Presents: Escape from Berlin
plunges readers into five intense narratives where survival demands sacrifice
and truth is a dangerous weapon.
This quiet moment, where the past collides with the present,
captures the soul of Scribbler Tales. It’s a journey through betrayal, fallout,
and the fragile hope that something better lies beyond the storm.
A Note from the Author
I wrote Escape from Berlin to explore the human cost
of loyalty and the choices we make when everything is at stake. Each story in
this collection reveals a different kind of escape, whether from tyranny,
betrayal, or fate itself. This trailer invites you to step into those moments
and ask: what would you risk to be free?
About the Book
A perilous escape. A shattered trust. A reckoning in the
shadows.
Mark Dresdner’s cover is blown. The border is blocked. The
woman he loves is in danger. Escape from Berlin opens this suspenseful
anthology with Cold War tension and emotional grit.
But the danger doesn’t stop there.
In Betrayal, Aelia’s devotion is tested when her
husband’s secrets threaten everything.
Deadly Secrets follows Lysandra into a new life, only for her past to resurface with deadly consequences.
Murder in the First delivers vigilante justice with a
twist, as Bethel’s plan spirals into chaos.
The Ritual traps Devona in a pagan rite that demands
blood, and escape may come too late.
Scribbler Tales Presents: Escape from Berlin is a
gripping anthology for fans of espionage thrillers, psychological suspense, and
stories where survival is never guaranteed.
Whispers echo through haunted corridors. A cloning
experiment spirals into chaos. A reckoning unfolds across five volumes of
twisted fate.
Watch the Trailer
Step into the shadows, where truth is buried and survival
demands sacrifice.
Beyond the Veil: Where Secrets Fester and Justice Hunts.
Before the hauntings, there were lies. Before the vengeance,
betrayal. Scribbler Tales Volumes One-Five plunges readers into a world
where the past refuses to stay buried and every choice carries a cost. From
spectral visitations and covert operations to cursed bloodlines and moral
reckoning, these stories unravel the fragile line between justice and
obsession.
This quiet moment, where the ordinary fractures and the
extraordinary takes hold, captures the soul of Scribbler Tales Volumes
One-Five. It’s a journey through fear, fury, and the human need to confront
what lurks beneath.
A Note from the Author
I wrote Scribbler Tales Volumes One-Five to explore
the shadows we often ignore, the secrets we bury, the truths we fear, and the
choices that define us. Each story is a mirror, reflecting the darkness we
carry and the light we fight to preserve. This trailer invites you to step into
that mirror and see what stares back.
About the Book
A forbidden truth. A haunting past. A reckoning unfolds.
Across five volumes, Scribbler Tales delivers
genre-bending suspense, from cloning experiments gone wrong to ancestral curses
that refuse to die. Vigilante justice, spectral hauntings, covert betrayals,
and psychological unraveling collide in a collection that dares you to look
deeper.
Each tale stands alone, yet together they form a mosaic of
mystery, morality, and the human cost of silence.
They thought they knew the truth. They were wrong.
Scribbler Tales: Volumes One–Five is a chilling
anthology for fans of psychological thrillers, paranormal suspense, and moral
dilemmas that linger long after the final page.
Ready to Read?
Step beyond the ordinary. Dare to uncover the truth.
The Trials of Arthur Whitty is Tim Walker's personal homage
to one of America's greatest short stories, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by
James Thurber.
This novella is the story of plain old Arthur Whitty, a man whose dreams
are never dull and whose vivid imagination and sense of humour carries him
through a series of sometimes challenging situations. Arthur has retired to a
pair of slippers and jigsaw table in a quiet cul-de-sac in Berkshire, England.
He walks his dog, Max, and lets his mind wander to a series of dreams in which
he is more daring, skilful and adventurous that his real-life humdrum self. He is
an irritant to his orderly wife, Emilia, and has succumbed to irksome cancer
treatment following a run-in with skin cancer.
Once a date has been set for corrective surgery, Arthur sets his mind on
organising a real-life adventure – a bucket list trip to Machu Picchu in Peru
where he finds peace and a calming of the spirit. Arthur’s bullish nature
carries him through a series of situations but there is little the retired
couple can do about the onset of dementia. But Arthur is well supported by
Emilia and their daughter, Holly, as the family rally round to make his
declining years as comfortable as possible. And there’s always escape to his
secret world of risk, responsibility and danger. In his dreams, Arthur always
wins.
