XOL 802 is a coming-of-age story that uses two voices: Andrew is six years old and we see his parents’ marriage break up, and a car crash (hence the number plate of the title) through his eyes. The other voice is the older, adult Andrew trying to make sense of all that happened. Has the family found peace?

The Accidental Smuggler is a cautionary tale of criminal involvement. The theme set for this story was ‘crossing the border,’ and the main character does this more than once. The tale is about a young, naïve teacher, in his first job, who is inveigled into taking a parcel across an international border between two African countries. He loses his naivety, his girlfriend, and almost his freedom, but does he ever gain understanding?

Spike is a young adult short story, with a twist in its tale. I wrote this when challenged to write a short story about a particular character, but the tale had to include references to soup, diamonds, and being naked! We meet the young man in question playing truant, and spraying graffiti on an underpass, but what happens when one of his teachers comes along?