Author J.M. O’Shaughnessy

Publisher: Banda Press International, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-9773175-2-3

A magazine is soon flicked through while on a flight or on a train journey, simply because there is no time to read and finish a book. However Banda Press International has successfully filled this gap. They are providing One Flight Fiction, a series of novellas that can be read within a few hours. These books are graded in ‘read time’ ranging from 0-1 hours 1-2 hours and finally 2-3 hours. Even for people who don’t generally read books, these should appeal. They are also competitively priced and I think that is an innovative idea. 

This is the first novella of the series that I have reviewed and I shall look forward to reading another.

When J.M O’Shaughnessy left a career of seventeen years in health care, she turned her hand to writing short stories for her young son and niece. Then the idea struck her, why not turn these short stories into a book? The result is Summersville published by Banda Press.

From a very young age, Stevie Rose has psychic powers and when her Grandmother passed away she found it was from her that she had inherited her psychic gift. Since that time Stevie has also been plagued with terrifying nightmares. In these dreams spirits come to her, most of them are angry and demand her help.  Waking in a cold sweat, Stevie realises she is completely different from anyone else because of these nightly visitations.

Feeling ashamed of her psychic abilities she gradually distanced herself from her best friend, Jessica, to whom she refused to talk. At the age of twelve Stevie is becoming lonely with no-one but these ghosts to talk to. One ghost in particular named Sarah Rose, strikes up a friendship with her and tells her that she is the child that Sarah lost more than a hundred years ago. Shocked at the news she is also told by Sarah that she must help some of the angry souls who lost their lives when a mine caved in on them. Agreeing, Stevie embarks on a journey of discovery, rekindling a broken friendship and enlisting the help of the park ranger David who is also interested in the past.

Will all this be enough to help these spirits and finally put their troubled souls to rest? This story isn’t the best of its kind. On the whole it is a pleasant tale but it clearly isn’t written to appeal to adults. The characters can become predictable in parts and it would have been more enjoyable if the author had gone into detail about some of the locations instead of which it gives rather a sketchy effect.

The ending is not one that you instantly expect but it does make an excellent ghost tale. I think it can be argued that this is a very readable novella to enjoy at any time but will certainly help to while away your journey.  

The above review was contributed by: Jessica Roberts: Jessica has been a reviewer for a newspaper and a national women’s magazine. She is working on a novel and has written some poetry and other writings in the past.