Liam Leddy

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Cautionary Tales - Liam Leddy After the success of 'Connected', the compilation of the first four books of short stories, Liam Leddy turned his attention to the creation of some rather longer stories. The result, 'Cautionary Tales' even includes one story, entitled 'The Old Original', which is almost a novella rather than a short story. The Leddy trademark, the completely unexpected twist in the tail, is still very much present in stories that have clearly been crafted by a writer who has moved forward in the difficult art of short story writing to the point where plot and sub-plot intertwine: and that is extremely hard to master within a short story. The preceding books are all meritorious and more than deserving of their place in our catalogue but 'Cautionary Tales' is, without doubt, the best yet and is very highly recommended. (about 20,000 words) Price: £3.00 Quantity:

Connected - Liam Leddy 'Connected' is a compilation of all the stories that appear in Liam Leddy's first four short story collections - 'Face Value', Ticket Price', Sales Target' and 'Aiding And Abetting'. It has been priced so that it represents a saving on the cost of those books, even if you've already bought one of them. If, on the other hand, you're new to Liam's work you can be certain of one thing - you won't find a better book to supply such a variety of tales, each with a twist at the end that defies prediction. It is a joy from beginning to end. (about 44,000 words) Price: £5.00 Quantity:

Aiding And Abetting And Other Tales - Liam Leddy In his fourth volume of short stories Liam Leddy has demonstrated an evolution in his work. The individual stories are a little longer than has hitherto been the case yet the plots of each one are so tightly controlled that the reader's mind is channelled in exactly the direction that the author dictates. Then, of course, comes the trademark Leddy twist, always impossible to predict and always so obvious in retrospect. That's not to say that the tales can be read only once - as before, they are just as enjoyable even when you know the ending. It goes without saying that we recommend Liam Leddy's work highly; this is a fine example of the wordsmith's art. (about 14,000 words) Price: £2.50 Quantity:

Sales Target And Other Tales - Liam Leddy After 'Face Value' and 'Ticket Price' it would have been no surprise had the quality of the third short story collectionfaltered a little. Instead this collection shows a growing confidence in the construction of its plots and demonstrates that meatier plots can produce even more surprising endings. Again, some of the stories have been written in a Glaswegian dialect but readers from elsewhere soon get used to it - television has allowed us all to become so familiar with regional accents - and it just adds to the realism of the scenes being portrayed. There is real writing skill on display in this and the other books by Liam Leddy; nobody has been disappointed with the tales told and the feedback has all been positive. (about 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

Ticket Price And Other Tales - Liam Leddy The second volume of Liam Leddy's short stories reaffirms that there is an extraordinarily inventive imagination at work: the situations he creates are unusual and the endings again have that wholly unpredictable twist. Some of these stories have been written in the language of the Glaswegian underworld and those of us not blessed with a grounding in Glasgow culture may need to concentrate a little, but that's all part of the pleasure. Well written and immensely readable, these stories are just as enjoyable on a re-reading, even when you know what the twist in the tail will be. (about 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

Face Value And Other Tales - Liam Leddy 'Face Value And Other Tales' is the first volume of Liam Leddy's short stories. It demonstrates that the author is an extremely capable wordsmith and a master of the twist in the tale. Containing eleven separate stories it has proved to be extremely popular both locally in Glasgow, the city which is home to the author, and further afield - indeed the ever-growing legion of Leddy fans stretches across continents. Although rightly recognised for his accurate portrayals of Glaswegian life, this collection of stories includes those set elsewhere - 'Jack' and 'Slinger' being cases in point. It's indicative of the breadth of the author's imagination and sets a trend that is pursued in the later works. (abour 10,000 words) Price: £2.00 Quantity:

Body Language - Liam Leddy Set in Glasgow and bearing all the hallmarks of the author's lifetime of familiarity with the streets of the city, the book is written in the language that is common in those streets. Sometimes, for those of us not familiar with the accent, it's necessary to stop and think about what's being said but that's all part of the attraction of this brilliantly crafted novel. It bears what we've come to know as the Liam Leddy hallmark - truly unexpected twists and turns, outcomes that don't just merely surprise but which are truly stunning and the sort of controlled writing of a master wordsmith. The language employed by the characters in the book is from time to time strong, but that's how it is in any town or city, not just Glasgow. It adds to the gritty realism of a truly fine piece of crime fiction which we recommend very strongly indeed. (About 97,000 words) Liam Leddy is Glaswegian by birth and has spent his whole life in Blantyre, the birthplace of the explorer David Livingstone. He was urged to take up creative writing in his schooldays but ignore the exhortation; now that he is finally writing he has produced, and continues to produce, work of the highest quality whether in short story form or in his novels. There is a bona fide Leddy style too: following in the tradition of Agatha Christie but without the necessity of a central detective character, he weaves intricate plots with outcomes that are impossible to predict, yet are so plain once they have been revealed. It is a privilege to bring his work to a wider audience. Price: £5.75 Quantity:

Online Catalogue | Writers' Biographies |  Liam Leddy