My short story, A Wave of Kindness, featured in the Everyday Kindness anthology, is out today to mark World Kindness Day!
I’m so honoured to be part of Everyday Kindness: A collection of uplifting tales to brighten your day, a charity anthology raising funds for Shelter. There are so many reasons why people find themselves sleeping rough or sofa surfing. They could be escaping violence in the home, have mental health issues, be left with no one to turn to when a relationship breaks down; the list is as unique and complex as the people going through it.
More than fifty fellow writers, from global bestsellers to debut authors, have taken part in this collection, which was the brainchild of the brilliant LJ Ross. I’m so looking forward to reading the incredible stories gathered.
Although my psychological thrillers explore universal themes, more often than not my writing illustrates how things can go wrong and slide into the darker side of the human psyche. Writing about kindness was uplifting, particularly as its focus was on the small, everyday things we can all do in order to make a difference. Even the tiniest of gestures that require little effort from us have the power to transform someone’s life.
While searching for inspiration I tried to think of the smallest, easiest thing someone could do that could help another person, and suddenly I remembered an example from my childhood – Mr Panton was an elderly widower who would sit at his living room window every day and wave at me and all the children as we walked to and from school. I can still feel that warm glow of anticipation, wondering if he’d be there, and the joy of waving to him as I walked by – it made my six-year-old self’s day.
Remembering as an adult how I used to so look forward to that wave, made me wonder about how My Panton felt…and so a story began to weave itself around the power of a wave. Although the story is about kindness, I still felt compelled to put in a small twist at the end – the psychological thriller writer in me wouldn’t let me do anything less.
To read this wonderful collection, click here: https://linktr.ee/EverydayKindness
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