Pushing Cotton

Would you risk everything for a single wish?


Nelson Hitchcock’s life is forever changed when a stranger begs for help during a school trip to the museum. The reward is his heart’s desire and Nelson’s only wish is the return of his father, who mysteriously disappeared three years before.


But there is a price, for the stranger will be dead before Halloween is out, setting Nelson on a desperate race against time to keep the bargain he has struck. 


One hundred years earlier, police sergeant Caleb Fitzgerald is searching in vain for his son, one of four children snatched in the dead of night during The Vanishings of 1903. The only clue is a chilling calling card left at each scene, ‘Critch’.


When the sergeant’s journal is unearthed at a family party, Nelson is convinced his ancestor has left hidden clues to help him unmask the killer. But Nelson has no idea he is about to unleash a blood feud that has crossed a century; a supernatural vendetta where past and present are set to collide with terrifying results.


What must he sacrifice to save those he loves?


Darran Nash spent the beginning of his career writing as a journalist for a range of newspapers and sports publications, eventually becoming Deputy Editor for the Leigh Reporter. After a decade in journalism, Darran retrained as a primary school teacher. He became a Leading Literacy Teacher, Advanced Skills Teacher and then served as a head teacher for eight years. In 2019, Darran and his wife, Clare, sought a new challenge to run a day nursery in Greater Manchester, where they continue to work.