The author has drawn on personal experience and observations of elderly
men in a support group he helps run for Men’s Matters charity in
Windsor, Berkshire. Half of all royalties from the sales of this book will be
donated to Men’s Matters, who support older men by encouraging social
interaction and connecting them to health and wellbeing support services.
Just three doors down, Arthur entered the pet shop and stepped into a
different world, like Mr Ben starting a new adventure. The smell of musky
animals assailed his nostrils in the dimly lit, claustrophobic space as he
strode to the counter, passing stacked rows of subdued creatures. A snake
wriggled; its diamond patterned scales catching his eye. A wheel span as a
hamster tried its best to attract a buyer to rescue it from this dingy holding
cell for captured animals.
“What can I get for your loved pet today, Sir?” a cheerful teenaged girl
trilled, clearly sticking to the script.
Arthur noticed a poster of a man whipping a dog sled team across a snowy
landscape behind her. It had tried to snow a few days earlier, but now it was
nothing but mush. “Mush, erm… dog biscuits please.”
She smiled sweetly and blinked her long fake lashes twice. Arthur
noticed a silver ring hanging from her nose that swayed when she leaned forward.
“What brand and what size?”
“The one that says, ‘see your
dog’s coat shine like a dewy morning’ on the packet. Make it a medium.”
She slipped behind a curtain into a back room, leaving Arthur staring at
the poster…
“Mush! mush!” dog sled champion Art Whitty urged, cracking his whip over
the heads of the lead dogs. The team rewarded him with renewed effort as the
sled dropped a foot onto the flat, icy surface of a lake. Beyond the pine trees
on the far side was the finishing line.
The ice cracked and groaned under his racing sled and Art glanced down
to see thin tendrils spreading outwards. Looking over his shoulder he saw one
of his main rivals, Calgary Kate, flop her sled onto the ice with a loud crack.
Too loud, as the surface gave way and her sled fell through the ice into the
freezing cold water. Her scream and cry for help caused Art to hesitate. Should
he go back and save her, or drive on to the finish line? He could clinch the
six-race championship today.
With a sigh, he turned his sled around. He would haul her out by the
ring on her nose if necessary. There would be other races…
“Here you go, Sir.” A kilo packet with convenient handles was plonked on
the counter between Arthur and the picture. “That’ll be nine-ninety-nine. I’m
sure your pooch’s fur will shine with these.”
“Award-winning Schnauzer, actually.” Arthur tapped his card on the
machine, instantly regretting the cheap, unnecessary lie. They had a mongrel
rescue dog with bald patches caused by anxiety. “Good day,” he cheerfully
quipped as he left the shop. Arthur put the bag down to check his phone. No
messages and five minutes to spare.
Tim Walker is an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. Born
in Hong Kong in the Sixties, he grew up in Liverpool where he began his working
life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper. He went on to attain an
honours degree in Communication Studies in South Wales before moving to London
where he worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten years.
In the mid-90s he opted to spend a couple of years doing voluntary work
in Zambia through VSO, running an educational book publishing development
programme. After this, he set up his own marketing and publishing business in
Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, then managed a mineral exploration company before returning
to the UK in 2009.
His creative writing journey began in earnest in 2014, as a therapeutic
activity whilst recovering from cancer treatment. In addition to short stories,
he researched and wrote a five-book historical fiction series, A Light in
the Dark Ages. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to the story of
Arthur in an imaginative narrative. It starts with Abandoned, then Ambrosius:
Last of the Romans; Uther’s Destiny; Arthur Dux Bellorum and Arthur
Rex Brittonum, the last two books charting the life of an imagined
historical King Arthur.
More recently, he has written a dual timeline historical novel set at
Hadrian’s Wall, Guardians at the Wall. His two books of short stories, Thames
Valley Tales and London Tales combine contemporary and historical
themes and are now available as audiobooks. Somewhere along the way, he
co-authored a three-book children’s series with his daughter, Cathy, The
Adventures of Charly Holmes.
