My publications
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Below you will find links to upcoming and existing publications. I also have work published across a number of online publications, such as Picaroon (poetry), Bonnie's Crew, and Eunoia Review.
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Play is my third novel, released on April 6th, 2020 with Bloodhound Books. The book is the second novel to feature DI Melanie Watton, which means it can be read as a sequel to Copycat. However, Play can also be read as a standalone release. Play can be bought from many book retailers, including Amazon where it's available in both print and digital formats.
The blurb for Play reads as:
When DI Melanie Watton and her team are called in to investigate a video recording that surfaces in a local school, they realise that they have a complex case on their hands.
When the recording is studied by the Medical Examiner, it becomes apparent the team are now faced with a gruesome recording of a murder. Over the course of several minutes, the killer administers drugs before suffocating a man on camera. With no known crime scene, the team have nothing more than the video evidence in front of them and face a challenge to identify both the victim and the killer.
But when a suspect is discovered Melanie and her team are up against a killer who is more evil than anyone could have imagined…
The blurb for Play reads as:
When DI Melanie Watton and her team are called in to investigate a video recording that surfaces in a local school, they realise that they have a complex case on their hands.
When the recording is studied by the Medical Examiner, it becomes apparent the team are now faced with a gruesome recording of a murder. Over the course of several minutes, the killer administers drugs before suffocating a man on camera. With no known crime scene, the team have nothing more than the video evidence in front of them and face a challenge to identify both the victim and the killer.
But when a suspect is discovered Melanie and her team are up against a killer who is more evil than anyone could have imagined…
Burn The Witch is my second prose chapbook that was published with The Black Light Engine Press on March 13th, 2020. It's made up of a series of short pieces of flash fiction that introduce the Witch character. After holding her breath in the belly of the river for some years, the Witch comes back to solid land to see what's changed - or, as she soon discovers, what hasn't.
The collection is a mix of magic and feminism, that asks us to question our treatment of powerful women - or indeed, powerful individuals, if we don't easily recognise their power and status.
Copies are £6 (inc.) UK postage and packaging and they can be ordered directly from this site by heading to my contact form. Alternatively you could order a copy directly from the publisher.
The collection is a mix of magic and feminism, that asks us to question our treatment of powerful women - or indeed, powerful individuals, if we don't easily recognise their power and status.
Copies are £6 (inc.) UK postage and packaging and they can be ordered directly from this site by heading to my contact form. Alternatively you could order a copy directly from the publisher.
Go on a Road Trip (Wild Pressed Books) is a short story that introduces the character of Esther Harrison. Esther has been caring for her father, who will pass away soon following a battle with cancer. His final request of Esther is that she reaches out to her estranged mother to deliver one final correspondence on behalf of her father. However, we soon find out there may have been additional motivations in arranging for this reunion...
‘What do I call you?’ is my first question.
She smiles and says: ‘Mum is fine.’
More information about the pamphlet, including how to order a copy, can be found on the Wild Pressed Books website here.
‘What do I call you?’ is my first question.
She smiles and says: ‘Mum is fine.’
More information about the pamphlet, including how to order a copy, can be found on the Wild Pressed Books website here.
Death Is A Terrible House Guest is my debut prose chapbook. The book is made up of a series of domestic snapshots that shows Death, as a living breathing character, move into the narrator's home (significantly, when the narrator is about lose someone close to them). Over the course of the book, Death makes a general nuisance of himself by hiding things around the house and poking fun at the narrator's clothing, while also offering tea, sympathy and comfort when it is most needed.
Copies of Death Is A Terrible House Guest can be ordered through the publisher, The Black Light Engine Room Press, or directly from me using the contact form on this website.
Copies of Death Is A Terrible House Guest can be ordered through the publisher, The Black Light Engine Room Press, or directly from me using the contact form on this website.
Body Talk is my sophomore poetry pamphlet, published by Picaroon Poetry on September 28th, 2019. This short pamphlet is an open discussion around eating disorders, recovery and our (ever-)changing relationship with food and our bodies.
"Charley’s poetry aims to open conversations around the more difficult topics in life, and Body Talk embodies that aim. A hard look at our relationship with food, these poems are intended as a reminder to love ourselves a little easier – and to butter our crumpets generously."
On the Picaroon Poetry website there are further details about the pamphlet, including endorsements from the likes of Emily Rose Galvin (former Staffordshire Poet Laureate) and Casey Bailey. If you click on the cover art, featured just below, you will be re-directed to the book's own webpage.
"Charley’s poetry aims to open conversations around the more difficult topics in life, and Body Talk embodies that aim. A hard look at our relationship with food, these poems are intended as a reminder to love ourselves a little easier – and to butter our crumpets generously."
On the Picaroon Poetry website there are further details about the pamphlet, including endorsements from the likes of Emily Rose Galvin (former Staffordshire Poet Laureate) and Casey Bailey. If you click on the cover art, featured just below, you will be re-directed to the book's own webpage.
Copycat is my sophomore novel, published June 24th 2019 by Bloodhound Books. The novel is available through a number of retailers, both physical and online, including Amazon where both print and digital copies are available to purchase.
Blurb:
When the body of a young woman, Jenni Grantham, is found abandoned, DI Melanie Watton and her team are called to investigate. It soon becomes apparent that the murder, the method and the appearance of the victim, is something they have seen before.
