In The Market Square, the fantastical setting for all his dream activities, Wilson Armitage is able to take night classes on any subject and absorb a wealth of knowledge from just a few hours of sleep. As though logging into a wifi of dreams to download information. As his childhood passes, both wary of and reticent to acknowledge his extraordinary ability, Wilson attempts to lead a normal life and stay beneath the radar of family and friends.
At the age of seventeen however, his cover is blown by Daisy Meadowcroft. During a chance encounter in The Market Square, they agree to meet the next day and are propelled from a dream world into the reality of a coffee shop in the centre of Manchester. Enthralled by their shared gift, they strike up a close friendship and encourage each other to seek a rational, scientific explanation for their unique talents.
“If you believe there really are things out there that science can’t explain, you’ll enjoy this book.” Mark Sampson, 11 Magazine.
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1916486118
Excerpt
Graham considered the nickname question.
“I don’t know. Something different. Could
even be totally random.”
Hoover was pressing every button in an
attempt to stop his striker scoring an own goal, and
so Wilson, transfixed by the comedy of
unforced errors, wasn’t really thinking when he said,
“ Like err, I dunno Teapot?”
And before Graham had a chance to tell
Wilson to stop being bloody stupid, Hoover rubber
stamped it: “ that’s excellent. Let’s call
him Teapot!” The naming ceremony was over and
from that moment onwards, much to his
annoyance, Graham Clarke was referred to as ‘
or informally, as ‘The real reason Wilson
felt sorry for Teaps however, was because of his mum. She went missing when he
was a baby and Wilson didn’t know the full story. Apparently, Vanessa Clarke,
Teapot’s mum, had been a successful
business women and happily married. Then soon after
giving birth to Teaps, she went to a
meeting in London and never came home. Teapot’s father,
Michael, never understood what he’d done t
o drive his wife away and over the years the guilt took
a toll on his well being; to the extent
that his landscape gardening business collapsed and he
turned to alcohol for solace. Teapot and
his dad lived in a small flat in the centre of Stockport and
sur vived on Jobseekers’ Allowance and
Teapot’s part time work, stacking shelves in a
supermarket.
Not that you’d think Teapot’s life had been
touched by ill fate.
He was good looking, popular on social
media, wore his hair tied in a trendy ponytail and was
forever flitting from one girlfriend to
another. Gloria Armitage thought Teapot had a permanent
air of sadness about him though. “The
sparkle seems to be missing from his eyes,” she would say,
and be overly fussy whenever he called
round.
For twenty years Steve Walsh honed his skills in prose as an advertising copywriter; the ‘ideas’ man in a Manchester based marketing agency that carried his name.
In the late 1990’s he stumbled into the world of the dotcom entrepreneur and his claim to fame is as the creator of the hotel booking service, laterooms.com and the first car insurance comparison site, easycover.com. So, the birth of Meerkats, a Welsh opera singer and being confused.com might be considered as down to him, for which he apologises.
He now uses his vivid imagination and gentle Mancunian wit to write visionary fantasy novels with bold concepts. Wilson indeed, the first book in his trilogy The WiFi of Dreams takes the reader on a richly imagined, fact meets fiction adventure story to which we can relate and feel we can touch. A whimsical interrogation of the inexplicable and fundamental tenets of our lives – the role and meaning of dreams, the nature of the hereafter, hard and soft science, a love story – what more can you want?
Butterfly Assassins, the second book in the trilogy, will be published in Summer 2021.
In a recent survey, 85% of people said yes to the question: “Do you believe there are things out there that science can’t explain?”
If you’re one of those 85%, you’ll love The WiFi of Dreams series.
Born and bred in the north west of England, Steve Walsh has three children and likes to fly fish in his spare time.
Thank you for sharing this extract today and being a part of the tour :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :)
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