Southsea writer Matt Wingett has just published his first e-book set on the Strong Island – a story of hallucination, cats, madness and mermaids, with a dose of time distortion thrown in.

Described by Portsmouth author Graham Hurley (renowned for his Faraday detective novels set in Pompey) as having “… a slightly hallucinatory, hugely evocative dreaminess”, Turn The Tides Gently is the story of Dave, a young man with a painful past who has withdrawn into a world of his own. But one night as he walks on Southsea Beach he encounters a mythical creature that turns his world upside down. Or at least he thinks he does. His doctor on the other hand is pretty clear it’s all part of his worsening mental illness.

Filled with precisely described locations around this Strong Island, and with a really cool twist at its end, this short novella will hold you with its driven narrative and deranged world, right the way through to its unexpected denouement.

Matt Wingett is an advertising copywriter who previously wrote episodes of The Bill for Thames TV.

The book was free over the weekend on Amazon and has been riding high in the Amazon book charts. It is still free as of this post going live so get in quick!

Turn The Tides Gently is available from Amazon HERE.

“It’s fun, it’s utterly compelling and finally truly magical.”

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