With the help of Medical Examiner George Waller, DI Watton uncovers the case history of Michael Richards – a local murderer who killed five women before turning himself in.
Further investigations reveal that Jenni was recently reported missing by her parents. And when Jenni’s personal effects are explored, shocking discoveries are made about the victim’s fascination with the original killings.
However, when the ME makes a surprise discovery, DI Watton realises that Jenni was perhaps not the only local with a fixation on these infamous killings.
With a copycat killer on the loose, the team know it is only a matter of time before another body is discovered. But when a second victim is found, the team find themselves questioning everything they thought they knew…
Blurb:
When the body of a young woman, Jenni Grantham, is found abandoned, DI Melanie Watton and her team are called to investigate. It soon becomes apparent that the murder, the method and the appearance of the victim, is something they have seen before.
With the help of Medical Examiner George Waller, DI Watton uncovers the case history of Michael Richards – a local murderer who killed five women before turning himself in.
Further investigations reveal that Jenni was recently reported missing by her parents. And when Jenni’s personal effects are explored, shocking discoveries are made about the victim’s fascination with the original killings.
However, when the ME makes a surprise discovery, DI Watton realises that Jenni was perhaps not the only local with a fixation on these infamous killings.
With a copycat killer on the loose, the team know it is only a matter of time before another body is discovered. But when a second victim is found, the team find themselves questioning everything they thought they knew…
Intention is my debut novel, published January 30th 2019, by Bloodhound Books. The novel is available through a number of physical and online booksellers, including Amazon (where it is available in both Kindle and print format).
Blurb:
When twenty-two-year-old Gillian Thompson returns from university for the summer, it is apparent there is tension at home. An irritant to her father and a concern to her mother, Gillian's home life is less than ideal. Geraldine, Gillian's mother, has suffered abuse from Joe for years. However, it is not until Joe dies that the family dynamic shifts and Gillian starts out on her own dark journey...
When Gillian meets Paul and Daniel she starts to become the person she always knew she was. And as people around her start dying Gillian faces scrutiny from her mother. But are the deaths accidents or is something more sinister at work?
Blurb:
When twenty-two-year-old Gillian Thompson returns from university for the summer, it is apparent there is tension at home. An irritant to her father and a concern to her mother, Gillian's home life is less than ideal. Geraldine, Gillian's mother, has suffered abuse from Joe for years. However, it is not until Joe dies that the family dynamic shifts and Gillian starts out on her own dark journey...
When Gillian meets Paul and Daniel she starts to become the person she always knew she was. And as people around her start dying Gillian faces scrutiny from her mother. But are the deaths accidents or is something more sinister at work?
A Z-hearted Guide to Heartache is my debut poetry pamphlet that was published with V. Press in July 2018. The collection is available for purhcase by clicking on the cover art just below, which will take you to the appropriate page on V. Press's own website.
This is a bite-size collection of poetry in which I tackle heartache, disability, and a lot of food (not in every single poem, admittedly) and it has to be said that this is a very personal and honest publication for me. I have always used poetry "to get things out", in a different way to how I use prose-writing, and this pamphlet is a clear example of how poetry has taken on a therapeutic role for me in many ways. The words in here are big and meaningful and, while some of them are fictional, the work is grounded in a lot of real-life incidents.
This is a bite-size collection of poetry in which I tackle heartache, disability, and a lot of food (not in every single poem, admittedly) and it has to be said that this is a very personal and honest publication for me. I have always used poetry "to get things out", in a different way to how I use prose-writing, and this pamphlet is a clear example of how poetry has taken on a therapeutic role for me in many ways. The words in here are big and meaningful and, while some of them are fictional, the work is grounded in a lot of real-life incidents.
The Women You Were Warned About: Answers to absent questions was published by Black Pear Press in May 2017, and it is available for purchase now by clicking the cover art just below.
This is my debut short collection in which I experiment with different short story formats, making an unconventional house in which to stash away my unconventional characters. Written in part as a response to David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, The Women You Were Warned About started out as a response to one big question: Where are all the hideous women?
Over the course of writing this book I noted down many (many) "female" behaviours that I knew happened - but I didn't know happened much in contemporary fiction - and I re-created them across short stories that are written as interview sequences, short stories that are written as scripts, and short stories with a choose-your-own-ending option (depending on how much of a break you need by the time you arrive at that piece).
This collection is packed with unconventional but, I hope, refreshingly honest speakers and through them I shine a light on those behaviours that many women are guilty of (but not many women are happy to admit out loud).
This is my debut short collection in which I experiment with different short story formats, making an unconventional house in which to stash away my unconventional characters. Written in part as a response to David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, The Women You Were Warned About started out as a response to one big question: Where are all the hideous women?
Over the course of writing this book I noted down many (many) "female" behaviours that I knew happened - but I didn't know happened much in contemporary fiction - and I re-created them across short stories that are written as interview sequences, short stories that are written as scripts, and short stories with a choose-your-own-ending option (depending on how much of a break you need by the time you arrive at that piece).
This collection is packed with unconventional but, I hope, refreshingly honest speakers and through them I shine a light on those behaviours that many women are guilty of (but not many women are happy to admit out loud).
