BOOK DESCRIPTION
Nature? Nurture? Or just plain luck?
Single mums, Tia and Kay, meet when their sons are born on the same day.
Tia is a product of the welfare system but wants a better life for her son. Her entrapment by her manipulative and controlling boyfriend in the world of drink, drugs, crime and enforced prostitution suggests otherwise. Is she a ‘born devil’ or can she change and break free?
Kay comes from a stable home but sacrifices it all, initially, to live her own kind of life. Overshadowed by betrayals, mistakes, regrets, and the mystery of an abandoned child, their paths – and those of their families – run parallel or criss-cross over twenty-five years.
Can determination and the power of the snow globe offer a chance of happiness?
A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick.
(W Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1623, 4.1.211-215)
The more that I looked at DNA, the more I
realized it was nature and nurture.
It’s how genes and your environment work
together to produce the person you are.
Sam Kean, The Violinist’s Thumb, 2012
2016
December 1st
I don’t remember much about the day my son was born. Or the day he died. I was off my head on both days. What I do remember is the snow. And the cold. And the pain. In some ways, not much has changed.
Thank God for Janet. If she hadn’t helped me, I’d probably have died on the pavement. There again, maybe that would have been for the best. I know I shouldn’t be here now. It’s just so hard to stay away. Things could have turned out so differently but it’s no good looking back. Just a few minutes. Even seeing her through the window will be enough.
I wonder how long she’s been using the snow globe for the Christmas window display. It’s hard to believe that something so beautiful can cause so much pain.
I remember standing right here on his birthday, in the snow, looking through the same shop window, desperate for someone to notice me. All I saw were flashing white lights, and my head felt as though it was going to split open. I can still taste the blood at the back of my throat. I remember looking at my feet. I couldn’t understand why they were so red. I mean, I was freezing. Then it all went black.
When I woke up in a clean, warm bed, someone was tapping my hand. Then a nurse put a baby into my arms.
“This is your son. Do you have a name for him?” I called him Luke.
1991
December 1st
Janet McElroy pointed to the window and called out to the other two women in the shop.
“There’s that girl again. She’s in real state this time. No coat, black eye and a bloody nose. We can’t leave her out there in this weather, poor thing.”
“Wait a minute, Janet. You don’t know what trouble’s following her. You’ve seen that fellow she hangs around with. No-good layabout, if you ask me. Probably on drugs, too. I don’t think Head Office would be very pleased if one of us was hurt or the place was trashed.”
Janet shook her head and sighed. “You mean that we can work in a charity shop, take money off people for charity, but we can’t directly help someone who obviously needs it? Sorry, I’m going out.”
Janet pulled open the door as Tia slumped to the ground. The girl was wearing a thin shirt, a short black skirt and summer shoes. She lay on the pavement with her hair spread out around her, but Janet’s eyes were drawn to the slashes of red on the snow beneath the girl’s legs. She ran back into the shop.
“Quick! Phone for an ambulance. I think she’s losing the baby. She’s tiny but looks almost full-term to me. Tell them she’s unconscious but breathing. Where’s that box of blankets that came in last week? We can’t move her but I’ll try to keep her a little bit warmer. I need that big umbrella as well. The snow’s coming down much heavier. Can one of you help me? Now!”
***
Kay Jones screamed and was rewarded with a mask clamped over her mouth and nose.
“There now, don’t fuss. Keep calm and breathe like we’ve told you. It’ll make it easier. You’re nearly there.”
Kay grunted. There had been a stream of nurses over the past ten hours telling her the same thing, and now she was tired of it all. If she could have a pill to stop everything for a few hours then she’d willingly take it, but no such luck. This baby was coming out whether she liked it or not. Another contraction washed over her and she grabbed the nurse’s hand.
“Don’t waste your energy on me, girl. Push!” The nurse turned to one of the juniors in the room and lowered her voice. “Doesn’t she have anyone with her? Doesn’t seem right, her being on her own. She’s only eighteen, for goodness sake.”
“There’s no one waiting.” The junior nurse shook her head and looked through Kay’s notes. “She hasn’t put anyone as her next-of-kin, either. Looks like she’s in one of those new council flats over Crompton way. Are Social Services involved at all?”
“Not sure. I think there’s something from them at the back of her notes. She might need some extra help here. Can you see if there’s a medic free?” Kay shouted again and the nurses turned back to her. Half an hour later, after a forceps delivery, they told her she had a son. She called him Adam.
About Angela Fish:
Angela worked in medical research, electronic and electrical engineering, and administration. In her mid-thirties, she decided to change direction and returned to university to study Humanities, specialising in Literature and Creative Writing. She then completed an MPhil (Literature) focussing on how women writers in Wales, between 1850 and 1950, portrayed their female characters. Following this, Angela joined the staff the University of Glamorgan where, in 2000, she set up and directed The Wales Centre for Intergenerational Practice. As well as providing training and advice, she worked with local schools and communities, over a period of ten years, to improve communication between the generations. She has been in demand, nationally and internationally, as a conference presenter and an invited speaker in her field.
Her publications include non-fiction, short stories, poetry, and fiction for children. The Fractured Globe is her first full-length novel and explores the nature/nurture question through the lives of two single mums, their sons, and families, over twenty-five years. This debate, together with an interest in mythology and magic, has significantly influenced her writing.
Angela is a member of The Society of Authors [SoA], and the SoA Children's Writers and Illustrators Group.
She lives in south Wales.
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/angelaEfish
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AngelaFishAuthor
Website: www.angela-fish.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angela-Fish/e/B01MPXRE8F?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14428605.Angela_Fish?from_search=true&from_srp=true
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/uthors/angela-fish
Publishing Information:
Published in paperback and digital formats by Darkstroke Books on 3rd December 2020
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3iLhPRl
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/39Y9JAP
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