This is a tale based on fact from a long ago story.

It is set in Aberdeen at the height of the North Sea oil exploration boom in 1998.

Its memory was disinterred from my long-suffering memory cell when I was asked to set the

theme for our August story at Writers’ Circus.

I always have thousands of ideas for stories but caught unawares, I chose “Quandary”.

As frequently happens, I made several false starts on wildly different stories when this

one lit up and wrote itself, more or less.

My friends received it with modest enthusiasm and I edited to their comments.

I hope you enjoy it.

Mercifully short at around 4,500 words/ about 15 or so minutes to read.

This is a wee tale prompted by a Writers’ Circus challenge - ‘the light switch’.

As I wrote I thought of it as a tale to be told to children, that is, as a ‘read to’ story. And, as usual, I wondered how to find a willing and affordable illustrator.

My writer friend Peter soon pointed out that this is in fact a story for adults, an archive story to remind us all what our wee ones are/were like at Ethan’s stage when questions come relentlessly.

Kareth Paterson my editor suggested that if it was to become a story for kids then it would need a lot of work to dramatise the language etc.

So, here it is, nearly as written. Many years from now Ethan as a bigger boy might read and enjoy it.

Perhaps one day, when Santa brings or sends me an willing and industrious illustrator, I will re-vamp it as a children’s story. Pigs might fly.

As you read you may detect that Ethan is keen on ice-cream and sweets, items he gets only very infrequently. Think healthy eating, think fruit!

This is another Maisie Kaywood story.

It reveals another side of Maisie and takes us into the world of of the medical profession.

Many thanks are due to Kareth Paterson for her diligence an fortitude. Any remaining errors are all mine,

This is a wee tale set mainly in Dornoch, a tidy, well-heeled coastal town on the far north east coast of Scotland, famous for its golden sand beaches and its world-renowned golf course.

It was written as a response to a Writers’ Circus challenge - “I should have said something.”

The story centres on the actions of Janine, recently retired, who finds a suspicious object on the beach, while walking a friend’s dog.

Some time ago I wrote a story called “Driven”, which involved a lady police officer called Gemma Brownlee.

In Driven Gemma was a secondary character.

In Flash Flood she takes centre stage.

Beware, this contains some bad language and references to sex and drugs.