If you had a
crystal ball to predict what lay ahead, would you be tempted to use
it? Or would you leave the future to the turn of Fate?
Tales of Variety. Tales of History, Mystery and
Magic – some comprising just one of these popular fiction genres, others, a
mild mixture of all three. Perhaps you prefer historical fiction rather
than a story about magic or fantasy? Maybe you enjoy exploring new themes or
prefer sticking to the familiar? Historical fiction can often inform, imparting
knowledge of the past, of its events and its people. Stories of mystery
exercise the ‘little grey cells’ as Poirot would say, while fantasy and magic
create new worlds and awed wonder.
Whatever
result, this is where anthologies come into their own, and where short stories
are often appreciated as enjoyable, entertaining, quick or easy reads shown
through the eyes of a variety of extraordinary characters and situations. In
this instance: an Anglo-Saxon woman facing the consequence of conquest, the
pursuit of alchemy, the concern of a mother for her daughter, the shifting of
time, the necessity of hidden identity, souls who will linger as ghosts, a
warning from the supernatural, the necessity for (justifiable?) revenge. All
mingled with the rekindling of romance through a mutual quest, and the
preparations for a Cotswold village celebration. (Along with a good tip if
illicitly snaffling cakes.)
This title is available to read on
#KindleUnlimited.
Author Bios:
BRAMBLE
CREEP BY ANNIE WHITEHEAD
When the
Normans arrive at a peaceful Anglo-Saxon village, do the women, children and
old men submit... or fight?
ABOUT ANNIE:
Annie Whitehead is a prize-winning writer,
historian, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has written four
award-winning novels set in ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Mercia. She has contributed to
fiction and nonfiction anthologies and written for various magazines. She has
twice been a prize winner in the Mail on Sunday Novel Writing Competition, and
won First Prize in the 2012 New Writer Magazine's Prose and Poetry Competition.
She has been a finalist in the Tom Howard Prize for nonfiction and was
shortlisted for the Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award 2021. She was
the winner of the inaugural Historical Writers’ Association (HWA)/Dorothy
Dunnett Prize 2017 and was subsequently a judge for that same competition. She
has also been a judge for the HNS (Historical Novel Society) Short Story
Competition, and was a 2024 judge for the HWA Crown Nonfiction Award.
Her nonfiction books are Mercia: The Rise
and Fall of a Kingdom and Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England. In
2023 she contributed to a new history of English monarchs, published by Hodder
& Stoughton, and in February 2025 Murder in Anglo-Saxon England was
published by Amberley Books.
Jean Gill is an
award-winning Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with
a scruffy dog, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. First
published in 1988, her twenty-six books are varied in genre, including novels,
memoir, military history, dog books, poetry, and a cookery book on goat cheese.
With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can
usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions. She taught English
for many years and was the first woman to be a comprehensive school headteacher
in Dyfed, Wales. Life has been hectic as she is also mother or stepmother to
five children.
A warning of Fate, or simply too much beer and a
tale well told?
ABOUT MARIAN:
A dual Canadian/British citizen who divides her
year between Ontario, Canada, and Norfolk, UK, Marian published the first of
her eight-book Empire’s Legacy series, historically-inspired speculative
fiction, in 2015. The series is set in a world ‘on the edge of history’:
reminiscent of Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome in the latter centuries of
the first millennium, but a world where society evolved differently after the
Eastern Empire left; a world where one young fisherwoman answers her leader’s
call to defend her country, beginning a journey into uncharted territory.
Does the
fate of those who survive linger forever?
ABOUT HELEN:
Known for her captivating storytelling and rich
attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure
series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to
step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together. Helen started writing as a teenager,
but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in
the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon
novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The
Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA
Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures
inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy
mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious,
years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost
Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon.
Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after
a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her
time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, helping with the
horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with
the housework...
When time turns in the wrong direction, fate will
always step in…
ABOUT ALISON:
Alison Morton writes award-winning
thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her eleven-book Roma Nova
thriller series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the
ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women
who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.
