An
aspiring magician who gets a sinister pleasure playing all kinds of tricks on
those around him. Two strangers running into each after 20 years and wondering
what they’ve missed. A long-suffering husband who decides it’s time he started
making big decisions. An unhappy child at Christmas struggling to deal with his
new surroundings before a wonderfully surprising encounter. All this and more
within the seven stories of Always Never, Rarely Sometimes, where a wide
range of characters are forced to challenge long-held beliefs and powerful
memories, accompanied by a sprinkling of magic. Always Never, Rarely
Sometimes is the third book from Alexander Raphael, following on from his
short story The Summer of Madness and his set of conceptual short
stories Illusions, Delusions.
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Rarely-Sometimes-Alexander-Raphael/dp/B08S8PK5VM/
US - https://www.amazon.com/Always-Rarely-Sometimes-Alexander-Raphael/dp/B08S8PK5VM/
Excerpt
The
Prankster
Jimmy
Nirvana was and wasn’t many things. He was a loner, an oddball and a failed
magician. The type that you’ve probably walked past a million times without
noticing. And the feeling would have been mutual.
He had
little interest in people but dreamed of being an entertainer and showman. Even
if he hated large crowds and crumbled when put under even a smidgeon of
pressure on stage. But that was Jimmy. He didn’t drink but always told people
he was a recovering alcoholic. He didn’t smoke but carried cigarettes and a
lighter. He was handsome enough but had long convinced himself he wasn’t.
Jimmy
wasn’t approachable, kind or generous either. And certainly not honest or
trusting. He wasn’t the slightest bit interested in history, the arts or other
cultures and was wilfully unable to read a room. And on the rare times he was
invited to parties, he wasn’t good company, making no genuine attention to
listen when people spoke to him and taking far more interest in the room’s
layout and where he could escape to if there was a fire.
But even
if those around him were able to ignore him, he wasn’t bothered because he had
something else to offer. There was a talent that meant Jimmy was always able to
get their attention whether they wanted it or not. He was a prankster. And
that, to him, was his own form of magic.
And not
just in the half-hearted “Your flies are undone, made you look” or “That
deadline was brought forward, just kidding!” kind of way. No. Jimmy Nirvana was
a full-on prankster, from as long as he could remember.
Author Bio – Half-Welsh, half-Mexican and growing up in London, Alex Raphael
was surrounded by different influences and interests. But it was always books
that spoke to him most and had the greatest impact.
He started writing
when at college, where his love of reading evolved into a desire to write, in
particular focusing on poetry and short stories. Studying English and American
Literature at university meant he took a break from writing, as well as giving
him the chance to see more of Mexico on his travels. He concentrated on his
journalistic career while working on different writing projects, but his favourite
genre of literature has always been short stories as they are what first
inspired him to write.
That’s why his first
book was The
Summer of Madness, a romantic short story that tells of a guy who
goes out to try to win his ex-girlfriend back. Will you be rooting for Kurt and
his big public gesture or is it more complicated than that and you don’t want
her to date him again? Either way you’ll get to know a memorable set of
characters along for the ride.
His second book Illusions,
Delusions reflects Raphael’s love of alternative short stories
from the writers of his childhood and challenges the idea of the narrative.
Will your favourite be the story in the form of a questionnaire, a poem or a
set of jokes, among the seven very different styles?
Alexander Raphael’s
latest offering is Always Never, Rarely Sometimes,
featuring original premises and distinctive characters with his
trademark imagination, humour and memorable dialogue. Among
others, meet a sinister magician with an array of pranks, a long-suffering
husband finally becoming more decisive and a group of young guys intrigued by a
pretty woman on another table.
Social Media Links –
http://www.alexanderraphaelwriter.com/
https://www.instagram.com/raphaelalexx/
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