How far would you go to save a child? Six-year-old Abdullah loves getting gifts from the birds. They flock to his back garden, bringing everything from buttons to broken light bulbs. Then one day, much to his devout father's bafflement, they leave a key. What can it possibly mean? Meanwhile, Professor James Jeggert is a staunch atheist, a man who has no time for the mystical aspects of life. He simply wants people to be more rational, a stance that's about to put him on a collision course with a little boy...

Autorentext

Born in Wales, Dave Franklin published his first story at sixteen in a national fishing magazine. He immigrated to Australia and made his living as a reporter, earning the distinction of being sacked twice by a Perth-based newspaper group. He then spent nearly three years teaching English in Korea, during which the mortality rate of the children under his care remained at an impressive zero. He now teaches ESL to adults in Brisbane, helping (among others) Thai Lady Boys get to grips with their past participles.

The major theme of Dave's small, character-driven stories is alienation, the symptoms of which include male immaturity, misogyny, dysfunction, xenophobia, religion, violence and a childish glee in winding up the politically correct. His books lack car chases and explosions; instead he prefers outlandish, twisted sex scenes that focus on exasperated loners full of doubt.

Readers who like his work tend to see its black comedy (and disdain for his own characters) whereas his harshest critics take everything at face value. Indeed, some observers would suggest the highlight of his writing career, which has produced ten novels, remains being published in a fishing magazine.

Contact him on babyicedog_dave@hotmail.com Here's a handy guide to his full-length work: DARK COMEDY 1. Looking For Sarah Jane Smith 2. Manic Streets of Perth 3. English Toss on Planet Andong 4. Evil Arse Soup: Three Ultra-Dark Comedies (Anthology of the above) 5. The Muslim Zombies HORROR 1. Straitjacket Blues: Stories of Unease 2. The Goodreads Killer 3. Begin The Madness: The Straitjacket Blues Trilogy (Anthology of the above) 4. Nice Man Jack: A Jack The Ripper Novella PSYCHOLOGICAL / CRIME 1. Girls Like Funny Boys 2. To Dare A Future 3. Blundering Blokes (Anthology of the above that includes Sarah Jane Smith) 4. Riders on the Storm and Other Killer Songs 5. Saving a Child from God 6. A Promise of Pain (Anthology of the above novels plus two novellas and a short story) EROTICA 1. Bawdy Blokes: Three Porno Funnies 2. Welcome to Wales, Girls: A Violent Odyssey of Pornographic Filth