A Lost Portrait, a Hidden Conspiracy,
and a Second Chance at Love
ABOUT ELIZABETH:
Elizabeth
St.John’s acclaimed historical fiction brings to life her ancestors –
remarkable women linked to England’s royalty – offering unique insights into
Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Inspired by family archives and historic
sites like Lydiard Park and the Tower of London, her novels include The
Lydiard Chronicles, The Godmother’s Secret, and The King's Intelligencer,
exploring the English Civil War and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.
R. Marsden is an author and musician, passionate about the Middle
Ages. He plays the gittern, a beautiful medieval stringed instrument, ancestor
of the guitar; and a thirteenth century recorder, a replica of one which was
excavated from medieval ruins in modern-day Poland. He also plays the piano,
and there’s nothing medieval about that!
Tales of Castle Rory are Medieval
Fantasy Adventures, in which the demesne of Lord Rory of Hambrig is brought to
life. Set in the latter part of the thirteenth century, these stories have
adventure, mystery and magic at their heart. You’ll also find relationships,
romance, friendship and the forging and breaking of ties between people and
nations. Running through the Tales are themes of family, loyalty, trust and
resilience, together with the other sides of those coins: abandonment,
betrayal, loss and disempowerment.
Beware the consequences of hatred. Revenge can take many forms…
ABOUT ANNA:
Had Anna been
allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible,
she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history,
romance and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The
Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well
as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which
is set in 14th century England, and The Castilian Saga, which
is set against the medieval conquest of Wales. She has also published a time
travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and its sequel Times of
Turmoil, and is now considering just
how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s
Russia, as her characters are demanding. . .
All of Anna’s
books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical
Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in
2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favourite medals as
well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.
Fate can be
in the hands of others – or held within your own...
ABOUT J.P. REEDMAN:
J.P. Reedman lives in Wiltshire near to
Stonehenge. Born in Canada, she has had a lifelong interest in ancient and
medieval history, and is often found lurking around prehistoric sites, ruined
castles and abbeys, and interesting churches with camera in hand. She became a
full-time writer in 2018. Series include I, Richard Plantagenet,five books chronicling Richard’s
life from childhood to Bosworth, and Medieval Babes, a set of standalone novels
about lesser-known medieval queens and noblewomen.
When children are not quite the saints we’d like them to be!
ABOUT DEBBIE
YOUNG:
Debbie Young is
the author of three series of cosy mystery novels set in the Cotswolds. The
Sophie Sayers series starts with Best Murder in Show; the Gemma Lamb series
begins with Dastardly Deeds at St Bride’s; and the Cotswold Curiosity Shop
series kicks off with Death at the Old Curiosity Shop. She sometimes sends
characters from one series to visit those in another. She also writes short
fiction, not all of it crime-related, set in the same world, eg Christmas with
Sophie Sayers. Her novels are published by Boldwood Books in English, by DP
Verlag in German, and by Antonio Vallardi in Italian. She has recently written
her first murder mystery play for performance by her village amateur dramatic
group. She is a frequent speaker at events for writers and readers, a course
tutor for Jericho Writers, and the founder and director of the Hawkesbury Upton
Literature Festival. She lives in a Victorian cottage with her Scottish
husband, her student daughter, and three cats, and she writes in a little hut
at the bottom of her garden.
A Vengeful Verdict. A Hidden Horror. A Cursed Claim.
In a world where promises shatter easily, a woman grapples
with her heart’s yearnings and the unyielding demands of the law. Shadows
become the stage for justice as an avenger quietly rights the unpunished
wrongs. A harrowing truth unravels from a hidden research enclave, sending
ripples through the halls of governance. A man’s life unravels, ensnared by
deceit and false accusations. And from the whispers of history, a formidable
spirit seeks to intertwine with the living, merging the present with echoes of
a haunting legacy. Each narrative weaves a tapestry of intrigue, where the
stakes are as high as the price of truth.
A Cloning Catastrophe. A Haunted Challenge. A Feared
Reckoning.
In a world where science pushes the boundaries of ethics, a
woman’s trust shatters as she uncovers a cloning experiment’s catastrophic
failure. Two souls brave the wrath of an ancient witch’s coven in the shadows
of an accursed graveyard. Defiance fuels a man’s heart, challenging the iron
will of his family to claim a love deemed forbidden. A desperate soul bargains
with darkness, sealing a fate intertwined with survival. Echoes of a military
upbringing haunt a lone figure as memories of a transient childhood resurface.
