TALES OF WOMEN AND GHOSTS

When Ailsa starts seeing Alex, she starts seeing ghosts, with consequences for her own marriage and for another’s life too.

 

Ailsa is having a day. Stressed in her job, bored in marriage and signed off social media after a disturbing incident. Then she bangs her head and the ghosts of grand historical figures begin appearing before her. Thankfully, they aren't the scary kind of ghost and they're actually more fun than regular people. As Ailsa explores this strange new world, secrets from her past surface. A miscarriage, love gone wrong.

 

She also meets Alex – the abrasive historian who sparked the pile-on that drove her off social media – and Zenab – a radical graduate student he tutors. Friendship with Alex turns into romance and Ailsa’s ghostly visitations become more frequent. The ghosts want her to do something, she realises. Next time she meets Zenab, she has a vision in which Zenab will start a war in 20 years' time that kills millions. In her heart, Ailsa knows that no-one else can stop it.

 

Caught between Alex’s arms and future catastrophe, she must make a choice that could save humankind.

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Longlisted, Page 100 Competition 2024

Longlisted, Opening Lines Competition

Longlisted, Flash 500 Novel Opening Chapter & Synopsis Competition

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“Cookson's plot is daring and shows tremendous potential”

The BookLife Prize