Neil Bailey is a debut author of "The Awakening." He lives and works in the UK. Filtered through his amazing autistic brain, and experiences of battling with fibromyalgia for the last 20 years, he writes prolifically on topics from thrillers and horror for grown-ups, to children’s novels (that mix mystery, monsters, and comedy), to poetry. Deeply committed to helping our environment, he spends time doing voluntary conservation work, and plogging (litter-picking while running) during training runs for ultramarathons.
The trees have awoken.
As the Earth’s natural conscience, trees have decided to take drastic action to cleanse the planet, targeting the sources of human-caused pollution with terrifying force.
Roads are destroyed by roots, people are killed, and escape is impossible. As the world falls apart, humans everywhere descend into desperation.
The world is at a breaking point.
Sarah and her team of five friends, who work across environmental groups, face a perilous journey to save humanity and their world, not only through the hostile environment, but also through the human conflict that arises in the face of existence. And they must navigate their fragile coexistence with the very environment they’ve dedicated their lives to saving.
Set against the backdrop of London, the story explores humanity’s understanding of nature, and offers an unsettling vision of what happens when it decides to fight back. Nothing is certain, and the danger is far from over.
The only thing more dangerous than her imagination is when it refuses to stay on the page.
When budding novelist Ev Cawthorne inherits the isolated marshland house of Rookmere, she decides it's the right time to finish writing her books. Her autistic mind thrives on connections and multiple stories, and she needs to get back to herself.
But while simultaneously working on two manuscripts—a prison horror and a children's adventure—reality begins to warp as her characters cross pages and immerge in her waking life. Her creations insist the books are their canvas as much as hers.
And then the Dunwich area of Suffolk reels with mysterious bodies, children trapped in nightmares, and police officers vanishing without a trace. Ev is the conduit. The wall between fiction and reality has thinned, and only her writing can close it.
But at what cost?