Christopher Best
composer ~ educator ~ performer ~ writer
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Writing
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"....As a child I loved to write. For me, inventing stories pre-dated composing music. But this practice slipped gradually from my mind as music increasingly became my life, until I found myself doing little more than compiling texts for compositions, writing articles on music and dance, and drawing up documents for curriculum development. Fortunately in recent years I have rediscovered the joys of creative writing. As a means of expression it has so many fascinating parallels to composition, yet remains refreshingly unique. On this page you can find the synopses of my two novels 'The Moor Inn Fire' and Mobius'. You can also download for free the chilling short story 'Adverse Camber'....." |
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Stories for Children (work in progress)Chris is currently busy writing a selection of short stories for children. The first to be completed, 'Olivia's Secret Wish', was written especially for the nine-year-old daughter of a close friend. To read Chapter One click here. |
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Mobius (second novel)Ever since his twin brother Alex was tragically swept out to sea aged nine, Daniel George has been on a downward spiral and in a state of denial. Then, on Christmas Day 2006 - the twenty-fourth anniversary of the accident, his long lost twin is found huddled unconscious beside their mother's grave. Taking Alex in, nursing him back to health and trying to unpick the mystery of his disappearance proves to be a near fatal journey for Daniel, exposing deeply hidden truths about his past and taking him to the very edge of sanity - until the day he finally wakes up to the shocking truth. |
Adverse Camber (a short story)On their perilous drive home from a New Year's Eve celebration, through driving snow and much the worse for drink, a couple are caught in a near-fatal accident. Out of the blizzard appears a figure to help them. But his story will change their lives forever. Read this short story for free. |
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The Moor Inn Fire (first novel)A roadside burial site, a circle of ancient stones and the remnants of derelict mine workings are just a foretaste of what awaits young couple Mark Sheppard and Stephanie Latimer as they find themselves lost on Dartmoor on a cold late September evening. With time and the weather against them, they finally stumble upon a quaint Moorland Inn, a sanctuary of rough oak beams, flagstones and fine ales. The pub’s claim to fame proves to be its magnificent fire, which has been kept alight continuously for well over a century. But this ritual hides a dark secret, one that is hauntingly narrated by an eccentric old-timer sat at their table. He draws them into a bygone world, telling of a former tenant’s family torn apart by passion, infidelity, prejudice and tragedy. At the heart of his tale lies the inn-keeper’s daughter Martha, driven by unsanctioned love to a terrible act of betrayal. But what of Martha’s fate? And what was her deadly secret? As they become embroiled ever deeper into Dartmoor’s ghostly past, Mark and Stephanie are forced to confront their deepest fears, their darker sides, their relationship and their true values. The Moor Inn Fire is a ghost story, a love story, a murder mystery, a rite of passage and, above all, a celebration of the romance and wild beauty of Dartmoor. |
ArticlesRead ‘Breaking
The Mould’ |
Updated October 2011
© Christopher Best 2011