Each story, rich with pivotal choices, weaves a complex tapestry of human
experience, where every decision casts long shadows over their destinies.
As the holiday season approaches, there’s no better time to
dive into a new book. Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction, contemporary
short stories, action-packed adventures, or thrilling sci-fi, we have something
for everyone. Check out our diverse collection of titles and find your perfect
holiday read!
Our Titles:
The Briton and the Dane: Five tales of historical intrigue
and romance.
Crusader’s Path: A journey of faith and valor in medieval
times.
Forgiving Nero: A gripping tale of redemption and
forgiveness.
Scribbler Tales: Contemporary short stories that capture the
essence of modern life.
AnaRose Action Adventure Novellas: Non-stop action and heart-pounding
suspense.
Planetary Wars: Sci-fi battles that will take you to the
edge of the universe.
This collection of eleven tales offers dramatic pinpricks in the rich
tapestry of London’s timeline, a city with two thousand years of history. They
are glimpses of imagined lives at key moments, starting with a prologue in
verse from the point of view of a native Briton tribeswoman absorbing the shock
of Roman invasion. The first story is a tense historical adventure set in Roman
Londinium in 60 CE from the perspective of terrified legionaries and townsfolk
facing the vengeful Iceni queen, Boudica, whose army burnt the fledgling city
to the ground.
Further historical dramas take place in 1381 during the Peasant’s
Revolt, the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the last ice fair on the frozen
Thames in 1814. These are followed by a romance set during the Blitz in 1941,
then the swinging Sixties and wide-flared seventies are remembered in the life
story of fictional policeman, Brian Smith. Moving on, an East End family get a
fright from copycat killings that are a throwback to the 1888 Jack the Ripper
murders.
There’s a series of contemporary stories that reference recent events,
including the London terrorist bombings of 2005, a literary pub crawl and a
daring prison break, building to the imagined death throes of London in a
chilling, dystopian vision. These stories are loosely inspired by the author’s
personal experiences and reflections on his time living and working in London
in the 1980’s and 90’s. Adaptability, resilience, conformity and resolve are
recurring themes.
London Tales evokes the city’s rich history and the qualities that
were needed by Londoners at various times to survive and prosper – from the
base and brutal, devious and inspired, to the refined and civilized.
Available from Amazon in e-book, paperback, Kindle Unlimited and
audiobook formats, London Tales is a companion volume to Thames
Valley Tales.
Book
cover designed by Sean McClean, shows elements from stories.
Buy Link:
This
title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Tim Walker is an independent
author living near Windsor in the UK. Although born in Hong Kong in the
sixties, he grew up in Liverpool where he began his working life as a trainee
reporter on a local newspaper. After attaining a degree in Communication Studies
he moved to London where he worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten
years before relocating to Zambia where, following a period of voluntary work
with VSO, he set up his own marketing and publishing business. He returned to
the UK in 2009.
His creative writing journey
began in earnest in 2013, as a therapeutic activity whilst recovering from
cancer treatment. He began writing an historical fiction series, A Light in
the Dark Ages, in 2014, inspired by a visit to the part-excavated site of
former Roman town Calleva Atrebatum at Silchester in Hampshire. The
series connects the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend
and is inspired by historical source material, presenting an imagined historical
fiction of Britain in the fifth and early sixth centuries.
The last book in the series, Arthur,
Rex Brittonum, was published in June 2020. This is a re-imagining of the
story of King Arthur and follows on from 2019’s Arthur Dux Bellorum.
Both titles are Coffee Pot Book Club recommended reads. The series starts with Abandoned
(second edition, 2018); followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans
(2017); and book three, Uther’s Destiny (2018). Series book covers are
designed by Canadian graphic artist, Cathy Walker.
Tim has also written two
books of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (second edition 2023), London
Tales (2023); a book of verse, Perverse (2020); a dystopian
thriller, Devil Gate Dawn (2016); and three children’s books,
co-authored with his daughter, Cathy – The Adventures of Charly Holmes
(2017), Charly & the Superheroes (2018) and Charly in Space
(2020).
