Writing to Gisella and Other Stories

Writing to Gisella

In many ways it was the perfect, idyllic summer break: unexpected, taken on impulse, filled with sun, culture, and the beauty of Tuscany. And it was also filled with love; the kind of love that changes a young man's life forever. And then, suddenly, the dream is killed and there is nothing but vacuum. For years.

Until her letter arrives unexpectedly, finding him - them both indeed - different people. Rick's choice is binary. 

Does he - after all this time, and after the pain of a broken heart - simply ignore her letter? Or does he respond? Does he risk opening old wounds in the search for the answers to all those questions that once ravaged him? And if he does respond, where will her letters lead him?

Other Stories are filled with encounters: in a gallery, a café, a bar; two men playing cards for a 'special' opportunity; at the Folie-Bergère; with Death.

There are departures too: the women abandoned at the altar and at home; the loss of memory and of sanity.

A rich tapestry of stories which delve into how we relate to each other and what it means to be human. Many of the stories take their inspiration from paintings by the likes of Manet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Cezanne, Whistler and Seurat.