Heaven Palace Beach Resort Hotel: Will three migrant workers from Bangladesh succeed in their first jobs in a Maldivian luxury hotel?

The Manoir: Two house-sitters encounter ‘things that go bump in the night’ in an old house in Normandy.

Peace Walls – A time shift story set in Northern Ireland about a sectarian murder and the long term consequences for the people who knew the victim. The research for this was painful at times, in particular reading ‘Bear in Mind These Dead’ by Susan McKay, which is a factual account of some of the victims of the Troubles. The Historical Enquiries Team video on YouTube was also an inspiration, as was Alan M Wilson’s ‘Policing Ireland’s Twisted History’.

Murder on the Dejanira An ill-matched couple share a fatal attraction: but who will survive?

A Weekend in the Garden, Fred hated his neighbour Gary Hunt who wrecked his garden, but did he murder him with a spade? A story exploring how intoxication can compound a catalogue of disasters.

My boyfriend ran off with the Nifty-Ware salesman was a humorous tale of betrayal.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained : a tale of two women awaiting their blind dates, with a little twist.

‘The Morgawr’ : A group of divers encounter a mythical sea monster which haunts the coast of South Cornwall.

‘Dead Wires’ (264 words) is about not having electricity, and also a Christmas story. David Mamet’s phrase, the eradication of knowledge, had set me thinking.

Out of Africa.. How a young tourist who is a victim of petty theft tackles police corruption.

The shopping list : in which a simple list leads to hidden information

The Memories of Sand. Inspired by the Normandy beaches this is a reflection on remembrance and how we form our attitudes and memories.

Something Old In which the final preparations for an expensive wedding produce unpleasant results.

Adam: birdsong forming the backdrop for an unrequited love.

Silver Ghost, a reflection inspired by the name of a shade of sewing thread.

Arrivals: On receiving the news of an air disaster, in the anonymous surroundings of an airport.

Love at first sight. A schoolgirl runs away with her much older teacher…who gets the blame?

Meat: A story about a serial killer, set on a hog farm.

Out of the Blue: a story about a brief passion and its consequences.

Smoking is bad for you: A short fiction about a survivor of children’s home abuse. Inspired by the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to prosecute Greville Janner due to his dementia.

The Imp: A satirical re-working of Rumpelstiltskin with some economics thrown in.

Love and Death at St Cluedo’s. A murder mystery with some instantly recognisable suspects.

The Speyside Regiment – theme ‘Intoxication’. Matthew is attracted to his colleague David’s wife Ella and plans to undermine their marriage by plying David with whisky, but his plan misfires.

The Stone – theme ‘Ghosts and other Apparitions’. Rogelio, a Mexican avocado farm hand, instinctively knows he must not move a certain rock from forest being cleared for avocado planting.

Missing Hours – theme ‘Treasures’. Aidan, holidaying by the sea on the West Coast of Ireland, wakes up on the beach with a few hours missing and ancient gold in his wetsuit pocket. Can he resist the lure of the bewitched treasure ship and keep his beloved Beth safe?

A Tale of Two Lifestyles – theme ‘Quality over Quantity’. Wendy, a recent widow, whose husband dreamed of retiring to Ireland, moves into the house they bought together. But can it become her home?

A Five Course Lunch – theme ‘Dinner Date’. Helen and Marco, both involved at a high level in drug crime, enjoy five exquisite courses, during which Marco learns who killed their colleague Haroon, and what is going to happen to him.

Knightsbridge, 1967 – theme ‘Art’s a Tart’. A pushy father takes his young ‘child genius’s’ painting to an expensive art dealer.

Curiosities of literature -theme- ‘No Good Deed goes Unpunished’. Christine is terminally ill but her son Nick does not want the doctor to tell her. A book in her late husband’s collection reassures her about her imminent death, but will she ever say a proper goodbye to Nick and his sister?

Bilberries in January. A time-shift story in which a brother and sister find themselves in Wexford, Ireland, at the time of the 1798 Rebellion against British rule.

 60 minutes: What would you do if you had only an hour to live?

The Picnic :  Inspired by a trip to the Gorges du Tarn: a couple picnicking beside an ancient megalith reassess what is important in their lives.

The ‘Daisy Dancer’ :Daisy’s classic sailing yacht was her father’s pet project, but was sold on when she was still a child. She has tracked the boat down but under a new name and the current owner will only let her crew the boat for one day. Inspired by helping a friend of a friend track down a boat.

Snow Devils: Two young men who knew each other at school reconnect – but Callum has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Hate Mail: A paediatrician is stalked by a child abuser whose infant was taken into care.

Leap Years. If a lady may only propose marriage on the 29th February, it may be better not to delay.

The Inevitable March of Time is memoir from the COVID-19 pandemic, describing life under lockdown and working in an Irish district hospital.

No. 13 is short fiction on the theme of ‘Omens’.

Best Before is loosely based on a true event told me by a paramedic in the back of an ambulance

Fallen Leaves is a simple story about gardeners

Noah was inspired by something someone told me about a horse

Spring Flowers was inspired by my friends in Ireland, USA and New Zealand, their gardens, my mother’s plate, and spring walks in beautiful County Wexford

Ballyquilty was inspired by the villages of rural County Wexford and by our hard-working GPs and their receptionists.

A series of stories using the same group of characters:

A matter of time Adrian and Emma meet their old university friends Gerald and Vivienne and an old flame is rekindled.

Hikikomori Gerald and his new wife buy an apartment in Japan and find it is larger than they thought, but also has an occupant.

969 miles: Simon, a troubled ex-soldier on a charity bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats, is supported by Emma, now a drifting divorcee with a motorhome.

Snow: brings a partial understanding to divorcees Adrian and Emma and she invites him to stay where she has now settled in the Outer Hebrides to straighten out his head.

The Cyclist: Simon is stalking Emma and catches up with her and Adrian in the Outer Hebrides.

©M Wallis 2020