Tim took early retirement on
medical grounds and now divides his time between writing and helping out at a
Berkshire-based charity, Men’s Matters.
London Tales and Thames Valley Tales
audiobooks were narrated and produced by actor, author and playwright Richard
James who has been appearing on stage and screen for over thirty years. Most
recently, he played a guest role in Miss Scarlet & The Duke for PBS
and Alibi Films and was nominated for 'Best Supporting Performance' at the Off
West End Awards for his roles in A Sherlock Carol at the Marylebone
Theatre in 2022. The play will be reprised in winter 2023/4.
For over a thousand
years, Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of what is now Turkey, was a thriving city.
It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the World, and
a destination for religious pilgrimage long before the advent of Christianity.
In the first century CE, St. John and St. Paul introduced Christianity to
Ephesus, where it survived its turbulent beginnings and, in the fifth century
CE, hosted the God-defining Council of Ephesus.
Life and Death in Ephesus is a collection of stories about major events in the
history of Ephesus. Characters appearing in these stories include Herostratus, first to commit a “herostratic
crime”; Alexander, the warrior king; Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, both lovers
of Cleopatra; Heraclitus, the philosopher who said, “You can’t put your foot in
the same river twice”; St. Paul, persona
non grata in Ephesus; Nestorius, whose characterization of Jesus split
the Eastern and Western church, and others, also important, whose names I have
had to make up.
Hilke Thür, a leading
archeologist, has said of these stories, “Life
and Death in Ephesus will be a delightful and enjoyable accompaniment
to the many available guidebooks. Not just tourists, but anyone interested in
history will benefit from reading them.”
Antony
spurned the one chair set out for him. He marched around the room like someone
summoned to rearrange the furniture. He pulled a table into the middle of the
room, set two more chairs on either side of it, walked back to the door as if
about to leave, but stopped, clapped his hands, and stepped aside, grinning
wickedly but saying nothing to me. In came a line of slaves carrying trays of
fruit, sweetmeats, and beautifully decorated amphorae full of wine.
“Come,
Arsinoe,” he said as he approached me. “Let us get to know one another. Forget
Egypt. Forget Rome. Let’s eat and drink and have a good time, just you and me.”
That’s when I could tell he was drunk. He was steady on his feet, his speech
perfectly intelligible, but he had the thick-tongued lisp and self-satisfied
grin of a man who had drunk away his inhibitions.
I took his hand and sat beside him, just as
later I took his hand and lay beside him. In my eyes, on that day, at least,
Antony was magnificent. I gave myself entirely to him, enraptured by the wine,
which he sweetened with hot water and honey, and by his even more intoxicating
caresses, which soothed away all the doubts that persisted from my past and all
the fears that otherwise might have cast a shadow on my future. We pledged our
allegiance more than once. Antony would invade Egypt, eliminate Cleopatra, and
summon me to Alexandria. I’d return in royal splendor to become Arsinoe IV,
Pharaoh, Thea Philopator, Queen of Egypt, at last.
Finlay McQuade
Finlay McQuade is a retired
educator. He was born in Ireland, went to high school in England and
university in the USA. He has a BA in English from Pomona College, an MA in
British and American literature from Harvard University, and a PhD in education
from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also taught writing courses in the
English department. He spent some happy years as a high school English teacher
and soccer coach, but after co-authoring the book How to Make a Better School, he found himself in demand as a
consultant to schools and school improvement projects in the USA and often,
also, abroad. He ended his career in education when he retired from Bogazici
University in Istanbul, where he had mentored young teachers in the school of
education.
For eight years after
retirement, he lived in Selcuk, Turkey, among the ruins of the ancient city of
Ephesus. The streets and squares of Ephesus became his neighborhood. His
companions included archeologists, tour guides, and souvenir sellers. His
curiosity about the people who had lived in those empty buildings for over a
thousand years resulted in Life and Death
in Ephesus, a collection of stories chronicling major events in the city’s
history.
Now, back in the USA with
time on his hands, he finds himself returning again and again to memories of
his boyhood on the coast of Northern Ireland. The result of these forays into
his past will be another collection of stories, part memoir, part fiction,
called Growing Up in Ulster.
