Wayne Blackhurst works as a freelance illustrator from his home studio in the UK’s North West. He’s involved in a wide variety of commissions, his main interest being interior book and magazine illustration using a distinctive pen and ink style reminiscent of Aubrey Beardsley. Also fascinated with writing full length and short fiction, his current work includes Still Water, a possible series of volumes containing linked tales accompanied by his artwork. Emily And The City, which will be published in The Ashen Eye, is lifted from this project and captures all of the atmosphere found throughout Wayne’s short stories. The following is a brief extract:
“You really like this shop, don’t you Emily?”
Emily nodded with enthusiasm. She placed her hand over her mouth as she gasped, “I smashed a window!” She blurted the words as though she wanted the act kept secret, only doing so was too much for her young mind to contain. “The noise was awful! So loud. The glass makes a horrid sound. Horrible, horrible!”
“No one came to investigate?”
“They did the first time but not now. No one does, mister. There’s no one here, I told you before. You can do what you like and not get caught!”
I shuddered at the thought. There were darker characters than I that skulked within shadows of cities like these, praying on the defenseless like filthy depraved animals. At least I knew she was safe here with me.
Emily slipped her small hand into mine and led me to an entrance made of glass doors, set back from the barren main road where traffic lights cycled for nonexistent vehicles. I always found it difficult to comprehend the lack of activity in the city. Emily never revealed why it should be that way, content at times, in her naivety, to play her favorite game of hide and seek. Every quiet alleyway, every empty street, and every deserted square became nothing more than an immense playground.
For more information on Wayne Blackhurst, please visit his website or MySpace profile.
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